U17s vs. Czech Republic, Nov. 11, 2025 (Pre-/PBP/Post-Match Thread)

At the end of the day, you have to beat the best to be the best or to make a noteworthy run.

of course I’d like to be in the cupcake bracket, but we have to play other strong squads and perform regardless.

 

In fairness, I don't know what the hell Morocco is. They were good, at home, in qualifying, and they sucked in the group stage. After that you get either Mali, who pushed Morocco to penalties away in their championship final, or Zambia, who tied Morocco in the group stage of that tournament, before getting absolutely eviscerated by Burkina Faso in the opening knockout match. Feel like Zambia sounds like an easier opponent in the R16's if we beat Morocco, and then Zambia turned around and beat Indonesia and Honduras to the tune of an 8-2 combined score, before nearly beating Brazil yesterday (gave up the equalizer in the 80something minute in a draw.

So hard to figure, but yeah, I still think beat Morocco, I'd rather have Zambia than Mali next. Otoh, Mali got clubbed by Austria but beat the other two weaklings in the group.

On top of all this, as others mentioned, Morocco gets TWO!?!?!! days more rest than us? Really?!?!?! WTF is that?

 

Why punish group winners like that? Weird.

 

For us to go far, we need a 9 that can finish.
So far it has been the Albert-Sullivan-Berchimas show that got us this far.

 

True, but based on what I’m seeing/hearing in here, neither side of the bracket is really an easy path. And none of us really know who the stronger sides are in terms of 16 year olds, I think most are just looking at nation name recognition as some sort of clue

 

I feel like Hall has a better case for minutes on the wing than Berchimas, and you could argue Carrizo too.

I think in general we're trying to keep too many big name attackers happy. I think we need to accept that Adams doesn't play as flashy of a game as these wingers/10's, but he needs to be in there to do #9 things that you need to have success in a tournament like this.

How often does the false nine approach work?

 

I do not feel like this. Less so today, bc he played so little, but Berchimas has been pretty good.

 

Any video out there of Sullivan's run?

 

Watch at the 6.36 mark

 

Also, getting 2 days more rest is a big/undeserved advantage for Morocco in this game.

 

I would have given Adams the start v Czech and put Hall on the wing. But since that didn't happen, Hall gets the start up top v Morocco. Berchimas has been the third best attacker, so he starts out wide. The biggest problem, which has been a problem for 2 years now, is starting Cavan and Max in the middle. I don't think the risk is worth the reward, so I would drop Max for Moisa.

 

The defense did a nice job making it hard in the final third without fouling. Sullivan did a nice job staying up. Woulda been quite the moment!

 

Hall is playing out of position. I don’t care how he’s done in those games. He’s proven the last two years in pro soccer that he’s a better winger and player than Berchimas.

 

Hall tended to disappear from games when played up top during the Red Bulls’ season. He actually looked better as an attacking central midfielder behind the strikers or in the half spaces.

 

I cannot understand why at bare minimum, teams playing Tuesday weren't automatically scheduled for Saturday's set of knockout matches.

 

Berchimas has been the third best player in this team. So far, Hall hasn't looked better than Berch the few times he has been playing wide.

 

Sullivan plays at full speed. He is not a 90-minute player. At around minute 70 he was waving off a pass to the other side because he was winded. When we scored, he hardly ran to greet his teammates.

 

Yes, he was the CF but in a couple of plays, he was wide and wasn't able to get around the defender, plays that Berch has been more successful.