00:00The question of the week, can Angel City Football Club from NWSL make a real push for the first time
00:07ever into the playoffs?
00:09NWSL is a very competitive league. There has been, yes, parity, but there's a few teams that continue to hug
00:16those top eight spots season after season.
00:19We have the Gothams, we have Kansas City. This time around, Orlando is not figuring out their thorns,
00:26a team that has been really, really impressive the last few seasons, and a lot of players.
00:31And one of them is the most valuable franchise in all of women's football in the United States.
00:38I'm talking about the Angel City Football Club, established here in Los Angeles,
00:42with a pressure to perform like any other team in this city.
00:46And so far, they have let us down, Camila.
00:50Like fans like you that have been since the beginning rooting for this team, have not had the experience,
00:56the beautiful experience of cheering and rooting for your team during the playoffs.
01:01Do you think this is the year? And just for that, let me help you out with some visual aids.
01:07Let's pull the standings, my friends.
01:09Let's pull the standings and while we do that.
01:11Here you go. No llores, Camilita. No llores cuando te enseña que so far we look at this.
01:14Gotham, Washington, North Carolina, Utah, San Diego, Portland, Kansas City, and Seattle in the top eight.
01:21And just there dancing in the midnight, Angel City Football Club.
01:26Look at this. Tied in points.
01:29Two games in hand for Angel City.
01:31Everything going on their way to put themselves there and then overtake Kansas City, Portland,
01:37and then feel comfy there in the playoffs.
01:39Talk to me. What is the future of Angel City Football Club?
01:44OK, I'll give it to you.
01:46The question was, can they make a push to the playoffs?
01:48And I think absolutely, yes, they can.
01:50And I think they're actually trending up.
01:53We know out of the last five games, they've only won two, unfortunately.
01:57But those two games were really big statement wins.
02:01We know that ACFC beat Boston Legacy 5-2, which was a big statement win on the road.
02:08They also won 2-0 over San Diego Wave, which is not an easy team to beat.
02:13I think, you know, they've had a tough stretch of fixtures.
02:16They've played some really good teams.
02:18But I think now we're really going into, you know, hopefully a new era for them.
02:23They have a little bit of cushion under them in between, you know, the teams just below them in the
02:28standing.
02:28So if they got the win this weekend and keyword on the if, I think they are definitely, you know,
02:33a real shot at getting into the playoffs and staying in playoff standing.
02:37We can see exactly what is happening with ACFC.
02:42Look at the defending stats.
02:4466% accuracy.
02:45Not bad.
02:46You know, it has to get better, but not terrible.
02:48But when you see their accuracy on attacking, that's really where you lose games and lose important points that get
02:54you there.
02:55The performance, like you said, has been hopeful, has been something to be looking forward to.
03:04But the attack has been dismal, not only this season, but in the past.
03:09Traditionally, they have struggled to find that deadly, deadly striker that puts them on there.
03:15The passing is great.
03:17Like you said, the midfield is working.
03:18The defensive aspect of the team is growing game after game.
03:22But we don't seem to match the power there.
03:26I also think, like you said, we with the loss, Melissa Thompson, a phenomenal player who we know got traded
03:31to Chelsea earlier this year.
03:33It was a huge loss for them.
03:36Also, well, let me stop you right there because you bring an excellent point.
03:40They part ways with the most promising player in all of the league.
03:45Alyssa Thompson, without a doubt.
03:47That's why Chelsea scooped her away for over a million dollars.
03:50But on the other side, you have a team that is fighting the top places, you know, Washington spirit, that
03:57did everything they could to retain Trinity Rodman, another probably the most famous player in the league right now.
04:03Very similar to Alyssa Thompson.
04:05Maybe Alyssa Thompson's ceiling is a little higher because she's younger.
04:08But Trinity Rodman is deep.
04:10She is she.
04:12You know, that she is a player that is a reference for the United States national team.
04:16She's a reference for the league.
04:18They made a law.
04:20They made a rule for her to stay in the league.
04:22Why is ACFC with so much money in the in the bank not doing this effort to retain top players?
04:29Yeah, I mean, that's a really great, great question.
04:32Honestly, I don't I don't know.
04:34I think this is just I think also honestly, she's that we know Alyssa Thompson is an L.A. native
04:39growing up here her whole life.
04:40It is also important for a lot of player development, right, to go into Europe.
04:44So I think probably personally, she did probably made that push that she wanted to go.
04:49And I think that ACFC had already been spending so much money on the team as a whole.
04:54I just don't think they had it in their budget, to be quite honest.
04:57You know, that's exactly what I'm saying.
04:59The defense in the midfield, they're doing their job.
05:01They're holding these big teams to to draws and to scoreless games.
05:05But, you know, we don't have that power up front.
05:08Absolutely.
05:08But I also think going into and going into September, we have two home games back to back.
05:14We know ACFC does have a fairly strong fan base.
05:17And this is going to make all the difference, especially for Seattle and Denver coming to play at home.
05:22So I think the tide might be changing and we can take advantage of the fact that we are playing
05:27at home.
05:28It's going to make the whole difference, especially that big game going against, like we can see it here, Washington
05:33Spirit and Gotham.
05:34We're going to need to be in really good shape when we go up against these top two teams.
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