The USA came away from this game with what might be a vital point against a vibrant and exciting South Korean side. Despite having to endure extended spells of intense Korean pressure the Americans deserve credit for sticking to the task and pulling themselves back into the game particularly in the last thirty minutes.
The opening goal came from a fine cross from Zizzo that eventually found Danny Szetela at the pack post. A diving header gave us the first goal from open play of the tournament. The South Koreans stormed back and Shin Young Rok wasted two fantastic chances before he eventually made it third time lucky.
This under-20 squad is a carbon copy of the senior national team of World Cup 2002. Playing a 3-4-3 formation the Koreans were constantly trying to force the USA to play at a tempo that was not to their liking. US defenders and midfielders were repeatedly caught in possession and if it was not for some wasteful finishing (another trait of the 2002 WC side) South Korea could have had the game sown up by half time. As it was the Koreans again spurned second half chances although US keeper Chris Seitz pulled off a couple of excellent saves in the second half.
Dex McCarty’s arrival into the game in the second half was instrumental in helping the USA to hold on to ball and eventually create some chances of their own. If the USA was to nip a win it looked as if it was come courtesy of a Freddy Adu free kick delivered from the right side with his left foot. As it was both teams traded late chances but had to settle for a point each.
Lee Young Sung was outstanding for South Korea as was the back three. Chris Seitz looked good in the USA goal while Nathan Sturgis recovered from an early slip to help turn back the many Korean attacks. Zizzo and McCarty also played their part.
The next round of games is on Tuesday with USA vs. Poland and South Korea playing Brazil.
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 FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
Bobby -- admittedly, the U.S. were outclassed for most of the match, but what did you think of the officiating? Do you think the foul disparity (and arguably double standard for allowable contact) prevented the U.S. from being able to play "their game"?
Not a good performance at all for the USA...no space created, the back line struggled (especially the left back),...the good news is the schedule as Poland should "bounce back" after such a performance. Aside from the obvious "play better", what does the USA need to do against a physical Poland side to get a result?
silentbob1974 - I thought that the officiating was generally good in the three games that I watched. I think we have come to expect that the refeering will be strict in the first few games of a competition like this. I didn't think that the US had undesereved calls go against them although they may have been taken aback by the speed that that the South Koreans showed in the first hour of so. Overall I though that the USA showed great character to pull themselves back into the match.
Millionarios - From what I saw today Poland are going to be a much more predictable opponent than was South Korea. I don't think the USA are going to get much change out of what lloks like a tall Polish central defense. Playing the ball to foot and trying to turn the big defenders might be a way to go.
It was amazing to see how passsionately the Brazil fans (and others!) got behind the Koreans. The Koreans were leaving eveything out on the field, but I didn't get that impression from the Americans. I heard a few feeble "USA! USA!"s but not many. The wave got more cheers than the Americans. There were some very funny attempts at copying the Korean chant, with everyone putting their own Spanish, French, Polish and Portugese spin on it.
I was very impressed at how well conditioned the Koreans are. The coach must train them to run for 120 minutes. They kept winning balls. As for the officiating some may claim a disparity in the calls, but usually the team that runs will get the calls. It's hard for the US to sell and get calls from the ref if they are standing still. The Korean attack got the US off it's game and not the ref. Thank goodness for the US that the Koreans couldn't finish. They're actually alive and well.
The U.S. coaches must have warned the team how Korea would play but I guess talking about all that speed and pressure and actually dealing with it are two different things. The U.S. were fortunate to get a point and they will need to be much sharper to get anything from Poland and Brazil.
Its obvious we need to teach these kids the tactical part of the game this US team is horrible We should fire all the guys that teach these kids. Obviously they are baseball people who decided to teach soccer. Lets bring people here who can institute that.
Considering that the Koreans played with such skill and pace, and yet, lacked the ability to finish off their scoring chances, and were only able to finish one scoring chance, what will the Koreans have to do to beat a Brasil squad thats not only looking to rebound after a loss to Poland, but a squad thats more than capable of making a come back, with force?
The US was completely at sea, both on offense and defense, while the Koreans played gorgeous football and looked like Barcelona or Arsenal on a good day. The US is unbelievably lucky to escape this one with a point and if they keep this up that will be the only one they get. It could have easily been 3-1 or 4-1 in favor of Korea, if not for some outstanding saves by Seitz and pure lack of luck.
I love the way Koreans play football. When are they gonna get some credit? If Brazil played like this everyone would be raving. Great movement, one - two touch passing and individual skill. As a US fan that was very depressing to watch. We didn't even belong on the same field.
Ji Sung - I think the Koreans will do fine against Brazil and I'm looking very much forward to watching that game now. The inability to finish is not something that will necessarily translate from game to game. You guys were a bit unlucky today, but the football your team played was absolutely marvelous to watch.
Speaking of Park Ji-Sung, it sounds like a full squad playing his game: Superior energy, effort and hustle, many chances created, not many finished. As a football fan, I'm thrilled to see it.
As for the match itself, I do think it was called too tightly, and that the biggest detriment was to the US offense.
Ji-sung13 - to echo what has already been said, take the chances that they create. Brazil will keep the ball better than the US and so it is unlikely that Korea is going to see the same number of chances. Souh Korea was defintely the best team on show on day 1. Poland's win over Brazil turned the group upside down and there are a number of delicious possibilities now.
Elliot - I think that saying that is a bit of a disservice to the skill with which the Koreans played. Their passing and movement was top notch.
As for the chances... One shot hit the bar (unlucky) after the sweetest buildup you'll ever see and a few more were saved by the excellent Chris Seitz who was named Player of the Match.
Had it not been for Seitz's heroics and with a bit more luck we wouldn't be talking about the Koreans' inability to finish and would rather be looking at a 3-1 or 4-1 loss for the US.
Korea certainly shaded it on the day. Rongen came out and admitted that.
The US did look out of sorts for portions and I give Korea credit for that. However....much of Korea's attack was LONG BALL hoofing. No great flowing stuff like I have been reading? What match did you people watch? When Korea tried slow build up play it fizzled. The most dangerous they were was when they long balled it route 1 and exposed a shaky back line when a forward was isolated v a defender. Arsenal or Barca?? UR havin a larf!
Bobby....you have to be kidding!!! The ref was diabolical! The Koreans go down like a sack of potatoes every time someone breathed on them and spent more time on the ground than any side in recent memory. The ref simply rewarded this sort of school yard nonsense by not allowing any challenges. Most of the yanks, and especially Altidore, were never even permitted to go for the ball or dare to challenge for it before the whistle had already blown.
Look people....korea deserved a result here...no question. But let's be a little more open about this as well.
Bobby was right about the last 30 minutes. The US started to control things and dictate the match. The Koreans frantic pace caught up with them and they started to tire and cramp. In the end, the US were blessed to have gotten out of it with a point.
I dont know about you but I saw plenty of Korean chances in the last 30 minutes and more nervous and do-or-die defending to prevent any balls from going in.
I think its a crock. Korea should have won 6 or 7-1. Its an embarassment. I came tipped by the "hype" that thhis team might actually be good. All I saw was a bunch of tactically and technically inept US players who were blown off the field.
Here is a suggestion: learn to trap the ball for pete's sake.
Oh that is harsh. I expect you're a yank and are simply venting disappointment because of the pre-tourney build up?
I do have problems with the US touting all their teams a bit much. However, in some sense, they are trying to drum up more interest and viewership.
I also have problems with so many just aching to give the US a rollicking any time they do not win 4-0! Many folks seem happier at our defeat or even when another side plays well, than they do their own side's success and will take massive efforts to "talk smack" about "how #### the US are." I have no time for such pillocks and blinkered -heels.
Adu was singled out by the Koreans and they ha 2,3 men on him at all times, it seemed. The first half he was invisible; but the second half he played well and I was impressed with his vision and passing. When he finally was able to get around the box to go 1v1, he got around his marker like he wasn't there and put a nice ball in the area.
I think Adu is a marked man in this tourney and it is Bradley and ALtidore that have t step up and take some of the pressure off.
Considering some of the other results, this could be a more valuable point than we realize?
This was certainly a crucial point for the US, necessary for any hope of advancement. I wonder whether the two points lost will prove to be crucial to the Koreans.
Personally, at this point I just want to see a prepared, competitive squad that is not lacking in proper leadership. I ignore anything that US leadership says about its own teams, look for informational/analytical sources without agendas, and try to watch what I can.
In that light, from what I could fathom, the manner in which the game was officiated, while not unfair, hurt what the Americans were trying to do more than it did the Koreans. That's not to say that the Koreans didn't outshine the Americans on their own merits.
I am a referee. I have NEVER accused a referee of being biased before this game. Hats off to Korea, they played a wonderful match, but they also had a huge advantage in that the U.S. was forced to play a "don't contact the body" game plan by the referee who did not require the same standard of Korea. I thought it was FIFA policy not to have a referee from the same confederation as either team in World Cup finals. Every referee on the crew was from CONCACAF. I think the CONCACAF "chip on the shoulder" about the USA influenced the referee. The foul count alone doesn't prove it, but a look at the yellow cards given to US players and the contact initiated by Korean defenders with no call (much less a card) would reveal a pretty clear discrepancy.
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