Before we start to look at some of the teams and players that will be competing at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup it is worth taking a moment to look at the rules governing the competition.
Back in March of this year the draw for the tournament was made in Toronto. The format called for six groups of four countries playing a single round robin. The top two countries from each group along with the four best third place finishers will move on to a last 16 with all the last matches in each group being played simultaneously.
Rankings in group play will be decided in the following order: most points gained in group matches, goal difference in all group matches, most goals scored in all group matches. If still tied the tie-breaker will progress through; most points gained in head-to-head matches, goal difference in head-to-head matches, most goals scored in head-to-head matches, fair play system in which the number of yellow and red cards are evaluated, drawing of lots.
The four best place finishers will be determined by; most points gained in group matches, goal difference in all group matches, most goals scored in all group matches, fair play system in which the number of yellow and red cards are evaluated, drawing of lots.
With the four best third place finishers moving on the permutations for the round of sixteen are numerous. It is a topic that we will revisit in a future blog.
From the last sixteen on, it is a straight knock out competition. In the case of a tie in the knock out stage two 15-minute periods of extra time will be played in full and if still tied the game will be decided by penalty kicks.
All teams must arrive in the host country at least four days before the opening match regardless of the date of their first match. Eligibility criteria are that all players must have been born on or after January 1, 1987.
The final team list comprises 21 players, “three of whom shall be goalkeepers”. The final team list is due ten working days before the opening match of the competition so according to me calculations all the rosters must have been lodged. Having said this FIFA has yet to post the final squads on the official site.
A player listed on the final team list may be replaced in the event of serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of a team’s first game.
Atleti-female has provided an update on the Argentine squad “The coach of Argentina's U-20 team, Hugo Tocalli, chose many of the same players that he used for the South American U-20 Cup 2007 in Paraguay. So, supporters of Argentina will not notice many surprises. A few changes exist in the offence: Mauro Zárate (striker for Vélez Sársfield), Damián Escudero (midfielder for Vélez Sársfield) and Sergio Agüero (striker for Atlético Madrid) will debut in Canada after missing out on the South American U-20 Cup due to complications with their respective clubs. Coach Tocalli also included Pablo Daniel Piatti (striker for Estudiantes) and Alejandro Cabral (midfielder for Vélez Sársfield) as they have had fairly impressive seasons at their respective clubs. Gonzalo Abán, Pablo Mouche and Ismael Sosa lost their spots on the squad due to mediocre seasons and/or injuries. Gonzalo Higuaín, striker for Real Madrid, asked to sit this competition out because the club would like him to rest and prepare for next season's campaign.
Here's the full squad list: 1 Sergio Romero-goalkeeper- Racing 2 Federico Fazio-defender-Sevilla 3 Emiliano Insúa-defender-Liverpool 4 Gabriel Mercado-defender-Racing 5 Ever Banega-midfielder-Boca Juniors 6 Matías Cahais-defender-Boca Juniors 7 Claudio Yacob-midfielder-Racing 8 Matías Sánchez-midfielder-Racing 9 Mauro Zárate-striker-Vélez Sársfield 10 Sergio Agüero-striker-Atlético Madrid de España 11 Damián Escudero-striker-Vélez Sársfield 12 Javier García-goalkeeper-Boca Juniors 13 Germán Voboril-defender-San Lorenzo 14 Leonardo Sigali-defender-Nueva Chicago 15 Alejandro Cabral-defender-Vélez Sársfield 16 Alejandro Gómez-midfielder-Arsenal de Sarandí 17 Maximiliano Moralez-midfielder-Racing 18 Ángel Di Maria-midfielder-Rosario Central 19 Pablo Daniel Piatti-striker-Estudiantes de La Plata 20 Lautaro Acosta-striker-Lanús 21 Bruno Emiliano Centeno-goalkeeper-San Lorenzo
'Vamos Argentina!'”
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a selection regularly. If you have a blog and you have information on the tournament please post your link under comments.
The tournament starts on June 30, with the final set for Toronto on July 22. Make sure to tune in nightly to the Fox Soccer Report at 10:00 EST on Fox Sports World Report in Canada and Fox Soccer Channel in the USA.
A few transfer updates on two of the above players:
Pablo Mouche will play for Boca Juniors next season and Mauro Zárate has joined Al Sadd (Qatar club) on 2 year deal- the latter is bizarre. Thankfully, it's only for two years.
Im excited to see Kun Aguero in the tournament. He looks to be a really good young player at Atletico. Wondering if thats just because he was alongside Fernando Torres? Mauro Zarate to Qatar. I doesnt get any more bizzare. He seemed suited for a move to Boca, River or off to Spain. He must be getting like 5 million a year. They pay great over there
crew, Aguero has had a difficult time playing in Spain this past season. He was a bit on the inconsistent side, but I think that's because he's young and still very much new to the Spanish game.
I wish him all the best at the mini-World Cup.
Last edited by atleti_female on June 21st at 11:39 AM.
Hey Bobby- This is off topic but I was wondering what you think of former PM of Thailand Shinawatra purportedly buying
Man City. Isn't this the same guy that was overthrown in a military coup and is currently living in exile in London whilst Thai authorities are attempting to extradite him for embezzlement, ransacking Thailands' Stock Exchange with shadow company stocks and pilfering the Federal Treasury.
Has the FA done their homework on this man?
Oh, USA 3-1. That could be very wishful thinking. May the best side win, let's see a great match, eh?
Bradley again makes no sense with his substitutions. His son gets sent off and his team doesn't play a full 90 minutes. He better get his stuff together!
We were lucky to escape with 2-1 win. Should've been 3-0 with Donovans glaring miss and Canada equalized, but was incorrectly ruled out.
Last edited by LetsGoBuffalo on June 21st at 6:08 PM.
Make light of Donovan's miss from an almost impossible angle but he was one of the better players on the pitch today. Michael Bradley and Pablo were terrific. Onyewu was dreadful again, he'll be lucky to get an offer from the USL. Eddie Johnson's first touch has deserted him. Bocanegra should have been sent off for his foul on Deguzman who by the way was totally unimpressive.
Shocking officiating. Canada's game tying goal was a goal but the game should have been over about a minute before. I was impressed with Canada, best side they have had in years.
I still don't like Bradley's starting formations. The US was the better side today but finishing and central defending (CB and OO) are a huge problem.
This is becoming ridiculous. The failure of the officials to conform to the laws of the association football in the USA v Canada Gold Cup semi-final reflects badly - not on them, but on the management of the game. FIFA really must insist on video evidence to help referees in the game. I fear a desertion from the sport if the situation does not change. Think of the many hours of training, perfecting skills and tactics, the effort, and the financial costs borne by players and coaches: all wasted due to the whim of a referee who may not be challenged (in the manner American football) by players or teams.
How much does FIFA's inaction contribute to corruption of match officials, we wonder?
I am not a Canada fan, by the way, so this is not a case of sour grapes.
FIFA should institute video. Don't hold your breath. By the way, the #### officiating absolutely reflects poorly on the match officials as everyone knows that FIFA won't change anything.
Cheers
It is pretty cool how the US 20's are practising at my soccer club. They are playing a friendly against New Zealand on Monday which ofcourse i am going to see.
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