Elizabeth Ball, Vålerenga and why Valur have a good chance of retaining their Icelandic crown - your women's football roundup
There may have only been a few leagues in action during the last week, with a growing number in their close season periods, but that does not mean that there has been a shortage of action to enjoy. Instead, the truth is quite the opposite, with stories and drama occurring in all four quarters and plenty for fans and the media alike to discuss.
As ever, this newsletter will provide you with everything that you need to know from the global women’s game, with the usual selection of analysis points, reading and listening material to ensure that you are kept right up to date with everything that has been making the headlines of late.
3 key talking points….
Elizabeth Ball deserves more recognition than she is often afforded
To those who have watched Kansas City Current in the NWSL this season, it will have become apparent that they are a fearsome team when moving up the field and that they boast a rich variety of goal threats and general attacking talent.
“More and more, we see how the line of confrontation drops, and how the blocks are getting lower and lower, and then closer and closer to their own goal.”
Kansas City Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski, speaking in June 2024 and quoted in The Kansas City Star.
However, football is a sport in which having a good balance is crucial, with teams not able to win matches purely by being dominant at the top of the field and instead needing to blend that with defensive solidity. For Kansas City, that is where Elizabeth Ball comes into the equation, with her joining the team now known as the Current back in 2020 (when they were known as Utah Royals) and barely putting a foot wrong on the field of play.
The fact that she can make key defensive contributions and can also launch attacks from the back has led to her being just as effective with the ball as she has been without it, and there was no doubt that she played a key role in her side’s dominant victory against Portland Thorns at the weekend as she enabled them to use the full dimensions of the pitch and to expose the gaps that their opponents left open.
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However, because it is the likes of Temwa Chawinga, Debinha and others who have tended to claim the headlines in most of the Current’s matches, Ball has not often got the recognition that her efforts have merited. The simple fact is though that she has been just as valuable to her team as they have started the campaign in a positive manner, and keeping her fit for the remainder of it will be critical if they are to stand any chance of finishing with a league trophy in their grasp.
Vålerenga’s high press made the difference against Rosenborg
The meeting between Vålerenga and Rosenborg was always going to be a fraught encounter in the Toppserien, with both sides level on points at the summit going into the weekend’s fixtures and even in most other metrics, and the fact that each was looking to gain an advantage over the other showed as they scrapped for everything that they could and didn’t hold back.
In the end, it was the former side who emerged victorious from the encounter, and what helped them to secure the win on the day was their high pressing tactics. As the match went on, it was clear that they had formulated a game plan that revolved around limiting the time and space that Rosenborg had to move the ball around and to force turnovers in possession in promising areas of the field.
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It was something that Vålerenga executed very efficiently from the first to the last whistle and which everyone contributed to, with Thea Bjelde and Olaug Tvedten sending penetrating passes through the lines, Ylinn Tennebø making constant inverted runs that tested Rosenborg’s defensive resolve and Karina Sævik operating in her usual free-flowing manner.
For a look at what Olaug Tvedten offers to Vålerenga’s play, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
That is not to say that it was a perfect performance, with both sides guilty of making errors at times, but that was to be expected in such a vital encounter for both teams’ chances of finishing at the top of the tree. In the end, it was small margins that led to Vålerenga getting the better of their rivals, and it is now advantage them in the title race.
Valur keep themselves firmly in the Besta deild kvenna title fight
Having seen leaders Breiðablik lose on the road to Vikingur Reykjavik the day before, the message around the Valur camp ahead of their meeting with FH would have surely been to stay focused and to ensure that they took all three points from that match, with them knowing that doing so would see them draw level at the summit and that a win with a huge goal margin could even see them overtake their rivals and become the new leaders.
It would have been understandable if Valur had shown some signs of nervousness, but that is simply in their DNA and instead they played with quality and composure and showed why they are the defending champions, with the influential Katie Cousins once again pulling the strings from the midfield, proving that her acquisition from city rivals Thróttur Reykjavik was a solid piece of transfer business, whilst Amanda Andradóttir was calm and collected whenever through on goal.
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The way that they stayed focused and got the job has summed up their season in many ways, with them never showing any signs of concern about Breiðablik storming to an early lead and instead simply training their attention purely on picking up points and never allowing too great a distance to be built up.
At the same time, they have not worried about the occasional challenges of Vikingur and FH, who have had moments of looking like challenging those above them, and that too has allowed them to be consistent and to put themselves into a position from which they have a good chance of retaining their crown.
There might be others looking to topple them from their position at the top of the tree, but it will not be easy to do so on the basis of their current form.
For a look at Valur’s tactics on their way to their title last year, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
Read all about it….
Manchester United are given the cold shoulder - despite winning the FA Cup last season and there being hope that the new ownership could see Manchester United’s women’s team given more investment and backing, the opposite actually seems to be the case. The latest move has been for them to be removed from their building to allow the men’s team to use it whilst theirs is being refurbished. Tom Garry has all of the details for The Guardian here.
The impact that the 2027 World Cup could have in Brazil - also on The Guardian, the latest edition of their Moving The Goalposts newsletter looks at what the upcoming World Cup could do for the women’s game in Brazil, with them being a country that have a love of the men’s game and many hoping that that affection can be transferred to the women’s game too.
What could happen in the WSL during the summer transfer window - with the transfer window now two days old, moves and rumours are being thrown around in all directions, and Jessy Parker-Humphreys has looked at what each of the WSL sides needs and who could be worth keeping an eye on in this article for The Athletic.
Lend me your ears….
Controversial Sackings and Controversial Moves - for a look at some of the main talking points of the last few days, including Manchester United, the saking of Casey Stoney as San Diego Wave head coach and the latest around Reading, this week’s episode of The Women’s Soccer Show is well worth spending some time listening to.
That’s all for now - back next week!!