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Under-20 Youth
Perennial favorites U.S., Mexico share challenges entering CONCACAF U-20 Championship
Chivas forward Julio Nava of Mexico
3/3/2009 - PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Mexico and the United States will assume their usual status as favorites heading into the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship this week. They also share a similarity of having equal but somewhat different challenges.
The Americans, who have qualified a CONCACAF record six times for the U-20 World Cup, arrive this time without a high-profile, sure-to-draw European club scouts-like individual. Where in the past couple of cycles attention was focused on the likes of Eddie Johnson, Freddy Adu or Jozy Altidore – players whose talent could change a game in an instant, this year’s team will have to rely on more of a collective effort.
Mexico, on the other hand, will have to rely on its collection of talent and already established familiarity with one another while adjusting to a change of head coaches. Jesus “Chucho” Ramirez resigned in early February to take over at Mexico City side America, leaving his replacement Juan Carlos Chavez, less than a month to prepare for the eight-team championship.
The tournament will open Friday in Bacolet, Tobago with El Salvador facing Honduras, which completed the field Monday by beating St. Vincent & the Grenadines in a playoff 3-1. The opening Group A doubleheader will conclude with the U.S. playing Jamaica. Group B will start the following night in Macoya, Trinidad, with Mexico facing Costa Rica and Trinidad taking on Canada.
Two from each group will advance to the semifinals, and with it will earn berths in the U-20 World Cup September 24-October 16 in Egypt. The title and third-place matches will cap the championship on March 15.
Mexico has qualified for four of the last U-20 World Cups, and this year likely will rely on the offensive prowess of 19-year-old Julio Nava, who began his professional career two years ago with famed club Chivas de Guadalajara. A 1.70-meter (5-foot-7) attacking midfielder/ forward, Nava has a reputation as both a goal scorer and playmaker.
The United States has qualified a CONCACAF-best 11 times for the U-20 World Cup, but never won a regional title. That may largely be due to the fact the USA’s has emerged as a regional power in the past two decades, and since 1996 CONCACAF has not crowned a champion but rather run the finals of the competition as a two group affair, with two from each group advancing to the World Cup. This year, CONCACAF has re-established the tournament as a championship, a move welcomed by U.S. coach Thomas Rongen.
“It’s a great swtich to go back,” Rongen said. “If you win it, you can say we are the best in CONCACAF. It’s an extra incentive to be the best.
“I would be lying if I said that it isn’t the first priority, that all four teams going to the semis are going to World Cup. You’ve accomplished what came here to do, but then, it’s: ‘Lets win this thing.”’
The American U-20 team, much like its regular senior counterpart, is evenly split between domestic- and foreign-based players. Anthony Wallace of FC Dallas and captain Bryan Arguez of Hertha Berlin will anchor a midfield with FC Dallas forward Peri Marosevic expected to carry most of the scoring burden.
Jamaica may come in with the most momentum, having beaten Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Dever Orgill of Vancouver Whitecaps and Alonza Adlam had six goals each in Jamaica’s eight-game unbeaten run to the Caribbean title, and will arrive with a largely amateur team sprinkled with a few professionals. Midfielder Evan Taylor already has been given exposure to the senior Reggae Boyz.
Canada has had quite the opposite preparation, losing three of four games with only one draw and one goal. The Canadians arrive with a distinctive European influence, having 13 players on their preliminary roster plying their trade across the Atlantic. It has defender Nana Attakora-Gyan of Toronto returning from the 2007 U-20 World Cup team and Marcus Haber of the Vancouver Whitecaps that will likely be the target up front.
Like its senior team counterpart, Costa Rica comes in as the authority in the Central American region. The Ticos won their three-team qualifying group, easily dispatching Nicaragua and scoring twice in the first half before outlasting Honduras 2-1 to clinch a place in the CONCACAF championship.
While coaches always concentrate on winning their first game, Ronald Gonzalez will have to do without Christian Gamboa and Carlos Hernandez for Costa Rica’s opener against Mexico due to suspension.
Trinidad comes in not having had to qualify, but also with the home-field advantage. Some see Group B as the tougher of the two with Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as the host and Canada, which has qualified four straight times for the U-20 World Cup and five of the last six.
El Salvador will be playing in its 17th CONCACAF finals, but has never qualified for the World Cup. It won the 1964 CONCACAF title, but that was 13 years before FIFA staged its first world championship. Lester Blanco is the Cuscatlecos main threat, scoring three goals in qualifying and also proving clutch tallies for CD Chalatenango in the Salvadoran league.
It arrives in Trinidad with 12 members from its 2007 U-17 World Cup side, including captain and midfielder Leston Paul. But, like Canada, it has won only one of four friendlies coming into the tournament _ 1-0 against Honduras, and scored only two goals.
Honduras may get an early benefit from playing St. Vincent on Monday, the advantage of sharpening its tactics in a competitive match before the start of the tournament. But it may not be helpful to win the title, requiring it to play six games in 15 days if it makes the semifinals. Roberto Rojas scored seven of the Catrachos’ 18 goals in qualifying with Real Espana’s Mario Martinez adding another four.
The two scored six minutes apart late in the second half to rally Honduras from a one-goal deficit against St. Vincent.
If for no other reason than size, Mexico and the United States always get tagged with a label of favorite. This could be a year, however, for others.
Perennial favorites U.S., Mexico share challenges entering CONCACAF U-20 Championship
Chivas forward Julio Nava of Mexico
3/3/2009 - PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Mexico and the United States will assume their usual status as favorites heading into the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship this week. They also share a similarity of having equal but somewhat different challenges.
The Americans, who have qualified a CONCACAF record six times for the U-20 World Cup, arrive this time without a high-profile, sure-to-draw European club scouts-like individual. Where in the past couple of cycles attention was focused on the likes of Eddie Johnson, Freddy Adu or Jozy Altidore – players whose talent could change a game in an instant, this year’s team will have to rely on more of a collective effort.
Mexico, on the other hand, will have to rely on its collection of talent and already established familiarity with one another while adjusting to a change of head coaches. Jesus “Chucho” Ramirez resigned in early February to take over at Mexico City side America, leaving his replacement Juan Carlos Chavez, less than a month to prepare for the eight-team championship.
The tournament will open Friday in Bacolet, Tobago with El Salvador facing Honduras, which completed the field Monday by beating St. Vincent & the Grenadines in a playoff 3-1. The opening Group A doubleheader will conclude with the U.S. playing Jamaica. Group B will start the following night in Macoya, Trinidad, with Mexico facing Costa Rica and Trinidad taking on Canada.
Two from each group will advance to the semifinals, and with it will earn berths in the U-20 World Cup September 24-October 16 in Egypt. The title and third-place matches will cap the championship on March 15.
Mexico has qualified for four of the last U-20 World Cups, and this year likely will rely on the offensive prowess of 19-year-old Julio Nava, who began his professional career two years ago with famed club Chivas de Guadalajara. A 1.70-meter (5-foot-7) attacking midfielder/ forward, Nava has a reputation as both a goal scorer and playmaker.
The United States has qualified a CONCACAF-best 11 times for the U-20 World Cup, but never won a regional title. That may largely be due to the fact the USA’s has emerged as a regional power in the past two decades, and since 1996 CONCACAF has not crowned a champion but rather run the finals of the competition as a two group affair, with two from each group advancing to the World Cup. This year, CONCACAF has re-established the tournament as a championship, a move welcomed by U.S. coach Thomas Rongen.
“It’s a great swtich to go back,” Rongen said. “If you win it, you can say we are the best in CONCACAF. It’s an extra incentive to be the best.
“I would be lying if I said that it isn’t the first priority, that all four teams going to the semis are going to World Cup. You’ve accomplished what came here to do, but then, it’s: ‘Lets win this thing.”’
The American U-20 team, much like its regular senior counterpart, is evenly split between domestic- and foreign-based players. Anthony Wallace of FC Dallas and captain Bryan Arguez of Hertha Berlin will anchor a midfield with FC Dallas forward Peri Marosevic expected to carry most of the scoring burden.
Jamaica may come in with the most momentum, having beaten Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Dever Orgill of Vancouver Whitecaps and Alonza Adlam had six goals each in Jamaica’s eight-game unbeaten run to the Caribbean title, and will arrive with a largely amateur team sprinkled with a few professionals. Midfielder Evan Taylor already has been given exposure to the senior Reggae Boyz.
Canada has had quite the opposite preparation, losing three of four games with only one draw and one goal. The Canadians arrive with a distinctive European influence, having 13 players on their preliminary roster plying their trade across the Atlantic. It has defender Nana Attakora-Gyan of Toronto returning from the 2007 U-20 World Cup team and Marcus Haber of the Vancouver Whitecaps that will likely be the target up front.
Like its senior team counterpart, Costa Rica comes in as the authority in the Central American region. The Ticos won their three-team qualifying group, easily dispatching Nicaragua and scoring twice in the first half before outlasting Honduras 2-1 to clinch a place in the CONCACAF championship.
While coaches always concentrate on winning their first game, Ronald Gonzalez will have to do without Christian Gamboa and Carlos Hernandez for Costa Rica’s opener against Mexico due to suspension.
Trinidad comes in not having had to qualify, but also with the home-field advantage. Some see Group B as the tougher of the two with Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as the host and Canada, which has qualified four straight times for the U-20 World Cup and five of the last six.
El Salvador will be playing in its 17th CONCACAF finals, but has never qualified for the World Cup. It won the 1964 CONCACAF title, but that was 13 years before FIFA staged its first world championship. Lester Blanco is the Cuscatlecos main threat, scoring three goals in qualifying and also proving clutch tallies for CD Chalatenango in the Salvadoran league.
It arrives in Trinidad with 12 members from its 2007 U-17 World Cup side, including captain and midfielder Leston Paul. But, like Canada, it has won only one of four friendlies coming into the tournament _ 1-0 against Honduras, and scored only two goals.
Honduras may get an early benefit from playing St. Vincent on Monday, the advantage of sharpening its tactics in a competitive match before the start of the tournament. But it may not be helpful to win the title, requiring it to play six games in 15 days if it makes the semifinals. Roberto Rojas scored seven of the Catrachos’ 18 goals in qualifying with Real Espana’s Mario Martinez adding another four.
The two scored six minutes apart late in the second half to rally Honduras from a one-goal deficit against St. Vincent.
If for no other reason than size, Mexico and the United States always get tagged with a label of favorite. This could be a year, however, for others.
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