Rainy Tuesday

It rained today at training, again. And again, no one seemed to mind. In fact, it was one of sharpest practices the U.S. team has had so far in China. The forwards and attacking midfielders did a lot of finishing and there was a bushel of crackerjack goals. The defenders and defensive midfielders did a lot of…well…defending. The team came together for a 20-minute scrimmage at the end of training and once again, Heather O’Reilly scored the lone goal, showing her opportunistic side by running under a loose ball in the penalty area and finishing from close range. A group of 15-year-old boys from the Shenhua FC club where the USA is training came out to play-in with the squad and did a fine job. U.S. asst. coach Bret Hall used the team’s liaison and translator to give instructions to the boys, who proved very good at following them. The poor lads were a bit knackered at the end of training after getting run around by the U.S. women, but they proved perfect opponents…fast, skillful and in no way looking to lay down any dangerous tackles on the U.S. players so close to the start of the Women’s World Cup.