U-17 MNT Arrives In Korea, Continues Training for Busan Tournament THE HOME TEAM FIRST The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team opens up the Busan International Youth (U-17) Tournament against host Korea at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium May 31 at 2 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET). The tournament, which takes place May 31 to June 4 is in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. The Korean Football Association invited all three teams from Group D at the 2002 World Cup, which included the U.S., Poland and Portugal. The U.S. and Poland accepted the invitation, but Portugal was unable to participate, leaving Argentina, who recently qualified for the U-17 World Championship, to take their place as the fourth and final team. ABOUT THE COMPETITION The U.S. will have to play at the top of its ability if it expects to finish atop the standings and take a first place finish back to the states. Korea, Argentina and Poland are all strong teams and have shown they can compete with the world’s best during qualifying rounds for the Under-17 FIFA World Championship. Argentina secured their first South American U-17 Championship trophy since 1985 after finishing atop the CONMEBOL final round of qualifying. The eventual champions went unbeaten during the final round, scoring 19 goals while only conceding five. Korea also qualified for the U-17 Championship in Finland by winning the AFC Under-17 Championship back in September of 2002. The Koreans captured their first U-17 championship in dramatic fashion, beating Yemen 5-3 in penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Despite a strong squad, Poland didn’t qualify for the World Championship after failing to get past the talent-filled second round of UEFA qualifying. The size and strength of the European squad will definitely present a challenge for the U.S. defense. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE May 31 USA vs. Korea 2 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) Argentina vs. Poland 7 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET) June 2 Korea vs. Poland 3 p.m. local (1 a.m. ET) USA vs. Argentina 5 p.m. local (4 a.m. ET) June 4 USA vs. Poland 5 p.m. local (4 a.m. ET) Korea vs. Argentina 7 p.m. local (6 a.m. ET)
Does anyone know if there is any tv coverage? I have looked around but don't see any listings. Drives me crazy, if the MLS and US powers that be want to build a fan base they should be capitalizing on all of Adu's press the past two weeks and show him against Argentina etc. Nuts.
Food Network ? maybe .., well anyway since Nike has just signed a deal with Adu they should do everything possible to get this games televised to show Adu with all Nike's goods
with the games at 1 and 4 am they can't have much to compete with----and we'll all be getting up like its the World Cup
Remember, we live in the United States where the USMNT gets preempted by baseball. The U17s playing in a tournament in Asia in the middle of the night. I would love to see them play but I have a better chance of going to the next Olmpics as an overage player.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/sports/200305/kt2003053013534511640.htm Korea is riding a 20-game unbeaten streak into this tournament dating back to January '02. We've probably played 4X as many games over that same period, but the Korean record is still impressive.
With this result, we can't win the tournament as we have one point and South Korea and Argentina, which play each other next, have four so it's impossible for us to win. *Poland will be a big game for the US team come away from this tourney with some confidence. *I know we're missing three backline starters but giving up so many goals is not a good sign in terms of the U17 WC. Nice to see Freddy set-up a PK, though that is three of the past four U17 internationals in which he hasn't scored. While I don't doubt he's special, I fear we may be setting the bar a bit too high with him.
Sandon, someone posted the foul totals in USA games. Our opponents foul us more then twice as often as we foul them. Argentina 22 - USA 13 (-9) Korea 22 - USA 13 (-9) Costa Rica 22- USA 7 (-15) Mexico 29 - USA 13 (-16) Wanna take a bet on which player is most often fouled? It has to take a toll on you. Think about all the contact that Freddy gets that is not called. It's clear that every team double or triple teams him and if by some lucky chance he gets possession, he's knocked down. I bet he's trying to rush his shot before he's flattened.... I'm not so worried about Freddy not scoring, what's bothering me is why aren't Ashe, Gavin and Memo lighting it up? Adu is drawing SO MUCH DEFENSE that there should be space all over the field. Why can't we exploit that?
I watched most of the Arg-USA game last night. Adu wasn't being double or triple teamed by design. Adu was setting up on the left wing against Arg and he didn't have many chances early in the game. Argentina came out attacking after the opening whistle. They created a wide open shot from about 20 yards that was skied over the bar. A voice from the US bench screams, "We've got to keep the ball." Argentina continued to pressure while the US defenders are clearing everything out of the area in a state of panic. Marfuggi makes a nice save to keep the game scoreless. The US sends a long ball to Gaven and the deflection is picked up by Ashe who fires a shot from 30 that is well over the bar. The ball was deflected for a corner. Szetela sends the corner over the bar. Argentina is very composed in the final third. They earn another corner. Argentina sends the ball into box from the left wing. The US defender (DiRaimondo) makes a low poor clearance down the center of the field into the foot of an Argentina striker. The Arg striker volleys it into the back of the net from 18 yards. Marfuggi had no chance. 1-0 Arg. The camera shows Ellinger taking notes on the bench. Gaven is bulled over about 30 yards away from goal. Memo with a very strong kick (like Mathis power), but it misses the opper corner. Someone makes a brilliant pass to Ashe into the box on stride (either Adu or Gaven- they were both in the area), but his shot deflects off the post and Arg clears the rebound in the goalmouth. USA now has the better of the run of play . Szetela draws a foul. Gaven and Ashe play a one-two down the right wing, but Ashe loses the ball trying to turn the corner. Szetela with some nice tight space dribbling to get past an Arg defender. Adu earns a foul after a dribble run. He's had very few touches in the game. He plays wide left. Curfman sends a long ball intended for Adu, but Arg wins it. Grazier tries to play a long ball too. We really don't have much buildup. Our defenders seem to be kicking it as far as possible. A little composure would be helpful. We had an offensive sequence where 5 players were in an 8-yard radius. The offensive spacing is awful at times. Adu gets loose on the left side, but shot is blocked. Ashe scores 1-1. Gaven is injured after being run over by Arg defender in the box. No PK called and Ellinger is off the bench for a word with the 4th official. There is a yell from US sidelines, "Both ways." Owens closes on an Arg dribbler as he approaches the US box and takes the ball. Ashe taken off the field for treatment. Adu earns a foul on the right side from about 25 yards. Memo takes the kick and it's cleared. HT 3 subs by Arg to start the second half. The fire a shot high after the whistle just like the first half. Marfuggi makes a great save to stop a hard shot from 18. It deflects for a corner. Adu is fouled at the 30 yards and hit shot is saved. Adu draws another foul deep. Argentina counters after the free kick is wasted by the USA. Arg attacking with 2 players against the USA's 5 defenders. But they keep the ball and it's sent wide. Goal. The ball is crossed from the right side and knocked in as the Arg attacker was left unmarked. Adu turns the corner on his defender in the box, so the defender is forced to dive and trip him. The PK is called. Memo fires into the left corner 2-2. Arg making another sub. Memo draws a free kick in the Arg half. Adu is fouled and Peterson gets the ball to the endline unmarked. Gaven's shot is saved. Argentina still dangerous on the counter, as they hit the post from 17 yards. Adu makes another sweet move in the box and is fouled again but the ref does NOT call the PK. The US bench is going absolutely beserk. "You F-bomb cheater, why can't you call another one." The announcers are even calling for a "penal" in Korean. If this was a senior World Cup qualifier, BS would've exploded. Unfortunately, the Korean feed ends with about 7 minutes to go in the game. Lineup: Adu- Gaven DiRaimondo-Memo-Szetela- Ashe Grazier Curfman-Valentin-Owens Marfuggi Ashe played right midfield and DiRaimondo left midfield in both games.
Thanks a bunch for the PBP. Sounds like the strategy against Freddy has become very simple: foul him. Foul him early, foul him often, foul him all-day. Doesn't sound like anybody has anything else in the way of answers to defending him. So he has to learn how to counter that. Maybe the sight of a 14 year old writhing in pain (real or simulated) on the pitch might be enough to start getting some cards pulled out.
I think the answer to Jeff_Adams' question about why isn't the team and other players exploiting the fact that freddy draws a lot of attention from opposing defenders is pretty simple: The team (including freddy) must move the ball faster so the other team does not have a chance to foul. Once you get fouled, the other team can get 10 players behind the ball. There are times when playing the ball off quickly is much more effective than trying to dribble through a crowd of defenders. Players must learn to avoid getting fouled in the first place by playing the ball quickly away from pressure to create more space, and then attacking quickly into the new space created. Good teams create space by intelligent player movement without the ball, playing the ball quickly away from pressure to create time and space, and then attacking with numbers into the most dangerous space available, as recognized collectively by an intelligent team. By the way, the U17 boys should be congratulated for the 2-2 result against Argentina, and sounds like they created a lot of good chances on goal. They seem to be doing fine overall and still have a much of their soccer lives ahead of them. Be patient.
Davide(or anybody else), was there a webcast for the Argentina game and will there be one for Poland? I watched the S. Korea game in 30 second spurts until I became impatient.
Composure and US player don't mix until they reach MLS age I guess........ Spacing=tactical awareness. Know where you are on the pitch in relation to your teammates.
Even in MLS, many defenders after wining/intercepting the ball would just boot it up field even when they have ample time to decide the best option or bring it up field themselves. I guess they rather play it safe so they wouldn’t be responsible of losing the ball near their own goal, but it also show their lacking of composure and confidence.
tv footage? anybody think highlights of these games will show up on either Football Asia(http://www.footballasia.com/) tv show or Futbol Mundial?