I never underestimate Mexico. Yes, we may win, but just look at the goal Alvarez scored- just one lazy play in the back and in the goal it goes. They know how to punish mistakes. We can't have poor touches, errant passes, etc.
Have you seen him unable to score empty netter from 5 yard after another lazy play at the end of the first half?
Haiti GK made a great reaction save. Alvarez took too long to shoot. I'm sure their coaches will let him know.
I hope after this game everybody stops being over critical. One real bad half this whole tourney and dominated the rest. The coach really helped get all of the talent to gel. Reyna, Pepi, Scally, Las, Odunze, Kobe-Foster, Leyva, Ocampos-Chavez, Busio, Gray all have top 4 league potential easy. And there are also more players who have NT potential if they develop their games. I think this group has great knowledge of how to play the game. As somebody mentioned before the academy system is working. Also technically this team is pretty astute for a youth team, and not every attacking player who doesn't have neymar tricks isn't technically able cough busio.
Am I missing where the thread for the final v Mexico is? I realize it lies with others to be tha Threadstarter but I am itching for trash-talk and other delicious pre-Clasico charla, which still applies at the u17 level methinks.
Peter, Mind if I press you on this? Many other athletes can play three games in 5 days (thinking basketball in particular) on a consistent basis. Why is it different for soccer? Maybe because soccer players run about 7 miles per game and NBA about 2.5? That would make sense to me - I'd be particularly concerned about midfielders. Thanks.
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2019/05/14/23/26/20190514-recap-u17mnt-vs-canada-cu17-semifinals "The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team rode a dominant second-half performance to a 4-0 defeat of Canada in the semifinals of the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship. A brace from Ricardo Pepi, as well as goals from Bryang Kayo and Gio Reyna saw the USA book its place in Thursday’s final (7 p.m. ET; UDN, Concacaf Facebook) ..." v Mexico, a 1-0 winner over Haiti.
I just want everyone to know that if we win tomorrow, the the region is holding us back and we need to merge with CONMEBOL, but if we lose, American soccer is, truly, at a crossroads.
I'd like to point out how good Wicky is rotating this squad. Normally coaches use about 14-15 players every game and they get worn out. Wicky seems to realize that the backups are better than the starters at 75% because they're exhausted. Not sure I remember even the full team coaches doing this better.
If we win tomorrow, the US will hold the CONCACAF U17 title, CONCACAF U20 title, and Gold Cup title simultaneously for a little while. And yet we'll still all be whining about what a terrible state US Soccer is in.
Don't forget the Trilateral Commission of Garber, SUM, and MLS that controls everything behind the scenes.
The funny thing is that first half of the first game against Canada wasn't nearly as bad as people are saying. Canada scored two really good goals on the two chances they had within a 90 second span. That happens sometimes. The US wasn't breaking them down consistently, but they stayed patient, kept the ball moving and carved out some chances of their own. They showed poise and confidence and came out in the second half and did the job. The first half was not beautiful, but it was far from dreadful at the same time. Those saying this squad is not very talented are missing the boat, I think. I'm so glad Mexico was able to squeak by Haiti last night even though they didn't deserve it based on the balance of the game. Now, we get to watch another Mexico youth team pack it in against a US team that they know is superior. I expect the game to look a lot like the U20 final. The balance of power is shifting in CONCACAF, and it's been blatantly obvious over the last two+ years at the youth levels. Also, Efra's coming back after the U17 World Cup......
Well, yeah. Thus we have to merge with CONMEBOL, since we're obviously way too good at this level and we'll never be challenged ever again.
forever in battle with Big 4 players who only viewed as better than MLS-lifers because of magic Euro pixie dust. Everyone in MLS can step into the UCL cuz Adams did. Hmmm, snarky sentences sure are fun.
Basically everything bad is Garber's fault or anything good happened despite MLS. Am I doing this right?
I know you are all being snarky and all that but seriously, this group is making MLS academies look very good.
Yep - as long every MLS player is actually better than players in the Big 4 and that Garber’s takes are correct: moving overseas as a youth prospect is utter stupidity vs staying in MLS. "I insist that everyone who is paid to work in this sport [by USSF] align with the vision that US Soccer and MLS remain "inextricably linked" in order to grow the game in the US." Fun!
Some of them anyway...................... I think a team made up of members from the FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, and Seattle Sounders academies alone could have gotten the US team qualified for the World Cup. Such was the surprisingly poor level of competition at this event, and the quality coming out of those academies in this age group. I know we were nervous, but we qualified for the World Cup with ease. After the first little stretch against Canada in the first game, I never felt this level of competition was a threat to us. One aspect I'm excited about is that the quality of the players LEFT OFF this roster is high. Our pool is deeper than its ever been. Now, whether there are elite international caliber players/prospects in the group is a different question. One could make the easy argument that George Bello is the best player in his position amongst this age group. He didn't even play at this event. If he didn't have his injury issues, I think he's already starting for Atlanta this season.
You’ve got it. Larger field with few stoppages. Basketball is on a court with lots of rest. For top players, if you do not get 48 hours rest minimum before you train again, you are creating a deficit that you will pay for, one way or another. The other side of the issue is communication - the highest form of the game. There is a reason that Messi is so much less of a player with Argentina than Barcelona. Technically and tactically, he is the same player. The only difference is communication with his teammates which, in the case of Argentina’s team, is particularly poor - just look at the technical and tactical (players from the best teams in the best leagues all over the world) level of the players verses their results. As a coach, do you disrupt the high level of communication amongst your best players in order to rotate the roster so that players can be rested? Both decisions are bad choices - each with consequences that the coach will ultimately have to pay. At the end of the day, a coach has to respect the physiology or else the physiology will remind him the hard way. But do we really want to watch a tournament based on who makes the least bad choices? The best tournaments are decided by making good choices, but to have a tournament like that, you have to plan for it. This one wasn’t planned to be a great tournament. We may overcome that with more better players, but it impacts the level of play.
One thing I will say Peter, if you’re going to play games this close together then this age group and a few years younger are the ones to do it. They have pretty amazing abilities to recover. I have a best friend who’s son is 15 and may end up getting to the national level soon. I watched him play up to 4-5 games a weekend during the season while being on multiple teams (they weren’t all 90 minute games). His dad was concerned about it at first but the kid begged to get on the field as much as possible. It’s like he had to run a marathon every weekend to feel happy. The kid ate right and stayed healthy while enjoying playing as many games as possible. I swear he was a guest player at tournaments for 6-8 teams last year alone. Some just have the stamina for that kind of competition.