PBP: 2019 CONCACAF U17 Championship Semifinals: USA vs Canada 5/14 5:30 PM (ET)

Put out the back ups. Don't run these players into the ground. We can still beat Canada with the back ups.

Odunze
Cuevas-Gray-Alejandre-Tolkin
Kayo-Fuentes
De Vries-Busio-Freeman
Pepi

 

They're the best possible opponent in the tourney outside Mexico. The A side narrowly beat them and they were knocking at the door toward the end. Do you want to win this thing?

If the U.S. is going to rotate to try and be fresh enough against Mexico, at most they could rest half their starters, and have subs on the ready if they falter. That's more how players should be rested. Pull attackers early, after you get control.

 

I don't think we should play the starters three games in five days. I'd want to win the tournament and play Mexico in the final, but I think you have to rest them one of these upcoming matches.

I'd rather rest them against Canada. I think Mexico is the team where we want our starters out there and to see how we stack up to a high level opponent. If we don't get to the final, we still qualified for the main tournament. I also don't think using the back ups means we won't win. I'm not convinced that Canada is some great team.

 

Canada played us without their top 3 players. They just decided to sacrifice that game and won't do that again. They'll run our back ups off the field.

 

Agreed. I think we'll do better than we did the first time around because the team's been playing much better since that first game.

I hope Yow and co. have their finishing cleats on, because I don't want to sweat this one out. Canada can hit you on the counter, as we saw.

 

Yes Canada didn't play with their best offensive players against the US. But they did play against Costa Rica and Curacao. Given the extra time played today, I can't see all of them playing again on Tuesday.

 

Why not? They don't play them and they are out; they do and we play back ups, their chances to get to the finals above 50%. And then everything can happen.

 

The U.S will easily win the semi final.

Canada's strategy is to boot it in the general direction of Jayden Nelson and hope he beats several players on his own and score.

Despite having players who are capable of keeping possession and using combination play, the coach clearly doesn't seem to want to see it.

Additionally, the Canadian backline, especially the left side is weak.

Prediction USA 3 Canada 1

 

Is it a trap?

 

You sneak, you're going for that reverse-jinx, aren't you? You said this last time!

 

The early lead last time was a fluke. I was correct about our crappy defending and lack of tactics.

Ironically, if Canada had a competent coach that encouraged combination play, possession and knew how to pick a left full back who isn't bad, I'd be unsure of a prediction.

 

Given all the years of ineptitude and non-qualifying that Canada has gone through, both at the senior and youth levels, I can understand your frustration, but they qualified! That's reason enough to celebrate. And they'll have time to improve their play over the next few months. Canada will be a more competitive force in CONCACAF going forward.

 

I think the key to this one will be getting @bungadiri involved early, settling any possible disputes about the starting time, and correcting the thread title (should that be necessary). I don't expect Canada to present any problem, unless our team is overly confident.

 

I'm a big fan of Canada, its good natured people and its stunning natural beauty (especially out west). Really happy that they qualified and that things are looking up in general for our brothers north of the wall.

In this game however, I think we'd all like to see us take them behind the old maple shed and beat them like a red-headed hoser riding a rented moose, eh?

 

Our backups are very close if not better than our first team players.
It won't be a total backup lineup but I do believe Wicky will still use the lineup rotation philosophy he has used so successfully in this tournament. We probably will see Cuevas and Tolkien who I think are good, Kayo, Freeman, Pepi who were subs. Reyna and Busio did come out of the game early so they don't have a full 90 on them 2 days ago.

 

@CANPRO aka "The Canadian @ussoccer97531 "

 

I'm not all too pessimistic about our youth teams. I think I rate our youth player pool higher than most, but this age group is the exception.

 

I disagree, I don't think Cuevas, Tolkien, Kayo and Freeman are good. Pepi is good, but not as good as AOC here. In general unlike the previous team we have very short bench on this one. Take Leyva, AOC, Kobe, Busio, Saldana and Reyna of the field and not much left.

 

Tolkien is better than Armour. Kayo had a bad few minutes vs Panama but he has played very well during the tournament. Some mentioned Cuevas being MOTM for his game earlier. I don;t buy it but what the heck. They won't take all of them off some but not all. Its called rotation not sitting all the starters. Fuentes will start. Have you watched the tournament? We have played everyone and played well except 1st half of Canada getting our feet wet and now you say they subs aren't good despite many of them playing well.

 

Yes, I have. We are OK. Beating the minnows, struggled against the only decent team.
It wasn't just the first half. We didn't create anything, scored from well prepared standards. Good for us. When Reyna scored the third goal and Canadians subbed Nelson in, we barely survived the last 15 minutes. Needed a great save from Las and help from the crossbar.
Did you watch the games? Can you honestly say that we are much better than Canada?

 

In that game we were not much better than Canada. But this is five games later, and the team has had a lot of time to cohere and play with the organization and discipline they lacked in that opening game. I don't think either the pessimists or the optimists on this thread are clearly right. It could be the case that Canada will expose us again because we haven't played a team of their caliber since that first game. It could also well be that we have improved since then and will outclass Canada. I know which one I hope is true, but I also wouldn't bet anything on that being the outcome.

 

The only Canadians I want to do well at the moment are the ones on the Sharks.

 

I don't think you can often play with 30 percent possession, score on 2/3 chances, and win very often. If the US, particularly Yow, had finished their chances in front of goal, this wouldn't even be an issue whatsoever.