Vaclav Jezek Tournament & Slovenia Nations Cup (Sept. 2022)

Turned the second half on and paying very little attention as I work.

Wolff sent off after a second yellow. Croatia scored right before that, and I could’ve sworn they had scored another time this half but the scoreboard still says 3-1

 

Owen Wolff just got sent off for a second yellow, so the USA is going to have see this one out.

Favian Loyola assisted the first goal and the scorer was I think Zambrano but could have been Cremaschi.

Loyola also played the pass/shot that got deflected to Wolff for goal 3.

Loyola is a really impressive player, and just an 05. He was working with his club teammate Freeman on the right side. He's a natural lefty and is a naturally smooth dribbler and passer with a deft touch. Great in tight spaces. He had 2 assists against Malta too.

 

Yes, Croatia scored earlier on a long shot. Not sure if it was waved off but it's not on the board.

EDIT: It's back on the board. USA up 1, down a man, 20 minutes to go.

 

Great hold up from Neri, then he picks out a cross to Cremaschi who scores.

The crowd sounds lively!

edit: Croatia scores right after - fun game.

 

Also a heads up play from Freeman who found Neri off a free kick while Croatia was being slow to recover.

 

Annnndddd I got stuck in a surprise meeting regarding EV charging and potential revenue streams....lots of homework over the course of the weekend. Looks like the US fell apart in my absence.

 

Croatia with a corner.

 

The US has been flat this half. Think they would've benefitted from some substitutions to keep the intensity up.

 

The referee has been doing his part as well.

 

They're playing with 10, there's only so much they can do.

Smart foul a bit ago by Esmir who recognized that the USA had way too many numbers forward and Croatia had a counter opportunity. Too many American players don't notice those moments for some reason.

 

Ref calls game, Croatians are not happy. USA wins 4-3

 

4-3 win.

Intense game! Croatia very mad about something after the whistle. Crowding the ref and I saw a red card pulled. Maybe they didn’t think enough extra time was given?

 

Agreed, but I thought this even before they went down to 10. Letting 2 goals in before the sending off is not good game-management.

 

2 reds at the end for Croatia, they were not happy

 

I didn't see exactly what happened, but it seemed like Croatia's players were maybe just angry that the game was called? Was there more to it? It certainly was a wild second half, pretty much what I think you'd expect with a bunch of teenagers playing for pride out there. Good luck getting them to "manage the game."

 

Good win over Croatia. It was a very back and forth game. Croatia was very upset at the end. I didn't understand why. Maybe they were mad Henry was whistled for a foul right outside the box and we wasted time (not exactly the referees fault). I didn't see much else that should've angered them as much as they were. The win was deserved, but we had a bad second half after a very good first half.

Ochoa in goal had little to do, but did make one nice save. Freeman at RB didn't have more than a few offensive contributions. He's usually more active offensively, but I thought he had a very encouraging game defensively. He was tested a lot and stood up almost every time. I think his defending isn't bad, at all. He's more offensive, but he can defend. Henry had a good game. He did commit one foul at the end that could've been whistled for a PK. It was very stupid to lunge as he did, but luckily it didn't result in anything after the free kick. His passing looks a lot more accurate. He's always tried to be progressive with his passing, but the accuracy had often been lacking. I didn't think he was weak technically, but it was a question of accuracy. He's gotten a lot more accurate of late.

Wynder had a nice assist to Norris for the second goal. It was a good pass over the top. He did make a pretty bad error on the second goal, which I think clouds the performance. Gave the ball away, which allowed a 1v1 against his goalie. Really hard to say anyone other than him deserves any blame for that goal. He coughed up the ball where you can't and the forward went the other way. Aside from that, he wasn't particularly bad, but that play was very bad. Norris had the second goal, but he was living on the edge all game defensively and coughing up the ball in possession. He didn't break, but he bent many times.

Moyado had a very dependable performance as the lone 6. He broke up a lot of plays. The two #8's, Cremaschi and Wolff, were probably our two best players. Cremaschi scored two goals and Wolff had one. Cremaschi also had a hand in the Wolff goal. Cremaschi makes some errors from trying to do too much, but I think he's really good. If he can just learn to simplify a little, he's going to make the U-20 WC team. Wolff was pretty good also. The goal was a nice late run into the box. Good anticipation that the ball would get to him. He also did a lot of the things you see him do when he plays for Austin in a CM role. He wins the ball back pretty well, and he's also a pretty good passer. It's nothing outrageous, but he's above-average in just about every part of the game for a #8.

Loyola was creating all types of danger. He had an assist on one of the goals, and he created another, although I don't think it'll count as an assist. He looks notably quicker to me. Maybe I haven't paid close enough attention to some of his Next Pro games in recent months. If he's gained half a step of quickness, thats a big deal because he has all the other ability needed. Zambrano was very quiet, but did help with holding up the ball to create one of the goals. He worked hard, but it was a very Sargent at Bremen type of performance. Osundina was also very quiet. He's really fast and can show that at times when he gets the ball, but he tends to drift out of games when he's not getting the ball to his feet.

Of the subs, Neri had the biggest impact. He had the assist for Cremaschi's winner. He did well to hold the ball up, and then cross it to Cremaschi. Ruszel did an effective job replacing Moyado in midfield. Booth and Bajraktarevic were subbed onto play the two winger spots in the second half. Neither added much. I feel for Booth, as they are using him out of position. He's a central player. Williams made one really nice defensive play, but otherwise little involvement.

 

FT | Strong finish for the #U17MYNT in Czech Republic! Three matches at the JEŽEK CUP 2022 kicked off our journey to the Concacaf U-17 Championship. Onward and upwards 💪 pic.twitter.com/BRZG6ejZBY

— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) September 25, 2022

 

I watched the U-17 game. Big win, but Czech Republic were very bad. We were probably better in the Germany game that we lost. Funny how that works sometimes. I don't want to say we were bad, but it wasn't that impressive how we played.

I didn't think there were many real standouts. Gill, Mendoza, and Romero were probably the best. Soto also had two goals off the bench, so that was a good contribution.

Gill had one spectacular sequence, but it was the typical solid performance he gives in midfield. We know he's one of the best prospects on this team, so none of this is a surprise. Mendoza did well in front of the back 4. I like his game, but I'm not 100% sure how it translates against pros because he's slightly undersized/slightly below-average athletically, but he's pretty good defensively against players at this level because of his positioning and soccer IQ. He's also an underrated passer. I would say he's slightly above-average in that area.

Romero, he's another one I'm unsure about, but he had a good performance. Added some creativity from RW. To me he's just in that tweener area where he's good at the academy level at a bunch of attacking areas, but I don't know what his best position is and I don't see anything that I view as a real calling card. The player he reminds me a lot of is Anthony Ramirez of the Dallas academy. Romero is probably a true #10 long term, but is he the type of player that is a real impact CAM at the high pro level? I'm not convinced. At wing, he can play out there against kids his own age and maybe you could even try it against pros, but I don't think he has quite the ability to beat players athletically to play wide. He's also not one of these players I think can play as a #8.

Soto had two goals. One was a nice header on a cross. The other he chipped the GK, although the GK gave Soto a very easy goal with a bad read of the ball off his line.

 

Just in case you missed it, here’s a replay of the #U17MYNT goals!

⚽️ 22’ Brian Carmona Romero (Adrian Gill)
⚽️ 42’ Keyrol Figueroa Norales
⚽️ 78’ Ezekiel Soto (Oscar Verhoeven)
⚽️ 80’ Ezekiel Soto (Aaron Heard)

🎥 » https://t.co/RyCkx2pRYg pic.twitter.com/NVJm9Bxo4V

— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) September 25, 2022

 

This team has done very well, when playing against other U17s. I can see them making a deep run, if we qualify for the U17 World Cup.

 

USA - Scotland U-19s under way in the rain. No surprise Scotland look brighter early on.
https://www.facebook.com/events/436212718497907/?ref=newsfeed

 

US up 1-0. Nice cross from the deep wing nodded home in the 22nd minute. Looks like Oregel is the goal scorer.

pic.twitter.com/yvBwvJSfUq

— Alex Calabrese (@amcalabrese12) September 27, 2022

Scotland ties it up in the 33rd minute.

And the US retake the lead in the 42nd minute through Zambrano.

pic.twitter.com/LIcSTeQN0H

— Alex Calabrese (@amcalabrese12) September 27, 2022

Halftime USA 2 - Scotland 1

 

A U.S. winger got around the left side and put in a high cross that was headed in from close range by a leaping Zambrano just before half. It's 2-1 U.S. The audio seems to be delayed which is kind of funky.

Edit: Seconds later Scotland put one off the post. It's apparently super rainy and the game is a mess. And now it's halftime.

 

I thought that after Scotland tied it they began to have the better of play. The U.S. was fortunate to get a counter that ultimately resulted in a goal. But even after that Scotland was hounding our goal and we were scrambling to defend. I hope they can make adjustments in the 2nd half. We're up, so that's good, but we need more sustained possession.

 

Both teams seem up for it, and the referee has been outstanding imo - calling the right advantages, bringing it back when necessary, keeping a sloppy game under control.

The USA had some nervy moments but should not have given up the first goal - 13 was way too aggressive trying to win the ball back in midfield and should have played safer and let his teammates recover.

Looks to me like the USA has superior attacking talent, able to get into dangerous positions a little more frequently. Scotland has played well but their goal came off a transition breakdown and a deflection and their best chances have been from set pieces.