Saturday, June 8th. Winner takes on the winner of Korea/Senegal for a spot in the finals. BRING IT ON!
Ecuador are the CONMEBOL champions. They weren't that great in their group but should not be underestimated after how well they played against Uruguay.
Any nation that's qualified for this stage of the tournament is really good. I remember the celebrations in 2007 when the US U20s beat Uruguay (with Suarez & Cavani). We all looked at the next opponent as Austria, and completely started writing them off. Well, we then went out and laid an egg against Austria. Ecuador is the CONMEBOL U20 Champions. They're really good and this will be a tough game. Certainly a winnable game................ Let's go boys!!!
The midfield choices are going to be tough for Tab on this one. I think Ledezma has a decent shot of keeping his spot over Mendez. But we all know Tab loves Mendez.
Depending on how players recover from today's game, I'd consider something like this for the Ecuador match: Llanez--------Soto--------Weah --------Pomykal--Mendez------- ----------------Durkin--------------- Gloster------------------------Dest ---------McKenzie--Richards---- ------------------GK------------------ A few thoughts: Konrad de la Fuente wasn't impactful in this match. He has started every game and we could likely benefit from fresher legs on the wing. Llanez has looked impressive in sub appearances, and I could see de la Fuente being a good attacking sub to bring on if we need a goal in the 2nd half, given his pace and direct play. I really liked the way Ledezma played today, but am wondering if he is 90 minutes match fit. If not, I'd suggest squad rotation, bring Mendez back in (who should be fresh), and use Ledezma as a 2nd half sub. Justin Rennicks really made an impact as a 2nd half sub in this match, so he is another option off the bench at forward if we need a goal in the 2nd half. I'd rotate Chris Durkin back into DM for fresh legs. If Mark McKenzie looks sharp enough, I'd consider inserting him into the line-up at CB in place of Abu Keita. Goalkeeper, to me, is a toss-up. Ochoa looked good against Qatar, but I'll look to Tab Ramos to make the best decision here.
I said in the France thread that our side of the bracket seems way tougher than the other side, and by the numbers it is. Ecuador upset the 2nd best performer in the group stage and we upset the best. Ecuador is kind of a baby France in that they dominate possession, try to keep their opponent high up the pitch, but don't generate tons of chances in possession. They are the South American champions and have beat a lot of quality sides to get here. Their key players are their front 3: Plata, the best dribbler in the tournament so far; Campana, a multitalented target man; and Alvarado, a do everything attacking mid who lit up Uruguay. They lost and drew against run of play in their first two games, underperformed against Mexico but managed to scrape by into the knockouts. They have 9 players who have started every game, and rotated between 3 CBs. The coach has made 8 subs total in the tournament, the majority of which came after the 80th minute. At this point, fatigue has to become an issue for them.
A favorite moment of today's match was the FS1 graphic teasing Saturday's epic showdown between Ecuador and France.
We're now into the powerhouse rounds. The US deserves its spot among them, across from Ukraine who by all appearances deserve to be there as well. In retrospect its no surprise that they are. Tab Ramos has selected very well for this squad. There is diversity of talent among the players. He has also helped create belief in them.
I don’t even know who to root for anymore. I support both countries Why can’t we face them in the finals...
Your lineup is what i'm 90% sure it will be, except i'm guessing Konrad still starts. I think we all know Tab isn't changing Scott for Ochoa at this point, and i can't see Mendez losing his spot. I certainly hope Mckenzie gets put in for Keita.
I'll be happy with the midfield as long as we don't see Servania as an 8 again. (I'd be happy with him as a 6) One of Servania/Durkin at the 6, Pomykal at one of the 8's, and Ledezma/Mendez at the other.
it would be nice if one of mendez or ledezma looked capable of playing 90, but that spot is almost definitely going to burn one sub
I think Keita, Durkin, and Servania have been poor the whole tournament. If he hasnt played Cerillo so far, I don't see it happening and think we just put our best available midfielders out there. Whatever little amount we give defensively, we will gain on the other side of the ball. Llanez has been much more impactful in his cameos than de la Fuente. Scott hasnt been perfect, but has looked better to me than Ochoa. Llanez--------Soto--------Weah ----------------Ledezma------------- --------Pomykal--Mendez------- Gloster------------------------Dest ---------McKenzie--Richards---- ------------------Scott------------------
I don’t think this lineup respects the Ecuador front enough. We need a guy who can stick with runners, challenge Campana, win the ball, and spring counters.
Maybe we should start discussing the possibility of putting Tab in charge of u23's for Olympics and moving Kreis to U20's. I was kind of disappointed with the Kreis selection because he doesn't seem to the in-form manager at this point, He doesn't know the pool as well as Tab. Doesn't have Tab's extensive tournament prep experience. Thoughts?
I like that idea. It will be a lot of the same players and familiarity helps. It's pretty standard in most youth sports to keep a coach with the same players as they grow up. Plus it is huge for the USA to play in the Olympics, and the qualifying is difficult due to the 16 team field. So keep the edge, considering CONCACAF didn't look good in this tournament
The lack of respect is not for Ecuador. He's trying to avoid playing an American domestic any way possible and his solution was to not play any d-mids who are all American domestics. He's a pretty easy person to psychoanalyze.
Also, with Tab sticking around we could have somebody to turn to, on the inside, when/if Berhalter stumbles.
Ochoa Araujo-Richards-McKenzie-Gloster Durkin Ledezma-Mendez Weah-Soto-Llanez I think its important to rotate the team, and not try to play the same 11 players every 3-4 days. Thats not how you have the best chance to win the tournament. You need to have your depth give you good minutes. I would make some changes. I don't think you need to rotate at keeper, but I would go back to Ochoa for this game because Scott has been shaky. Araujo has earned a start, IMO. Bring McKenzie in for Keita. I don't know if he'll do any better, but it's a good spot for rotation to bring in your captain and take out a player who could be targeted by the other team. Durkin and Mendez should come back in mostly because they didn't expend any energy in this game. Give Ledezma another start. Pomykal worked hard today, but he's not been as effective as he can be and probably is playing injured. Give him a rest. Llanez for KDLF. I think Llanez has earned a start, and it probably would be best to give KDLF a rest.