2019 U17 World Cup cycle

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by kba4life1, Oct 22, 2017.

  1. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Ok. Pepi is making runs, but you need other guys to do it to. If Pepi is drawing a CB, Busio has to run into that space. Lots of standing around. But the team had hardly played much and never with Wicky.
     
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  2. Peretz48

    Peretz48 Member+

    Nov 9, 2003
    Los Angeles
    Check out @BlackYellow’s Tweet:
     
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  3. dougtee

    dougtee Member+

    Feb 7, 2007
    why is the dortmund announcement taking so long?
     
  4. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    Well it was only a few weeks ago that he secured his Portuguese passport, which allows him to be with the club as a minor. So it might be that they're still going through the registration process.

    Wouldn't surprise me at this point if the club holds off until the present season ends before they acknowledge he's officially with them .
     
  5. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    How quaint!
     
  6. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Reyna played better against Portual than he did against Canada.
     
  7. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #932 TarHeels17, May 5, 2019
    Last edited: May 5, 2019


    A fun video to lighten up the mood in here and meet the kids a little.

    Edit: I should warn it's 70% F2, 20% Kobe, Pepi, and Leyva, and 10% of that Canadian winger.
     
  8. zlebmada

    zlebmada Member

    United States
    Jan 16, 2018
    I thought the performance tonight was pretty encouraging. Reyna was on the left wing most of the game and he thrived out there. I don't think many U17 international right backs will be able to stop him. Hard to judge completely, but Cuevas looked like solid competition for Scally at right back. Yow's problems with technique and decision-making were still there to some degree, but he scored two well-taken goals, buzzed around and created danger. Gray and Alejandre looked (mostly) solid at centerback, which hopefully opens the door for Kobe to play at left back, where I think he could really tilt games in our favor. Kayo had some bright moments. I'm not a huge Saldana fan (he does nothing to key the attack) but was impressed tonight. Just a quiet ball-winner, and reliable in possession. Leyva was a spark when he came on, and got an assist.

    I don't think Armour is good enough for this team. Not terrible, but just too limited. And it's concerning that we can't get Pepi on track. He's been a little loose on the ball and he's not in sync with Reyna and Yow (or really anyone else). He did look frustrated at the end of the game. Hopefully he can get a goal soon and get more comfortable. Another nice goal from AOC though. He's had a good tournament and I assume will start up top against Guadeloupe.
     
  9. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    For me, I do worry about this team defensively. I see routine mistakes that haven't been punished against the competition we've been playing so far. Perhaps won't be exposed until we get to the semifinals.

    Pepi is a mystery. He is one of the youngest members of this squad. Perhaps part of the issue is that in the group phase our competition really played with almost 11 guys behind the ball. He was just in a thicket of defenders, and the service wasn't really getting to him. I think we start him against Guadaloupe to try to "get him right." Try to have him score there as a confidence builder. If he doesn't, I don't start him against Panama/Guatemala in the quarters.

    I saw this comment from Buzz, and I think its right on. Based on the talent in the group, that can get us thru the quarterfinals. The one really nice goal/play yesterday was when Seattle teammates Leyva and AOC hooked up in the box. I just don't necessarily see that a cohesion has been built yet that will result in winning the tournament. New coach. Players that don't play together in residency as in previous groups. But hey, that's what the group phase was for.

     
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  10. zlebmada

    zlebmada Member

    United States
    Jan 16, 2018
    I think Buzz is being a tad harsh, but yeah, not much in the way of intricate combination in the attacking third until Leyva came on.
     
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  11. Pegasus

    Pegasus Member+

    Apr 20, 1999
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I saw players looking for players they've played with before. No one looked for Pepi even when a simple pass was the better choice than a hard angle shot. Yow could have 2-3 assists per game if he would look to pass half the time. He only does that if Reyna is there. This is the downside of no Bradenton. Oh, and while I admired their endurance can those drummers play more than one thing?
     
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  12. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is the best lineup going forward imo:

    --------------Pepi
    --AOC--------------Reyna-----
    -------GB/AS---Fuentes
    KHF--------Leyva--------Cuevas
    ---------Gray-----Scally---------------
    ---------------Las-----------------------

    * Busio should start against the worse teams, Saldana against the better ones, for proper attack/defense requirements.
    * Fuentes is key to serving the fw's because you're not going to get as much from them directly. And he can put the wings in position to shoot one touch shoot or pass which they're more capable of when they're not dribbling. The option of breaking down the d off the dribble can still be there when the defense is bunkered.
     
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  13. zlebmada

    zlebmada Member

    United States
    Jan 16, 2018
    There is a distinct lack of chemistry between Pepi and Reyna/Yow. Not sure any one of them is particularly at fault, but it seems like a real thing.
     
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  14. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    They just haven't built up much chemistry it seems.
    Pepi is a relatively new addition to the U17 squad, correct? How many U17 caps did he have prior to this event? And I wonder if a player like Reyna was at the same camps Pepi was in.

    Ricardo Pepi is currently the leading scorer in USL League One. As a 16 year old. They haven't gotten very far into the season, but that's true nonetheless. He's certainly capable of scoring against CONCACAF U17 teams.
     
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  15. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    I noticed at the Generation Adidas Cup that Fuentes has really improved his ability to show for the pass at the right time and get on the ball as the #10. The USA has historically struggled playing through the middle of the field and I think Fuentes movement and touches can really help take some defensive pressure off the #9. Also I’m concerned that they will rely on long passing out of the back too much if the center mid is invisible.
     
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  16. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    So far...............Fuentes has been the surprise for me at this tournament. He's really improved since the last time I saw him.
     
  17. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I see a lot of the same things I saw with Ocampo-Chavez's supposed struggles at the Nike Friendlies. This team does not have a playmaker. Reyna, Busio, Freeman, Yow, De Vries are all capable of the occasional attacking chance that they create for a teammate, but none are the types of players that look likely to ever be very high on the assist charts. Fuentes is considered a playmaker, but I've never thought he possessed better than slightly above average playmaking. He's more Amaya or Zelalem than Carleton or Mendez, and I don't mean based on talent, I mean based on style of play.

    The striker in this team is not going to score a lot of goals. This team is not built to score many goals, and its not all too talented in the offensive third. There's a lack of ideas and talent, along with any cohesion problems. The goal totals of the striker, whether Ocampo-Chavez or Pepi, will always be lower than what they would be with different players around them. Its no coincidence that these are two incredibly prolific scorers at club level, yet struggle in this team.

    This is also part of why I think the Ocampo-Chavez criticism about USL performances falls on its face. If the striker is not going to get service and is only going to get a handful or two of touches a half because his team cannot move the ball past midfield, how much can you blame the striker? Tacoma is not only bad, they never possess the ball. You might as well not even follow the contributions of Ocampo-Chavez, Diaz, Vargas, Gonzalez, Robles in that team. Every contribution they make will be less than it could be if the team was better.

    The same thing applies to the Atlanta USL team and one or two others. I've watched all five of Carleton's USL appearances this season. Two were definite MOTM performances, another he wasn't MOTM but in the top few performances on the field, and the other two games he couldn't have reached 20 touches because his team couldn't get the ball to midfield without losing it. What can you expect? The games his team had the ball, he played extremely well. When they didn't, he lacked touches and therefore couldn't have played that well. I think context of the game flow is often missed when evaluating the performances of young attackers.
     
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  18. Hiddy Ho

    Hiddy Ho New Member

    Dortmund
    Germany
    Feb 5, 2019
    Don't necessarily agree with you totally in this case, but please stop questioning any aspect of his play and get your mind right. Top three most sacred of the national team's sacred cows for the last 3-4 years. Routine saves are spectacular/good saves are superhuman/goals against by definition un-saveable by any other GK. Gush, rinse, repeat.
     
  19. TarHeels17

    TarHeels17 Member+

    Jan 10, 2017
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, but how do you really feel.
     
  20. LuckofLichaj

    LuckofLichaj Member+

    Mar 9, 2012
    A MIDFIELDER who needs service either isn’t a very good player or in Carleton’s case, an extreme specialist. His managers have so far decided that he’s not a young Wesley Sneijder or anything close to that. He’s going to struggle to carve out a career no matter where he goes.
     
  21. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I made a long post about the U-17 NT with a brief mention towards a related example, and here you are trying to drag Carleton through the mud. It really is crazy how much some of you hate this kid. It's absolutely non stop, and says a lot about those who spew this hate.

    Do you have anything to say about the point I was making? If not, save yourself a reply.
     
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  22. zlebmada

    zlebmada Member

    United States
    Jan 16, 2018
    It is interesting that Leyva, who I definitely think of as more of a 6 than a 10, has been the most consistent playmaker for this squad in this tournament. There just may not be a real playmaker at this age group (just as there wasn't in the '99 cycle outside of Pulisic), though by the time the 2021 U20 World Cup rolls around maybe someone will emerge.
     
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  23. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I think Mario Penagos is the best eligible central playmaker in the 2002 year, but he only has a few caps this cycle, and probably is being overlooked because he doesn't play for an MLS academy. Even so, he's more in the upgrade category for our playmaking depth than a great prospect who is going to be a huge difference maker. I think its going to come down to whether Nyeman gets citizenship before the U-17 WC. He's a difference-making playmaker.

    This age group had a good playmaker, but he's playing for El Tri. Sometimes that happens. You produce good players, and they decide to play for other countries. I'd rather that than a whole age group not producing a single high-level CAM. If that was the case, there would be a lot more worry about our player development.
     
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  24. Lookingforleftbacks

    Galaxy
    United States
    Dec 17, 2016
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One of the things I noticed when I watched the Guadeloupe game a second time, and it’s something I’ve kind of seen but hadn’t really put my finger on the exact reason why, is this team seems to carefully avoid passing the ball up the middle of the field. Leyva kept showing for the ball and was completely ignored. He didn’t receive a single pass in the first 15 minutes and only started seeing the ball when he drifted to the touchline. It seems like everyone is scared of the defense closing in on the ball and no one has the confidence in their passing ability or their teammates’ ability to receive a pass and distribute the ball, so they will make the easy pass sideways or opt for the diagonal ball if they want to move it forward.

    It’s not just the passing (or lack thereof) that’s at fault. There is a considerable lack of movement off the ball if and when the ball does come somewhere near the middle of the field.

    I know this is something that comes with coaching, and obviously it hasn’t been instilled in this team yet, but this is something that has followed players like Busio and Reyna to this point. But drifting around is a specialty for a guy like Pepi, and not being able to do that, as well as not getting the ball when he does do it, easily explains why he’s been mostly a ghost this tournament.

    The way it’s supposed to work is right at 1:46 of this clip from Shaft:



    That’s the way it’s supposed to look. A slicing pass from Saldaña, a pass Pepi can run to from Leyva. It’s been too few and far between this tournament. Busio can’t make that pass that Leyva does, and Fuentes has barely played. Plus, the CBs have to look for that pass that Saldaña made more often. Obviously the defense is pretty bad in this clip, but it’s not like there haven’t been other opportunities to carve up bad defense. There also haven’t been many quick one touch passing attacks through the middle. What few there have been have again gone through Leyva. IMO the entire offense needs to start going through him.
     
  25. asoc

    asoc Member+

    Sep 28, 2007
    Tacoma
    You know I have issues with some of your strong views. But your post was a good post and wasn't deserving of someone trying to troll over Carleton.
     
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