It is not really unusual but Canada is dirtying up the game a bit. Some of the fouls are more than a bit dirty. Also some of the play off the ball is not clean either. Canada fouls badly in the Mexican box and the they are surprised when Huitema's goal is not allowed.
End of first half. 1-0 for Mexico. The intensity of the game has picked up a lot but, considering where it started, that is the only way it could go.
Still not persuaded if it's worth my loss of sleep. I am inclined to go to bed and to discover tomorrow in the morning if Mexico managed to maintein the advantage or if Canada could somehow come back.
Well I wish this was something like USA vs Japan. That match could be boring and still interesting but they both have gone home so our hope for such a meeting will involve older ladies and be during next summer.
I am quite disappointed in Canada's adjustment in the second half. They really have changed nothing except they picked up the intensity a bit for five or ten minutes but now they have fallen back to "defense first" and "make bad/stupid passes." It is not hard to change things but it looks to me like Canada's coach has talked the players out of any chance taking.
Canada is trying very hard to just give Mexico the game. They should have a red card (Shaw) for intent to injure (the ref missed the serious foul play but it was caught on video) and there should have been another PK on an intentional foul from behind in the box. The referee seems to be oblivious to a lot of Canada's fouling.
Shaw should've been red carded for unsporting behaviour and brutality (kicking opponent without the ball) referee couldn't see it but replay has caught it..
The game is over with the only goal coming from a PK. I think Mexico has no chance to beat Spain. Also in the third place game Canada should win BUT Canada has shown a pretty good ability to do stupid things and lose when they should win.
Neither team played well, so Spain should easily have the title. But kudos to Mexico to reach their first ever World Cup final at any level. Must be a huge boost after failing to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
From what you guys wrote, it looks like going to bed and missing 2nd half was a wise decision from my part. Everything had already happened and apparently the 45 additional minutes were just much of the same (including Canada's tendency to thuggerie). Stranger things have happened in football, but frankly I can't even start to imagine how Spain could ever manage to lose this much deserve title. I hope I am not jinxing them, of course, and the game anyway needs to be played out, but Spain seems to me vastly superior to all of the other teams at this U-17 WWC.
Highlights from the semifinals: - New Zealand-Spain. Observations: I actually hadn't noticed that the chance for NZ in 1st half had been deflected on the crossbarr by Cata Coll with the tip of her hand: I had figured it had hit the woodwork directly; great piece of goalkeeping instead. NZ's GK Leit was one of the few actually crying players from her team after the game: another sign of her quality, if you ask me; she has motivation and drive to win, no matter how low the chances are for are team. Interestingly, both assists for Spain's goals were by... Hannah Maccay-Wright. This DF (who had also scored an awkward own-goal vs Japan) seems unable to sweep a ball well far from her box to save her life: she usually prefers to serve it on the foot of an opponent. One could wonder what NZ could have done with a DF who was more competent then her in its line-up: - Mexico-Canada. Observations: it looks like FIFA didn't know how to fill the 2:20 minutes of these highlights and judging from them Canada did absolutely nothing, except that disaster of a foul by Maya Antoine that decided the game (the player is to blame twice: firstly for carelessly losing the ball in front of the box and secondly for chasing the player and fouling her in the box in a so clear and blatant way that no ref on earth could have denied the PK). In the light of a discussion we had on these boards some months ago (during U-20 WWC) about the word "lively", I'll notice that in these highlights the announcer mentions "lively winger Natalia Mauleon", apparently with a positive connotation.
could you expand on "single style"? because watching the full Canada-Germany & Meixco vs Ghana games, I saw several different styles employed; especial like Germany in the 1st half, to the defensive classic two sets of straight lines to clamp down the passing lines, which kept the game at 0-0. But then in the 2nd half, they came out & played which I personally call the Jorgie style(named after their horror of a coach of the the men's NT) sending sheer numbers into the attack while leaving leaving the flanks completely undefended, which of course led to several counterattacks from CA btw..........while Mexico seemingly might not produce a high caliber style or players, I was impressed how they swarmed like buzzing bees all over the place, double, triple teaming any Canadian that had the ball, whether their defender, mid or attacker(and i thought they would only double team, Huitema). To do this for 90 min/plus, shows that they were really well conditioned & you got to finally give credit to the Liga MX femenil, got the feeling a lot of these 15-17 year olds are starters in their famed 1st division league
Spain has good number of quality players, posses tactical depth and experience. Mexico's strong on stamina, discipline and cohesiveness. Spain's favourite on paper but I wouldn't dismiss Mexico chances. Final Match has it's own rules.
I use the US as the example of things going wrong with the "Single style" idea. The US has presented it as a good thing that they are shoehorning every youth national side into playing the same formation (4-3-3) in the same way. That means that if they have a team with players that would be better suited in a traditional 4-4-2 or a team that has three exceptional defenders that are not really attack minded and a number of real good mids and could play an attacking minded 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 and attack up the middle they still have to play a 4-3-3 and attack up the wings. What I am arguing for is that each team should play a system based on the strengths of the players and the coaches should teach soccer. It is quite clear from play around the world that players are quite able to play multiple systems and locking them into one at any level is counter productive. The US has limited the development of the national team by saying that they must play each team the same way and any other team that tries the same thing will, I believe, see their youth sides fail like the US has. The fact that the senior team has continued to do well is NOT a reflection of the US's single style at the youth level it is in spite of it. In the US we are fortunate to have a well developed system where the kids play on club, high school and college teams and they are exposed to different styles and formations and duties and that is the advantage we have enjoyed. A "single style" system is just the way clubs or national teams allow coaches to be lazy and limit the overall development of the players. In other words it places the youth teams on a path to mediocrity. In the single style systems players and coaches can still adapt within the overall system. The difference in how "adapting" takes place is like the difference in adaptation in classical music and in jazz. At their best they are both great but in classical the structure comes first and then the musician and in jazz it is mostly the other way around and I think that the system played in soccer should resemble jazz more than classical. Single style systems are supposed to make it easier on the players to move between teams but what it really does is make the job easier for the coaches and often make players that are good but do not fit the system sit or even not be selected.
I'm pretty sure that English is standard in FIFA competitions. In rugby, I've seen one player act as translator to those who don't understand English, such as Argentine ex captain Agustín Creevy.
Yes, English is standard. And sometimes no one translates, especially at U-17 level. I saw a France v England game played in Spain at that level and it was funny on that side.
the US is a bad example cuz most of their players are used to American ball than FIBA ball at this age group, Not just the unlimited sub rule, but many states ban slide tackling at this age. Plus it's hard to find who exactly are the best players in the country are among the 1000 plus mom & pop select clubs in the country, Looking at the best US showing ever at u17, the 2008 finals very few of those rostered would make it as senior squad regulars(only S Mewis, Brian & Dunn) Previous Tournaments - FIFA.com as comparison the 3rd & 4th place finishers, half of the German & England rosters for that year are on their current NT. Only watching the US/Germany highlights of this year, the US playing a lot like Ellis does,;high back line to condense & press to just half a field up front. But then weren't disciplined enough to keep the back line straight which resulted in several counters & goals. This, made by several Germans who play all ready in the Bundesliga 1st division. Playing at the top division ball, is exactly why the Mexicans are doing so well. So just saying, at this age group, the US has a lot of catching up to do/irregardless what style they use/ But keep in mind, the favorites Spain, seemed to have been dominating the youth market(they made it to the semis all ready back in 2010) have so far failed to impress at the senior level
Going to miss the final, tonight, or at least a good part of it. I anyway state here that, despite having a family of close friends who are half-Mexican, I am going to root for Spain. I anyway hope it will be a nice game.
Two English speaking countries (If you call what they speak in New Zealand "English") are playing in the third place match and two Spanish speaking countries (If you call what they speak in Mexico "Spanish") are playing in the final. I wonder if there is any significance in that. It is said that to understand a culture you must understand the language of that culture I wonder if that same saying applies at all to a "soccer culture."
Yeah, again they scored quick in replay but goal was not allowed because of unnecessary foul on NZ goalie (same player I believe as in Mexico game).
I have to go out right now, so I can't follow the games. Should NZ win, would it be the first placement ever in a (non-OFC) international tournament for a New Zealand's football team, men or women alike?