Game on. U20 MNT starters: Cropper; Acosta, Stanko (capt), Torre, Ocegueda; Joya, Lopez; Pineda, Garcia, Cuevas; Morris
I don't know but he's not a central forward, which is where he's being played today. Right wing is where he could be a decent option off the bench. But you can tell he hasn't played against international competition before.
Congo is physically dominating the game. The team doesn't look to be on the same page and the passes have been sloppy. Pineda had the best move of the game. Some nice dribbling and a shot saved from the Congo GK. Germerica Pineda definitely has some nice skill.
We are f*cking ourselves. I'm so disappointed with how we are playing. We are dribbling when we shouldn't and shooting when we should be passing.
And you saw him threaten from both the right and left side in that first half. He has fantastic skill, but he's also versatile, which in a WC is incredibly important. You can interchange him on the wings in the middle of a game if you need to.
Serna as a fullback is like Beasley as a LB. I've seen him play in preseason as a LM/RM and he did well. We have depth but we need to play better as a TEAM.
Glad we score, but the reality is that is not looking good moving forward to the Cup at the end of the month.
There are a about 4-5 players missing that could help us get out of the Group in the World Cup. Remember best third place teams can qualify. After that it is a crapshoot at the youth level.
After watching this game and seeing the stark contrast between the first 55 minutes and the final 25, I think the best side the US can put out in the WC would look something like this: ................................Cropper................................. Yedlin.........O'Neill.......Zimmerman....Ocegueda ........................Stanko.........Lopez......................... Villarreal....................Gil.................................Joya .................................FW.......................................... For the FW position, I'm not sure whether Hernandez or Rodriguez will start. I would equate Hernandez's performance so far in Toulon to Rodriguez's in Mexico. Hernandez has not gotten to combine with our best attackers yet, but Rodriguez was out of form during qualifying due to paperwork issues. So I'm not sure who's better and trust Ramos to figure that out before our first game in Turkey. The team looked best with both Lopez and Trapp on the field once Ramos made the substitution to bring Trapp in. Both players are Bradley types, midfielders good in possession who can also win a tackle against most players. Both also have a pretty good range of effective passing, and are calm on the ball. However, neither is gifted with the athleticism of an Edu or Jones, and so both need to be on the field for either to play to their potential. Otherwise, the more athletic sides we will play can overrun the midfield without even fighting for possession. I switched Trapp with Stanko in my ideal lineup under the assumption that Zimmerman will be called in. If not, slide Stanko to CB and put Trapp in Stanko's position.
Villarreal is not a good winger. Rodriguez is a good dribbler and has pace. I'd go with this ---------------Villarreal------- -Cuevas---------Gil---------Joya- -------------Lopez--Stanko--------- Ocegueda-Zimmerman-O'neil-Yedlin -------------McIntosh--------------- Bench Hernandez Serna Pineda Acosta Trapp Rodriguez Cropper Torre