As far as Las goes I have some quite serious questions about his footwork. His first step seems to be either wrong or too tentative. First step is one part of a goalkeeper's attributes that is either natural or it is not and because it is happening at such a basic level it is very very hard to correct through training but it can be corrected. The first time I saw Keller his first step was quite bad but he corrected it and pretty much overcame his initial problems. That is rare for a keeper and most will not work hard enough to correct the problems. As a disclaimer I have to say that the camera work I have seen him in was abysmal and too slow so I missed a lot that would have been shown by even decent camera work and there is little emphasis on coverage of the goalkeeping position so a lot could easily be missed. At this point I think he needs a great goalkeeper coach (or at least a real good one) and he needs to play a lot with that coach working with him all the time. In other words he needs to be in a place where he is the number one keeper and it does not matter much what level or age group he is playing with. He just needs playing time and coaching. Keepers can develop well even if playing with poor teams as did Brad Guzan when playing for Chivas USA. I just hope he goes somewhere where he plays and can develop his good habits and work out of the bad ones.
That is assuming that he has been trained correctly how to do that and that the players listen to him. In this case I think he unsighted himself and then took a slightly wrong first step as the ball became visible and then he could not make the strong move that was needed to make the save. The shot was good but savable on the correct reaction and dive. However the blame for this kind of goal sits squarely on the back of the training not on the keeper. Setting the wall and proper placement in goal (Which was also part of the problem) is easily taught to any keeper at any age and if the keeper failed then he was not trained correctly.
You should give more importance when he plays up, like with KC. The kid holds his own and works hard both side of the ball. I think he has a good chance to be a special player.
I see Soto as the second coming of Johannssen. 5'11, slight build not very fast but tricky up close. Sargent is 6'1 and about 15 pounds heavier than Soto that can play like Soto but with the added benefit of being stronger in tight areas with a better aerial game. Sargent seems to be a better link-man than Soto.
I "thought" I was mostly criticizing his training. I am sorry if I was misinterpreted but my only strong criticism of Las relates to his "first step" and that, if worked on correctly, can be corrected, probably. It is not really "bad" it is just a little off.
Overall things just looked off like a simulacrum. It looked like someone thinking they were doing a Pep impression when it was just as much FIFA 19. Just about the worst Brazil youth team I can remember, the thing they were best at was tactical fouling to prevent counters. The ref was an imbecile to not catch on, among other things. We faded late and really lost the plot in the final 10. Gio, like Claudio, is very good at using his body to maintain control but he can also run free once he has created separation. Needs to find the discernment that a Valeri (at least) has between going 1v1, shooting, playing someone in, and pulling it back and circulating. Seems to create the most running in transition or from the right side in or near the box. That creation from wide is how I saw Busio contributing the most, making runs and getting onto passes created by others. Unfortunately outside of that he was not good this game and I wanted to sub him for Saldana at 60 and go 4-1-2-3. Usually he’s better, especially from dead balls and receiving the ball and finding space to turn. Yow is not good enough progressing the ball up the left wing through passing. Mostly a runner, something like a more skilled Muyl. In the final third he needs to read when it’s not on and pull it back. Like the attitude, the willingness to push advantages. Pepi didn’t get much run this game, couldn’t build a rhythm. He had his one golden chance blocked on the line. Lanky but mobile enough. Gray, I like a lot of. I want to see an every touch video. I think he won a very high number of duels and his negative outcome ratio was low. He looks like a real DM, more Mascherano than Busquets. If we get think working better in the front 4/5 then having him will let us commit more numbers forward knowing he can chase into channels or step into midfield to clean up in the counter press. Like Reyna it looks like he knows how to use his body to separate his opponent from the ball. Stroud I liked last year and he had a couple of unforced errors but mixed in a lot of good play. He’s also something of a ball winner and has some on the ball quality. I don’t think he’s as smooth as Booth or with the range of Durkin. Armour was not as good today, primarily in attack. Had one good long run (ended by a cynical foul). I think he needs to accept he’s a more defensive fullback at this level and then just play quick and simple and wait to press real advantages. Scally also didn’t get much going in attack. He’s like what if Hollingshead had always been a fullback. He’s going to have a lot of defensive involvement and can create danger but it would be better for the team if he’s the less swashbuckling fullback. Judge also had a couple of errors that weren’t big. The biggest one from Hernandez was when he stepped into midfield and lost the ball, which was atypical because he looks very comfortable playing it out. There were a couple times Brazil got runs at gaps in the backline or the two CB’s doubled and we got lucky the ball didn’f fall to an attacker. Not sure the former is strictly their fault although I’m worried they can’t recover on a fast ST. Las was effective passing, especially up the middle past unrushing pressure, until the last 1/4 of the game, when he skewed some passes. Looks to have great hands and reactions. Stayed big on the rushes he faced. On the goal Brazil put two players in front of the wall to screen his view. He almost got it with his left hand, diving to the right.
A couple thoughts.... -Pepi looked tired. -Busio looked horrible. I mean, he had the goal, but besides that, he looked horrible. His first touch was shit, his passing and decision making were worse. But he had the goal. So.... there’s that. -I don’t know the first thing about goalkeeper footwork. Las’ reactions are fantastic. His positioning seems good and his decisions on when to come out and play the ball look perfect. His distribution is... inconsistent. Usually it’s good, but sometimes, he misplays a ball or rushes a pass and it goes right to the other team. -Armour was... an average prospect. I thought he was okay for the most part, but wasn’t fantastic. -I still think Scally is a nice player, but the type who makes one massive mistake per game. -Yow has some talent, but he needs to improve his ability to carry out the mundane as well as his final ball. His work rate and quickness are definite assets tho. -I’m no Stroud fan, but there was an incredibly obvious shift in momentum that happened the second he came off the pitch. I thought Gray was very good while Stroud was playing, but it looked like he struggled after Stroud came off. Why is it such a common theme now that all of our teams can’t score goals? Why does the federation seem proud of that?
Because the scoring of goals is hard and boring to practice and many/most coaches in the US don't or can't teach it well. I've seen good finishers all over the world practicing just one kind of finish over and over for hours working with only one or two other people and even with all that practice even the best players fail most of the time in game situations. I have seen very very few players on the US practicing away from team practice so they only improve slightly over time. Also defense is easier to play than offense (and defense is practiced in team practice exactly the way it is played in matches) so as defenses have become better so they can better shutdown attacks while the attacks themselves improve slower because the number of needed repetitions is much lower for defensive skills to be mastered than it is for offensive skills. We believe "practice makes perfect" but that is untrue. It is "perfect practice that makes perfect." In the US missing goal is acceptable as long as it is hit every once in a while. While that is mostly OK for game situations in practice missing goal or hitting the keeper should be unacceptable.
I think I disagree with everything you say, yet agree with it all, too. The lackadaisical attitude in MLS and the youth setup here drives me crazy. At one point today, Pepi missed Gio with a pass that might have given Gio a chance to shoot and perhaps score. Gio tossed his hands up in disgust. We need players and coaches who will lead and hold players like Pepi accountable when they make errant passes so they will take it upon themselves to improve, and we need them to have that accountability for all aspects of the game. Every pass, shot, tackle, etc, should be exact down to the inch. When you cross a ball, it shouldn’t be right in front of the goal. It should be right in front of the player who is going to head it into the goal. But at the same time, we’ve come miles from where we were 10 years ago and, judging by player quality, we are still improving. I’m of the opinion that we need some confidence and something to believe in so that our coaches and players can start to expect our players to not only want to be great, but to be able to be great
The whole point of this competition (as it is every year) is to test these kids against a high level of competition. I mean, we drew with Portugal and Brazil. Not Guatemala and St. Lucia. Portugal and Brazil. Last year our U17s (with many of these same players) got drilled 5-1 by Holland at this event. [I think they lost to England as well.] This was a much better performance than last year, when we looked completely lost at times. Its actually good for our elite kids to struggle in these types of events. They don't get tested this way in the development academy. They'll take the lessons learned and grow.
With discernible consequent effect, particularly relating to the uneven quality of posts in this thread.
The US Soccer summary: https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...e-friendlies-runners-up-after-1-1-brazil-draw
I think Soto is much better back to goal and in the air than you are giving him credit for. We had no need to play that way in U-20 qualifying, so we didn't see any of that there.
I think this team is gonna struggle in qualifying. I don't see us making it to the quarter finals of the U17 WC this time.
European scouts in attendance were really high on one of our players. He garnered most of the conversation around potential within the US squad. That player was.....Scally.
Scally has a few things really working in his advantage. He’s a December 31 birthday and he’s a top 3-4 player in his age group. Is it better to be comparing him to 02’s or 03’s? Considering most international level youth players are born in the first half of the year, he’s closer in age to most high level 03’s than 02’s. He’s an athletic terror. Aside from Pepi, he’s the youngest player on this team, but if any field player in this age group physically already belongs in the pros, that would be Scally. He has very long strides, he’s naturally very strong (I assume he has never seen a weight room), he covers an incredible amount of ground both ways, he has very good top-end speed once he gets going, he’s tall for his age and he’s a very good leaper. I’m not usually one to prefer athleticism to skill, but he appears to have a high floor, similar to what could’ve been said a couple of years ago about Tyler Adams. These are 15 and 16 year old prospects. None are sure things. Some cycles none make it as high level players. The incredible athlete who is competent in the rest of the game might be the best bet to have his game play at high levels. There’s also the position mystery. Could he be even better at CB or as a #6 or #8? Sergio Ramos started off as a RB and then was moved to CB. Some players are better suited for positions they didn’t start out in.
Based on what? We just got 5 points from a theoretical group of Brazil, Portugal, and Turkey. We finished 2nd in the group, so in a theoretical world cup situation............….we would have advanced from that group. We won't even see a group that tough at the World Cup. And you think CONCACAF WCQing is going to be a struggle based on that? I personally think that some of the star attacking players in this group had a test like they hadn't faced before at this competition. A player like Busio (who didn't have a "stand out" Nike Friendlies) is going to slice thru CONCACAF opposition. The U17 level is a really poor level to gauge the health of a development program anyway. Just as an FC Dallas fan's point of view...………………….how many combined U17 appearances did Reggie Cannon, Paxton Pomykal, Thomas Roberts, Brandon Servania, Chris Richards, and Chris Cappis have? That's six players recently signed to pro deals that are all involved in later US age groups.
Busio wasn't a stand out last year, when he played more. This team struggles to create and score goals. We need a different coach and different players to be called up.
I tend to agree with you and after three games came away thinking this group was average. Not much wow factor and really want to see more out of the supposed best players in the country. The fact they came out of the group second doesnt' tell me much as I have no idea if Turkey, Brazil and Portugal sent all of their best players.