The U-20 World Cup starts tomorrow, this can be pretty entertaining and is a good chance to see future stars start making a name for themselves. Games will be on ESPNU in English and on TeleFutura and Galavision and FSE in Spanish. http://www.livesoccertv.com/world-cup-u-20/2007/ USA Games June 30 - 17:00 Korea Republic vs USA - MONTREAL July 03 - 17:00 USA vs Poland - MONTREAL July 06 - 19:45 Brazil vs USA - OTTAWA US players to watch: Freddy Adu - He hasn't done much to live up to the hype so far, this will be a chance for him to show what he's capable of playing against people his own age. Josmer Altidore - He's been playing pretty well for New York and could have a bright future with the US team. Gabriel Ferrari - He's currently playing in Serie A, the US really needs either him or Altidore to step and give us a solid forward. There's a few other midfielders that could be good but those are the ones that are most likely to stand out. Mexico Games 02 July - 17:00 Gambia vs Mexico - TORONTO 05 July - 19:45 Mexico vs Portugal - TORONTO 08 July - 15:15 New Zealand vs Mexico - EDMONTON All times are local for where they are being played, I'm too lazy to look them up to see what they are Houston time.
Thanks for the heads up. I forgot about this one with everything else going on... I'm really more interested seeing in Ferrari and Altidore. They could really be the future at foward for us. A good showing by one or both should get them in the Olympics next year and possibly their first caps as well. Then again, a really good show by Ferrari might get him a call up to Italy instead. If anyone needs to have a great tournament, it's Adu. It's "s*** or get off the pot" time. I'm not saying that this is the end all be all of his career, but it's time for him to prove the hype is warranted. He needs to dominate.
Thanks once again Luda... Do you have to qualify for this or what? I am surprised Holland is not in there since their U-21 team just won the European championship for the 2nd time in a row.
I heard that the mexican team is good to, With Carlos Vela and Giovani dos santos, I think we can do it very well.
Yes, you do have to qualify, I'm not sure what the qualification process was like for European teams though.
Viva Polonia!!! Bad week for Brasil: lose to an Argie team in the Copa Libertadores Champ; lose to Mexico in the Copa America; lose to Poland in the FIFA U-20.
Didn't get to see the US game, but I was very disappointed with Pato's performance. He's an incredible talent(and going to Chelsea apparently), but he just didn't show up.
not sure if i can post links but i saw http://www.channelsurfing.net has a few matches on there where you can watch it
The US got outplayed pretty badly in the first half, they couldn't complete any passes and Korea didn't give them any time on the ball and won just about every 50/50 ball. We were pretty lucky to be tied at halftime. In the second half the coach subbed in Dax McCarty and things got better, towards the end of the second half we were able to maintain possession and create some attacks. Korea still had some good chances but it was back and forth instead of a constant onslaught. Altidore and Adu played forward which I don't think worked too well. Adu needs to have the ball at his feet so he can create chances. Altidore did ok but missed one really good chance, he just had to make contact with the ball but totally whiffed it.
Adu is not a foward. He's more of an offensive mid-type. He does better facing goal...maybe much like Donovan, he'd be more effective on the outside.
Absolute dominant first half by the US over a Polish team coming off a victory over Brazil. After giving up a goal in the 5th minute, the US responded with three world class goals, one from Danny Szetela and two from Freddy Adu. Sal Zizzo looks like a great prospect, he set up both of Adu's goals. 3-1 HT.
6-1 FT. Szetela, Altidore and Adu (hat trick) add the second half goals. I have a feeling Freddy just made himself a lot of money in Europe, for once he's finally lived up to the hype. Not only the goals, but his movement and passing all match were brilliant (although he did start to show off a bit during the middle of the second half). This is an extremely talented US side, I think we'll be seeing quite a few of them move to Europe soon after this tournament.
Outstanding result. 6-1 over a team that just shutout Brazil while shorthanded. Even better to see Adu perform on this stage.
What a great game, if only our mens team could finish like these guys. Adu: He had the ball at his feet a lot more this game and good things happened because of it. He did a great job of finishing on all three of his chances. He's also been sending in some great corners and free kicks in our two games. Zizzo: He was the player of the game in the first half but didn't seem to do much in the second. He did a great job of taking on the Polish defense though. Altidore: He needs to work on winning the ball but he still had a pretty good game. He had a few shot from around the edge of the 18 that were struck pretty well and on target and had a few good moves to get by defenders. Szetela: I think he had 5 touches the whole game and got 2 goals out of it. You can't argue with results though. If you weren't able to see it today ESPNU is showing it again tomorrow at 5:30 I think. Adu's first goal: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-i0IZZ-yaUU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-i0IZZ-yaUU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
If Adu's first isn't the goal of the tournament, I'd like to see what beats it. I know the senior team is still holding out hope for Eddie Johnson to regain his form. They don't need to. They have the players already. This is the Adu I've been waiting to see. I really wish I had ESPNU. I want to see the Brazil match. I think it's going to be the game of the tournament.
ESPN has picked up the USA-Brazil match and will air it live at 6:30. It should be fun, both teams are a ton of talent.
