Did Jack Mize play at all in this tournament? He was one of the players I was looking forward to seeing the most since he’s with Dortmund academy but I don’t recall seeing him make an appearance.
Tied Slovakia, 1-1. Cornelius with the U.S. goal. https://www.flashscore.com/match/z3MtfzWA/#/match-summary/match-summary
1-1 draw with Slovakia to end the tournament. My takes for the 3 games Striker- Adams was average, not bad but nothing special. I would like to see some others get a look with this group. Wingers- Albert is dynamic and can finish really well, top winger of this group. Cornelius was a nice surprise and he earned a call back. Cowell had his moments. With Johnson and Hall (and a couple others) not making this trip, this position has a plethora of talent and options. CM- Cavan and Carrizo are the future. Just need to get them playing together and building that chemistry. I thought Terry and Moisa both did well, but Landon Emenalo seems to have the higher ceiling at the moment (skills, strong, good IQ). Again, plenty of options here and the focus should be on building chemistry and who plays well together. Outside backs- I like Villa more every time I see him. Great on the ball and great 1v1 defending. Guimaraes did well at times. This age group is still young, this is usually when we start seeing attacking players move back to LB or RB- there will be more options in the coming years. CB- Enrique Martinez was the best of the bunch. Strong, confident and good passing range. The others were pretty sloppy throughout the tournament. GK- Kortkamp was good, Stokes needs to work on distribution. Manager- Segares. There were some illnesses and injuries to deal with but he lost me with the defensive formation vs Germany. Putting Cavan as a Right Midfielder in a flat 4-4-2 negated his attack and opened the door for the Germans. The keys going forward with this team are: Getting both Cavan and Carrizo playing centrally. This is when you change the formation to suit your top players. Finding a more dynamic #9. Exploring more options for the backline.
I liked several of the players who have not featured much with this team before. Emenalo had a strong tournament. He's going to be a senior team player. Has the size to transition to CB if this is the area of need. Left-footed. Martinez showed good poise on the ball and I believe has the necessary athleticism to be a very good CB. CBs have a different developmental arc but someone to keep track of. Cornelius. The raw material is there for a very good player. And he showed a nose for goal. Cowell. Has much of his brother's power and explosiveness. Maybe a better passer. Showed a willingness to work on defense. The showings by those four just adds additional luster to what is a very talented age group. It is worth keeping in mind that Berchimas, Hall and Johnson belong to this age group. CF is an area to experiment with. I think Hall can play there. Maybe Cowell and Cornelius too. I do think Adams works well with his teammates and is a good fit when we play two fast skillful wide attacking players.
Last match was the poorest of the three, especially in the second half. Too much individuality and not enough connection. I really liked Jude Terry (entire tournament) and Landon Emanalo this third match. I've seen Lorenzo Cornelius play before and I thought he had a good showing both game two and three. Cavan Sullivan was excellent first match, very good the second, and poor in his limited minutes the third match. Carrizo was steady in the minutes he played. B+ tournament all around and lots to look forward to.
New US/SC Article 🖊️🇺🇸 U17 Jezek Cup Tournament Recap🔘 An encouraging performance, all things considered🔘 A lot of talent to be excited about🔘 The midfield is taking shape🔘 FBs are improving🔘 Questions at CF and CB⤵️https://t.co/kqyeKpIIAO— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) September 8, 2024
Is there even video of the goal? Today’s #U17MYNT Starting XI: 12 - Aidan Stokes (GK & Capt.), 2 - Juan Villa, 5 - Adrian Sanders, 11 - Mathis Albert, 13 - Lorenzo Cornelius, 14 - Vitaliy Hlyut, 15 - Oliver Tan, 16 - Jude Terry, 18 - Landon Emenalo, 19 - Alexander Smith, 20 - Enrique Martinez— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) September 8, 2024 The #U17MYNT round out play at the Vaclav Jezek Tournament with a 1-1 draw versus Slovakia. 🇺🇸 goal from Lorenzo Cornelius in the 54th minute. pic.twitter.com/Frdg6kDLWp— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) September 8, 2024
Final thoughts on the whole Jezek Cup after rewatching the last game: Stock Up: Landon Emenalo - To me, the big winner of the tournament. Based on the fact that he didn't start against Germany it's probably fair to assume he wasn't first choice in the double pivot. The difference in when he was on vs when he wasn't was probably bigger for him than for any other player. He was excellent in possession and playing on the turn, and played a smart but physical game as the deepest midfielder. Did not look out of place among older opponents. The offense starts with a good ball playing midfielder and he looks like that guy for this team. Gio Villa - I thought he made a statement and put himself at pole position for the right back role. Strong defensively but more importantly was composed in build up and effecting going forward to overlap. Having a good RB is going to be so important if Carrizo and Sullivan are both starting, because you need that player to provide attacking width. Lorenzo Cornelius - To me, a total unknown coming in. Effective receiving on the shoulder of the box and aggressive with the ball. Scored a few due to his smart movement and getting into the right place at the right time. I was impressed with how he would battle for every ball and he got some second chances just from effort play. Enrique Martinez - Looked like the starting RCB. Much more composed and effective in possession. Will need a little extra cover to make sure he isn't beat for speed. Stock Slightly Up: Carrizo & Sullivan - We knew they were good, what we needed to know is if they could be good together. I think that as the team works together they will begin to figure out each other even more, but it's pretty obvious that they're going to be locked on starters and the engine that makes the team run on offense. Whenever either drifts deeper to help with buildup they can struggle (plus it removes a weapon) and especially against Slovakia both had their moments of overdribbling, but it was a really good showing. Both miles ahead technically. Albert - A lot of hype coming in and I was impressed by him but my only hesitation was the Slovakia first half, where he had a lot of trouble trying to break down the outside defender (shades of Konrad vs Ukraine). What Albert has to figure out, that Konrad never really did, is how to impact the game when your opposite mark has you beat for athleticism and 1v1 defending. Terry - He looked shaky against Germany, especially in the first half, but paired with Emenalo was much better. He's got a surprising burst with the ball at times that can lead to him beating a line of pressure (or, in one case, getting a goal). Should be the more advanced midfielder in the pivot with Emenalo supporting. Cowell - Much like his brother, seems to have great physical characteristics but is a little stuck between CF and wing. Could have tied it against Germany late, but shot off the post. It was a good move leading up to that point and you can see the skills it takes to get there. Stock Slightly Down: Adams - Lone striker against 2 CBs from Germany a year older is a tough way to start a tournament. He was solid at times, never spectacular (though if he connected on that bike attempt we'd be saying something different). I think he has a future as a CF but in this cycle players like Hall and Rosborough are not going to give him any room to slip up. Guimaraes - Hard to tell what his instructions were, but I thought his positioning wasn't great, he wasn't a noticeable plus going forward, and while he made some solid defensive plays you'd like to see a little more involvement from a fullback. The Germany goal came down his side when he got stuck in no man's land. Stock Down: Luca Moisa - He looked undersized for a DM, which usually isn't an issue if you're calm and composed in possession but he really struggled in the defensive half. He was actually mostly ok in the final third on the ball, and may have more of a future as an 8, but he was a disaster against Germany and didn't really get too much better. His struggles open the door for other callups like Mehmeti. Christopher Cupps - An underwhelming showing against Germany where he didn't look ready for the pace of the game. He got beat for speed on the play that led to the penalty. Stock Even/Other: Hlyut - Seems like a utility player who will find a spot as a backup. He didn't really add anything to the front line in the first half vs Germany and when he did get his chances he wasn't decisive or aggressive enough. He seems like a good player to spell Carrizo and Sullivan, and in a different cycle might have a much bigger role. Smith and Mize are in the running for the same role, though.
To put things in perspective Peyton Miller and Neil Pierre would have been eligible for this tournament Peyton Miller against St. Louis - what a performance at 16 #USMNT #NERevs pic.twitter.com/FtRa7t01lC— invert the netti (@dcfcnetti) September 9, 2024