PBP: 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship: USA vs. Honduras 11/19 8:00 ET

AAAAAAH! Honduras were doing the classical keep the ball in the opposition's corner flag. As if they were trying to maintain a one goal advantage.

 

A concacaf underdog that just needs to lose by less than 4 is a terrible recipe for a match.

 

1-0 US Full Time

The second half was a weird viewing experience with Honduras mostly content to let the US pass the ball around in their own half, take the 1-0 loss, and the trip to the World Cup.

US take on Mexico in the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Final Wednesday at 7:00 eastern.

 

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Game over. I have never seen Honduras play so pathetic a match. I suppose there was a point to it. The one time they went on the offensive they were promptly scored upon.

 

US vs Honduras comparison:
Shots 12 to 2
Corners 5 to 0
Possession 66% to 34 %

 

We didn't play to our standard but I think Akinola deserves the honor.

 

CONCACAF Soufflé?

 

Richards has been very impressive and extremely clean on the ball. Gloster was excellent. Pomykal showed the most intent. Most of everyone else was........ pedestrian.

From a prospect point of view, Rennicks and Soto offer an interesting comparison (I would say that there is no comparison between Sargent and Soto at this point). Rennicks is a much more active player and would have been a more effective player to start this game against a Honduras side playing so defensively. Soto likes to stay centrally and wait for plays to develop around him. Rennicks is quicker and, I think, a better dribbler. They both look to combine with teammates, but Soto likes to the person being combined with while Rennicks likes to initiate the combo. Soto is much more of a finesse player. Rennicks' game intelligence is approaching brilliant. I'm not sure yet how Soto really reads the game. Soto appears slightly more technical and creative than Rennicks.

 

At least they didn't hack the crap out of our players. All things considered I'd rather play to a drab 1-0 win than have Honduras kick and injure our players for 90 minutes like Costa Rica. But yeah...it was somewhat ridiculous that Honduras was playing not to lose 4-0.

I thought our backline looked outstanding. Dest and McKenzie are very good prospects. Richards was big and imposing, but not quite as comfortable in possession. Gloster was fine.

Mendez has received a lot of hype on these boards, but I feel like I'm missing something. What are the strengths in his game that have people so excited? He looked relatively anonymous today (neither particularly good nor bad). Was this just an off day?

 

The jury will be out on Mendez for some time. He is a very good player and a big prospect, but he has not been close to tested at the level that he will need to be in order to prove himself as a pro. His strength is in circulating the ball in relatively tight areas (absolutely crucial for a good 8). He probably doesn't have the creative chops to be a 10, but he will get the ball into good situations for his team all day long. This is something that is extremely valuable when done at a high level, but the center midfielders might be the most difficult to judge in terms of whether their skill will translate to higher levels since their play revolves around so many variables that are out of their control.

 

Highlights: With a 1-0 victory over @FenafuthOrg, @ussoccer_ynt advances to the #CU20 final!

Resumen: ¡Con una victoria de 1-0 sobre Honduras, Estados Unidos avanza a la final de #CU20! https://t.co/eM6gjzwLRU

— Concacaf (@Concacaf) November 20, 2018

 

Yes, I agree that it will take time to see how Mendez is developing. He was less active tonight, but even so I noticed a few instances where he had recognized double teams and got out. He sent a nice through ball that the alert GK picked off, but the pass was weighted nicely. His body language convinces me that he knows what he's supposed to do, where with some other MFs I feel less certain. Like everyone else there he's a work in progress, but the fact that Freiburg saw enough in him to sign him is encouraging. Stay tuned...

 

First time seeing him and not the best game for it, but I thought at least today, his touch and control were not very good. He had a few chances he did not trap well or mishit it.

 

You are right, I haven't seen enough of him but so far he is not doing what I would expect from his pedigree. Put it this way, if Sargent would be playing, he would either score or make the easy pass in the 1 vs the keeper and most likely Sargent would do better with the header opportunity that Soto had. Is early but I haven't seen him overpower any defender.

 

I thought Richards was very good at the CB spot. He is strong but not as thick as EPB. This time I was paying close attention to Servina, kid covers ground well and makes tackles like he is supposed to, his passing is above good but not excellent. He may just be the 6 we all are waiting for.

 

Like our formation under Sarachan, it never holds its shape.

 

does Ramos tend to overrate latino players?

he's included a lot of them in his teams and who of them has ever really made it as a pro let alone usmnter?

 

that’s not a requirement for being a good forward.

outquick, outsmart, outdribble, outposition maybe. but not overpower.

you can be a world class forward without being able to overpower a defender.