Congo beats Canada and so the four best third place finishers come from groups A, B, C and D. The draw for the last sixteen is now final and on side one its Austria vs. Gambia; USA vs. Uruguay; Spain vs. Brazil; Japan vs. Czech Republic.
On side two it is Chile vs. Portugal; Zambia vs. Nigeria; Argentina vs. Poland; Mexico vs. Congo.
In the quarter final round it will Austria or Gambia vs. USA or Uruguay and so on. The winner of that quadrant will play the winner of Spain or Brazil vs. Japan or the Czech Republic.
I'm heading to Toronto to cover the USA vs. Uruguay and Argentina vs. Poland games.
The remaining federation was Oceania represented by New Zealand who finished last in group C. Unlike the World Cup where you often have countries from the same federation drawn in the same group the under-20 tournament has no such duplication. It can make for some interesting comparisons.
Both South America (four for four) and Africa (four for four) lead the qualifiers based on home federation. UEFA has more countries in the last sixteen (5) with Scotland failing to move on from group F. CONCACAF have two countries out of a possible five qualify while only Japan out of the four Asian representatives have been successful.
Points gained by federation after the first group round:
FEDERATION P Pts % South America 12 21 58 Africa 12 21 58 Uefa 15 24 53 Concacaf 15 20 44 Asia 12 12 33 Oceania 3 0 0
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.
That's the worst draw possible for the USA, in my opinion. Of course, Spain got the worst draw for a number one team, so no whining. The good new is that the Gambia/Austria winner will not be favored against us, supposing that we beat Uruguay. Does anyone have the skinny on this Uruguay team???
Uruguay - Great striker in Cavani and like most South American sides they are very comfortable on the ball. Their goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea is a disaster but was sent off in the last group game against Zambia. If the back up keeper is worse Altidore should make hay. Caceres was named by World Soccer as one of the best young defenders at the South American qualifying tournament but they also noted that he had trouble against big physical forwards - advantage Altidore again. They blew a two goal lead against Spain in the first game.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on July 8th at 8:02 PM.
Thanks, Bobby. Of interesting note, Mexico and Argentina should become arch-rivals if all plays out as predicted (Both Advance against inferior opponents). Mexico lost in a heart breaker against Argentina in the '06 World Cup - a Maxi Rodriguez prayer that had no business going in. The senior teams face each other in the Semi Finals of Copa America and both are in excellent form - Nery Castillo may be the tournament best and Argentina can come at you with 11 players. In some strange way, I am hoping that Mexico gets the better of the series. Then you add in the La Volpe/Sanchez ordeal and you have yourself a real Latin American soap opera.
Let's hope Uruguay decides not to play high pressure. I was surprised that Poland gave so much time to the US after seeing the struggle against Korea. Did Brazil go for pressure? I missed seeing that one.
US domination. The back line will easily contain the Uraguay striker as they did with Pato. The midfield will continue to improve thier linkage and Altidore is getting his finishing stride. It also looks like thier having fun playing together which is what football is all about. US 3 - Uraguay 0
hahaha!
well that was the best bad news bears impression i've ever seen by a non-fictional sports team (canada u20 team), did you see the forards with open nets 5 yards away firing the ball 10 and 20 feet wide and over?
amateur hour, sad, sad, sad for canadian football...
anyhow, moving on, well done to the africans and south americans, one of whom will undoubtedly be crowned u20 champions this year.
Man, too many people here seem to be giving the US defense a free pass (minus oldcoach I think). I am telling you this US U20 defense is a problem. They have had plenty of luck so far, but they give away acres of space far too often. They have trouble against speed. The Poles were slow so it wasn't a difficult night, but watching the Korea and Brazil game, the US has had enough luck for several teams in one tournament. They need to improve, and fast if the expect to make it deep into this tournament.
Right now we have offense, but when and if the chances start to dry up, and the defense starts to run out of luck, well, you can guess the rest.
So #2#, I wouldn't make any such claim about the US defense easily containing anyone. Lets hope they solve their issues so we can be looking at a 3-0 victory!
uzoma180 - I agree I am not surprised either. African teams typically do very well at the youth levels. Its at the senior levels where they haven't realized their full promise.
I never said Argentina didn't deserve the victory, just that the shot had no business going in. It was quite extraodinary. Besides I am not really that partial to Mexico considering I am a staunch supporter of the USA. Although it would be nice to see Mexico win the U17 and U20 for the sake of CONCACAF. As much as I hate to admit it, they are better equiped to take it all than the US.
What do you mean a shot has no business going in? It was a superb shot. Give credit when magic is created like that. It sounded like you thought that was the only reason Mexico lost.
And why would Mexico winning the U-17 and U-20 be good for Concacaf?
To me, let the best side win. I want to see the best football possible.
Nebulachapin:
When does so called consistant luck turn into solid defense. When I watch the US they have great support from others. This is the quality that allows players to take chances when going to steal which will start counter-attack. It all starts in the back, if the back line is holding thier own, the players up front will have more freedom to stay up high and not have to chase back to get the ball. You yourself said that they have had good offense. I mean this is how the US has played for a few years, but this team has a lot more composure on the ball and is, don't pass out, CREATIVE and fearless when they have the ball.
Yes, you are making all the right points about the offensive potency of the US, and often it does start in the back. The problem isn't so much with the transition from defense to attack, but the defense itself.
I made several points which I believe are true: The main one is that the US defense has trouble with speedy and skilled attackers. And I mean they have trouble because they lose their organization and discipline which leads to concession of space, and desperate if almost chaotic defending at times. To be fair much of the problems the defenders have to deal with came from the midfield where poor first touches and traps (far too many in my opinion) led to unforced giveaways and instant counter attack.
There were FAR FAR too many shots allowed by the US defense in both the Korea and Brazil game. The fact that we didnt lose 7-1 against Korea, or that Brazil didnt at least equalize is to a great degree based on luck. A solid defense would not allow so many chances, and on top of that so many GOOD chances. Thats the difference. Sooner or later you give a top team that many chances and your luck will run out.
Yes the defense is a concern. But mainly on counterattacks after giveaways in the middle of the field. Sturgis is not known for his pace but he has a very high soccer IQ and a very high skill level for a US developed player. He and the keepr are the true lynchpins for the US defense. If the maintains his level and Sturgis can help bring the defense up a notch, I think they have a chance to go deep into the tournament. Bradley also must play well in providing cover for the back four. High pressure in the midfield is real worry though.
Bobby, how do you think teams will try to attack the US?
I think you might find Cavani dropping a little bit deeper and trying to find space between the back four and the midfield.
By the way the preview of the last sixteen is up on the main FSC site.
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