PBP: 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup: USA vs. Colombia, 6/10 3:30 AM EST

If we have to resort to bunker and counter, I'm almost hoping we lost so that Tab is canned

 

Our QF rival is likely going to be Serbia. A team as physical as the Ukrainians, but with better technique.

If we make it past Colombia (which I think likely), I don't see us beating them.

 

I think it will be hard if we go down a goal. Scoring the first goal is critical. We looked easy to pick apart on the counter after we went down to Ukraine. Also, I think psychologically after the Ukraine performance, our boys need a good start.

 

FWIW Bet365 has us 6/5 odds to advance and Colombia 8/13

But that could have a lot to do with people equating senior teams to youth teams

 

It'll be interesting. I knew the Ukraine game was going to be a test before playing, and I think this will be the same. Columbia hasn't overly impressed in the group stage. But they are one of those teams where there seems to be a bunch of individual talent, and if it comes together (hopefully not tonight), then somebody's going to have a handful to deal with.

I really don't think the US should play bunkerball, because that's pretty much telling the players that you have little belief in them. We should go for the game, but if Columbia is simply getting the better of possession and putting pressure on us organically, then I can see us naturally shifting our squad to prepare for our own openings on offense. But I don't want to see that crap where we kickoff to them and just run back to our goal to defend. That's crap.

 

I wish FIFA built a little scheduling flexibility in these games with the timeslots. There's 4 teams in the Americas in this round and they're playing each other with us playing Colombia and Brazil playing Uruguay. Yet both games are in the later time sots. You could have put both in the early time slots, midnight eastern still sucks but it's a hell of a lot more reasonable than 3:30 AM. The later time slot would also have been more beneficial to the fans across the Atlantic. For the Serbia game tonight the fans will have to be up at 6 am to watch as opposed to 9:30 am had you given them the later slot.

 

In some ways you just have to leave things to chance. No one knew that these were the matches before hand.
Switching everyone's schedule at the last second due to television seems to cheapen things a bit and make it all about TV and not the people actually at the event.

The way we have it now the teams , players, staff, fans and tv network crews themselves know weeks in advance what will happen if they advance out of the Group.

 

You have a few days notice and it's not like you have to move the day or the venue. You just decide if the game should be played at 4 PM local time or 7:30 PM which doesn't seem like a drastic change. The NCAA tournament does this with literally one days notice. As far as television it makes no difference. You're still broadcasting games in both time slots you just don't know the teams which is true at the start of the tournament.

 

South America does this in the U20 tournament too. So I see your point as valid.

But the Television networks themselves like things the way they are. If need be they change things up on their own cause they know fanatics will wake up no matter what time their team plays.

Look at Telemundo for instance. They switched their schedule to fit the Brazil - Uruguay match cause they know more people want to see that one on that channel. Even if it is the worse time slot.
Crazy soccer fans will wake up no matter what.

 

Speaking of which, tonight's USA-Colombia match is on Telemundo.

 

you mean like Porter did in his elimination game? How did that work out?

This is real football, not a movie.

Plus no one said anything about bunker, you can certainly press well, hunt in numbers in your own half, hit them on the counter where numbers are present especially with the speed on this team, but don't get sucked into spreading the formation while Colombia looks to exploit space, especially centrally. Conserve and manage the game until the second period, then begin to slowly move up the pitch. Don't give them shots from distance or that easy diagonal run into the box where they can cut back.

Simple stuff that allows the team to manage the ball. Pity about losing Tall, he would have been perfect for this game.

 

I'm ready for this one

 

I like both teams so much.
Oh well. Let's hope for a good game either way.

 

The jury is out on that.

I am hoping Serbia lose. Although I doubt the USA Serbia lineup would be the same. I think if you swap Delgado for Donovan and Moore off for Payne we draw Serbia or at least only lose by 1-0. Most of the Ukrainian pain came from weak play in zone 14 and Moore's ineptitude. Starting Jamieson up top alone was also a terrible idea. Rubin helps so much with hold up play and allows our midfielders to get into a passing rhythm much more easily.

 

How much better do you think Serbia is compared to the Ukraine? I don't think the Ukraine is necessarily better than us. Our game plan was odd and 3 starters were sitting out where the drop off from Rubin to Allen and Payne to Moore is huge. Their first goal was off a weak free kick, hat was well taken but could have been blocked if the wall jumped. Once we were down we played right into their hands.

 

That's what makes this tournament fun. Let's face it, we really have no idea how this game is going to go. We think they'll do pretty well, but we just don't know. There is not nearly as much mystery in the senior team matches.

 

Wow. You know a lot about Serbian and Ukrainian U-20 teams. Where have you seen the players? Shakhtar, Metalist, Crvena Zvezda etc. reserves?

 

Soñora on the game tonight.

(with) God and our will, anything is possible. Lets go.

608426518998601730 is not a valid tweet id

 

Going to be an early morning, and I hate early mornings... but I'm setting the alarm.

This will be me in about 7 hours...

 

I often wonder about the relationship of big corporate media and soccer in the USA.

If we are playing Serbia next after beating Colombia, why is Serbia v Hungary on Fox2 not Fox1 where they are showing Ghana v Mali instead?

I know they would say it is a way of getting people to subscribe to Fox2 but many subscribers would not get Fox2 in HD even if they subscribed and I can't even get cable subscription to it.

Maybe they are serving their NFL/MLB etc. masters ?

Or am I paranoid?

 

After this match we will have seen our team against a fast, technical but undersized side with poor finishing(Myanmar) An athletic , big strong, direct and defensively disciplined home team(NZ) A professional, big and fast, technical and very well disciplined side with great coaching and strong prospects sprinkled throughout (Ukraine) and a technical, physical, talented side with a nice style with questionable defending and goal keeping(COL). We should then be able to get a detailed idea of our own teams strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. I expected this group to make the round of 8 at least. Losing tonight would be a disappointment, no doubt. A win would meet my pre tournament expectations and anything more would be icing on the cake and a showcase for scouts.

 

Show of hands, who's staying up???

 

I dislike Chelsea but Mourinho gets results. If everything he's done before now hasn't gotten him canned I don't expect that losing to Colombia in the knockout round will. Ideally we play a game that best fits our players' talents, quick combination play, but sometimes you have to adjust.

 

A club team with (emphasis) arguably the best players money can buy is not comparable to a youth national team that should be preparing players for the next level. Chelsea is the next level, there's no more development at that stage, it's all about winning. In a squad full of teenagers, you want to encourage them to try to take the game on, but still be able to adjust