For those regulars looking for the weekend preview it has been pre-empted by the FIFA Under-20 World Cup blog. However, here are a couple of unrelated articles anyways.
Stephen Brunt in the Globe & Mail has officially declared that soccer has taken root in Central Canada.
We may be three years away from the Finals but qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be getting underway in two months time.
Back to the Under-20s. International age-group championships are extremely difficult to predict because of the constant turnover as players progress. With the exception of Brazil and Argentina, who have both consistently delivered great teams, you are never quite sure what you are going to get from the other countries.
The media tends to relate the strength of teams competing at age-group championships with senior squads. However, it has been shown that this a poor predictor of success. Take Italy, France and Germany for example. In the last seven world cups these countries have delivered between them four World Cups and have been runners-up five times.
Compare that to the twelve Under-20 championships held since 1983 and the same three countries can account for one runners-up spot – that in 1987 when the then West Germany lost to the then Yugoslavia. Drill-down to the under-17 level and it doesn’t get much better – France won in 2001 and West Germany in 1985.
If there are any hints of what to expect, sometimes clues can be found be looking at the countries performance at the Under-17 Championship held two years prior. Although the age groups do not line up perfectly there has only been one occasion out of nine when a top four country at the Under-17s has not at least matched that record two years later at the Under-20s.
And that is not solely down to the traditional powerhouses of South America. The likes of Ghana, Nigeria, Germany and Spain have top four finishes in different age-group competitions two years apart.
So what happened at the Under-17 World Cup held in Peru two years ago? The winners were Mexico who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. Netherlands took third and Turkey fourth. Only the two finalists out of the final four have qualified for Canada 2007.
Meanwhile five other countries that qualified for Peru 2005 have also made it through the qualification process to the under-20s in Canada. Costa Rica made it to the quarter finals in 2005 before losing to the eventual winners Mexico. Mexico had trailed 1-0 for most of the game before snatching an equalizer with only two minuts remaining. Two goals from Mexico in extra time saw Costa Rica exit the competition.
Gambia did not make it out of the group stage but were desperately unfortunate. They finished tied on points with Brazil and Netherlands but failed to move on due to an inferior goal difference. What made it worse was that Gambia missed a late penalty when down 2-0 to Netherlands when a successful attempt would have seen them qualify. Perhaps Gambia might be a country that should not be written off too quickly in the Under-20s.
Another Brazil victim was North Korea but again the eventual silver medalists were pushed all the way. The North Koreans took Brazil to extra time before eventually losing 3-1.
The USA won their group comfortably but could not deal with a Dutch side in the last eight. The remaining country Uruguay finished bottom of their group losing all three games.
Coming up tomorrow a look at some of the stars from Peru 2005 and where they are now.
From Aldo, some information on the Chile team. Colo Colo star Alexis Sanchez forward that’s heading back to Udinese of Italy this upcoming season will miss the first match against Canada due to a red card suspension from the last game of the qualifiers back in January. Also missing this match due to red or yellow card accumulations are Hans Martínez, Jaime Grondona and Juan Pablo Arenas.
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that you think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a blog and you have information on the tournament 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.
One of my favorite Chilean stars is Matías Fernández. He will play with Chile's COPA AMERICA squad, I think. He's an amazing midfielder-- currently plays for Villarreal.
Last edited by atleti_female on June 22nd at 2:47 PM.
I've got one word for you Copa America watching US (or any) fans:
HERCULES!
I had NO IDEA Herculez Gomez could play for the USA - fox has him listed on Bradley's US team roster. I think he'll be a great addition to the squad and make them more fun to watch. Being successful, that's another story, but at least Bradley's seeing some of the same things many fans have seen over the last couple of years of MLS watching - Hercules rocks.
WE BETTER NOT BE SELLING HENRY FOR 16M UNLESS WE ARE GETTING MESSI, RONALDINHO, ETO, OR ANOTHER QUALITY PLAYER IN THE DEAL, IF NOT WENGER AND THE WHOLE ARSENAL BOARD AREN'T AS SMART AS I THOUGHT THEY ARE.
MOVING ON IF IT IS TRUE THEN WENGER SHOULD TRY GETTING 2 WORLD CLASS PLAYERS THAT CAN SCORE AND THIS MOVE AS MUCH AS I HATE SAYING THIS SINCE I LOVE HENRY TO DEATH MIGHT BE A GREAT THING FOR ARSENAL. GOSH THIS SUMMER IS REALLY GOING BADLY FOR ME.
Bobby, are you going to do a Copa America preview? I remember a few years back when Copa America and the Euro Cup coincided in the same year, you said that you thought that the entertainment value and quality of play was better at the Copa. That year half of the participants took experimental teams.
This year with exception of the US, all the teams are taking their "A" squads. So much so that Kaka and Ronaldinho in Brazil and Pardo and Salcido in Mexico are the only non US players that I would put as automatic choices for their teams who are missing the tournament.
Thiery Henry I think TH was a gift to the Premiership and his departure to La Liga is not good for the league. He made it look simple. He made it look easy. The mark o####reat player. For me, it's a sign of his true class as it appears that he felt that the integrity of the club was compromised by Dein's departure and that made his own departure inevitable, and the right thing to do. A great move for Barca as it will help hold together the whole team, even if TH may be past his very best.
It leaves one question for us all: what is to become of H14? Will it be an new blog name or a new team to support? H14: if you change the blog name, I wouldn't recommend either Wenger2008 or DeinReturns. Maybe GrumpyGallas, Don’t_put_Czec_in_the_Mail, or Eider14?
Please can other bloggers help H14 with some ideas?
after a night of reflection , l will not change my blog name, the guy is a great player, we talk trash when players are in your team but it is times like this you see what you are missing , an average of 29 goals per season in the last eight years, and and an average of 10 assist a season is nothing short of amazing, we can never replace him, berbatov, eto,drogba, they can not replace this phenominal, without a doubt the greatest ever premiership and arsenal player of all times.even chelsea man will have to say barca are favourites to land the champions leauge man because any defense will have their hands full, if they click l expect them to wrap up the title by february
l honestly can not see a forward who is accessible at the right price wenger can land, and l guess it time for rvp and ade to become legennds.as for the net captain toure in my opinion.one thing for sure no trophy at the emirates net season, and wenger should just get rid of freedy so that he just start with new guys
Welcome back ,LACF ,your humour and insight have been sorely missed !
H14 - I would have to say that Henry has been the best player to have played in the EPL ,he will be missed not only by Arsenal supporters ,but by all supporters of the English game.
Having said that ,Wenger knows what he is doing ,he will already have plans on what happens next ,and although Arsenal will not be a threat for the title next season ,they will still be a top four team.
And good for you on keeping your name ,but please change that horrible picture of Ronnie!
Thanks Ringo for the kind words. Masses of work, life, travel, fun and the avoidance of transfer rumours and other stuff kept me away.
Re Ronny and Henry double act. It's going to be very interesting and could be match-up for the ages. It makes you wonder where they will both show up on the pitch. For me they both appear to be at their best in the left channel. I hope they don't maroon Henry on the left wing or he doesn't just fade away. Also, having seen quite a lot of La Liga this year I fear for Henry being hacked to peices.
I have thought it over and while I still believe the high probability that Henry's transfer to Barcelona will be a huge failure for Thierry b/c he will be the fall guy, I have had another thought.
-This could very well be the greatest club side ever.
-The new galacticos have to win the CL and La Liga if not who knows where any of these guys will be playing in '08/09, but they won't all be together.
Very much looking forward to see Brazil's Alexandre Pato - I have read so much about him, and at 17-years-old he is being chased by every single major club in Europe. Unfortunately not many other stars in the age group are travelling to Canada.
Copa America also starts this week. On paper Argentina have to be favorites with practically a a full squad (unlike Brazil). The USMNT is going to have to improve upon their Gold Cup performances, or they are going to be in for a harsh reality check starting Thursday.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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