Tweet
Poor opposition hurting U.S. U-20 team
Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Americans soccer fans finally got a look at their championship hopes for this year.
No, I'm not talking about that meaningless friendly in California, which was deservedly ignored — unless of course several thousand fans came dressed as empty seats.
I'm talking about the U-20 qualifying tournament in Panama, which wrapped up this weekend with the Americans, led by Freddy Adu, qualifying for the sixth straight time.
The U-20 World Cup (formerly the "World Youth Championships") will be held across Canada this summer from Vancouver to Montreal in what could be the most meaningful competition for the Americans down the road. It's expected to be the biggest sporting event in Canadian sporting history, having already sold 300,000 tickets, and it's here where fans will see just how much (or how little) professional play has tempered Adu, Josy Altidore, Danny Szetela and their teammates.
Last time out, in 2005, the Americans finished a dismal 12th; in fact, the USA's best performance in a U-20 tournament came almost 20 years ago, when Kasey Keller led the team to a fourth-place finish in 1989. But this time, the Americans — playing close to home — are expected to perform much better.
They will learn their first round sites and opponents when the draw for the 24-team event is held in Toronto on March 3.
Watching the games this week in Panama, however, it's pretty clear there is a big gap between what the Americans can do and what resources they have to work with. The USA racked up two big wins right enough — one each over Haiti and hosts Panama — but consistency still seems to elude this team.
Part of the problem is innate: in this age group, consistency is the hardest attribute to teach. One of the reasons it is so noticeable is because the level of competition the Americans usually face is so lousy.
Take Haiti: The team the Americans faced on opening night was about a foot shorter at every position and looked like a juniors team. The Haitians were completely blown off the pitch, 4-1. This was not a good team by any stretch of the imagination — and yet this was a side that blew away Guatemala in its final match.
How then, does one explain the USA's dismal showing against Guatemala, a torpid 0-0 draw that saw the Americans beaten at every turn? It cannot have been due to a lack of motivation — the USA knew that if it won the match, it would have locked up a slot. Instead, with that draw the U-20s went into final game prep against the hosts perhaps needing a result.
As it happened, Haiti's improbable win on the last day rendered the USA's final game meaningless, but the point is that the USA had a chance to put the sword to their qualifying and couldn't. Frankly, the side looked awful against a Guatemalan side that was far below average to boot.
The bottom line here is that because the USA is by far and away so much better than the opposition, the teams can have an off day and still qualify with ease. The problem is that this doesn't replicate what the USA will face in Canada and instills a false confidence in the soccer community as a whole. The pace of the matches is deathly slow, and there were very few moments in any of the three games where an observer could pick out a player that might possibly blossom into a true professional prospect. The Americans were reactive, not proactive. They got a break.
Contrast this tournament with the one going on right now in Paraguay to determine the South American qualifiers to the U-20 World Cup. If you can, play a game from Panama side by side with one from Paraguay. The two competitions are light years apart.
For one thing, the South Americans get to play on a real field, not a potato patch — something that CONCACAF should be ashamed of. For another, the speed at which the games are played in South America makes the CONCACAF matches look like a stroll.
The games I've seen (which are broadcast live o
Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Americans soccer fans finally got a look at their championship hopes for this year.
No, I'm not talking about that meaningless friendly in California, which was deservedly ignored — unless of course several thousand fans came dressed as empty seats.
I'm talking about the U-20 qualifying tournament in Panama, which wrapped up this weekend with the Americans, led by Freddy Adu, qualifying for the sixth straight time.
The U-20 World Cup (formerly the "World Youth Championships") will be held across Canada this summer from Vancouver to Montreal in what could be the most meaningful competition for the Americans down the road. It's expected to be the biggest sporting event in Canadian sporting history, having already sold 300,000 tickets, and it's here where fans will see just how much (or how little) professional play has tempered Adu, Josy Altidore, Danny Szetela and their teammates.
Last time out, in 2005, the Americans finished a dismal 12th; in fact, the USA's best performance in a U-20 tournament came almost 20 years ago, when Kasey Keller led the team to a fourth-place finish in 1989. But this time, the Americans — playing close to home — are expected to perform much better.
They will learn their first round sites and opponents when the draw for the 24-team event is held in Toronto on March 3.
Watching the games this week in Panama, however, it's pretty clear there is a big gap between what the Americans can do and what resources they have to work with. The USA racked up two big wins right enough — one each over Haiti and hosts Panama — but consistency still seems to elude this team.
Part of the problem is innate: in this age group, consistency is the hardest attribute to teach. One of the reasons it is so noticeable is because the level of competition the Americans usually face is so lousy.
Take Haiti: The team the Americans faced on opening night was about a foot shorter at every position and looked like a juniors team. The Haitians were completely blown off the pitch, 4-1. This was not a good team by any stretch of the imagination — and yet this was a side that blew away Guatemala in its final match.
How then, does one explain the USA's dismal showing against Guatemala, a torpid 0-0 draw that saw the Americans beaten at every turn? It cannot have been due to a lack of motivation — the USA knew that if it won the match, it would have locked up a slot. Instead, with that draw the U-20s went into final game prep against the hosts perhaps needing a result.
As it happened, Haiti's improbable win on the last day rendered the USA's final game meaningless, but the point is that the USA had a chance to put the sword to their qualifying and couldn't. Frankly, the side looked awful against a Guatemalan side that was far below average to boot.
The bottom line here is that because the USA is by far and away so much better than the opposition, the teams can have an off day and still qualify with ease. The problem is that this doesn't replicate what the USA will face in Canada and instills a false confidence in the soccer community as a whole. The pace of the matches is deathly slow, and there were very few moments in any of the three games where an observer could pick out a player that might possibly blossom into a true professional prospect. The Americans were reactive, not proactive. They got a break.
Contrast this tournament with the one going on right now in Paraguay to determine the South American qualifiers to the U-20 World Cup. If you can, play a game from Panama side by side with one from Paraguay. The two competitions are light years apart.
For one thing, the South Americans get to play on a real field, not a potato patch — something that CONCACAF should be ashamed of. For another, the speed at which the games are played in South America makes the CONCACAF matches look like a stroll.
The games I've seen (which are broadcast live o
Comment