Subject: [NT] U21 World Cup

Thanks all for the kudos. We had a plan, and it worked. But I've been on the other end of this kind of game enough to recognize the kindness of random.

Your strikers & keeper have the power to make you look like a genius or a dolt. Normally the Canadian ones conspire to make me look like a dolt (as the USA ones did to Mr. Gibbage today). It's kind of nice when they swing the other way. :)

The win advances us to the Group Stage of the competition, and guarantees us another 3 matches.

Not sure if this is a good thing. :) Odds are we will see 3 strong sides (keep in mind we couldn't beat Malaysia). But the draw is completely random - maybe we'll get lucky.

I'll report our group here when it's drawn, or if you are interested, check the U21 thread yourself. :)

3-0 is probably about as harsh of a result that could have possibly happened in that one. 17 shots and not a goal is just silly!

We did miss a quality chance near the start of the match. Had we converted everything it could have been 4-0. :) But you are right, USA going 0 for 17 shooting is harsh. Our finishing was unbelievably good.

I'm curious why Lucas (tragic form) was selected over Barrett or D Smuckers. It appears, at least on the surface, that USA may have had better options up front. (Lucas did drop into bit of an OM role at times - perhaps that is why).

Tech thing. Thought it was worth a gamble, but didn't quite pay off :(

I see. Worth a shot considering our back-line. Didn't work out given the USA strikers didn't carry much speed through the line, and a lot of the shots were from a bit distance.

Couple other quick points.

I was impressed with Foster and Kasim. Both made some very good passes. Foster some long outlet passes to the wing, and Kasim some decent balls upfield that could easily have been kick-outs.

Tip of the cap to G Verville. I guessed right this week, and had our best marker on the USA winger. He missed the tackle quite a few times, but always seemed to get enough of the ball to chip it out. Didn't allow the winger to get past him, which was the problem against Mexico.

It was possible qualify as a 3rd place team. The 3 goal loss today by the US meant they missed qualifying by 1 in goal differential. Had the match been 2-0, the US would have advanced.

Well, he's our group. Our goal, as in the last two matches, will be attempting to dodge blow-outs.

Group B

Brasil
[color=#FF0000 size=5 face=arial]Canada [/color]
England
Argentina

Congratulations Seca for the win, you deserved it.

So ... big challenge this week in Brasil. With ~3900 managers, Brasil is the second largest nation in Sokker. This is a definite advantage for the national team, but an absolutely huge one when it comes to U21.

They did not have to qualify due to their showing in the actual WC. Makes it tougher to know what they'll do. They did play a U21 match last week against Belgium (here), so we are not completely in the dark about their personnel.

They have all the tools, and depth at most positions. I doubt any of our players would make their starting line-up.

But we're not without hope. We've got a hot keeper and striker. Our midfield has looked sharp against tough opposition. Looks like we got through the week injury free, and our form, for the most part, isn't bad.

Still, it's probably best to temper expectations. :)

PS - the line-up is set for the most part. Still hoping to hear from Ryan Cooke's manager - he's possible help at the back. Though if his form drops he may be ruled out regardless.

lol...ryan cooke was sold for 63 euro and will make the NT? now thats nice :)

That depends on your perspective. :)

This week's other match in our group (England vs. Argentina) has been played. For a close game it is really, really, really dull. If you have some wet paint at home I'd probably recommend watching that dry instead.

The good news from that match is that England doesn't appear to be head & shoulders better then us (they are better, but IMO not as strong as USA). The class of the group appears to be Brasil - which is consistent with the relative user bases.

I'm going to be on the road when the match runs today. May get a chance to watch it when I get to my destination, but it's possible I won't be around again until this evening.

Well, a 2-0 loss. I guess that is a fair result. It was an exciting game to watch despite the defence lineups on both teams. The midfielders had lots of room.
That is a good tactic for Canada against much stronger opposition. Canada's passing was great, and Canada beat Brasil in the passing rating. Brasil defense were poor at passing.
Singh and Boissieres, both had great games again and, with considerable luck, could conceivably eeked out a tie.
Good game, Seca - we are presenting Argentina and England some different looks - and they wont know what to expect of us.

A decent result. They could have had 3 or 4 really. We had some good stretches of play, but really weren't all that close to breaking through.

Our tactic was very defensive. The premise was similar to the Mexico match, except that with 4 in the "wall" it allowed the flank defenders to be placed a little wider. I thought it worked well. Both Brasil goals happened when a defender had been pulled well out of position.

Fluet was the real key. He had a lot of territory to cover. Not only did he have to hold down central midfield (by himself), he had to be quick enough to stay in position and plug the gap in the wall. On the first goal I asked too much of him - the "switch" from Brasil allowed them to pass it through the gap before Fluet could fill the hole.

Very tough when you lose the technique-tackling battle so badly. It often took 2 or 3 head on tackles to dislodge the ball from a Brasil striker, while at the other end most times clean from-behind tackles were made on the Canadian strikers.

I was disappointed with the tackling of midfield. I expected Fluet and Foster to do a better job of ball recovery. Brasil's technical superiority was pretty decisive all over the pitch.

Still, 2-0 does give some cause for optimism, as I do believe Brasil to be the strongest side in the group.

I thought Gonzalo Verville played a great defensive game. I was a bit worried about Singh when they scored right away. I think he picked up the play with a few nice one-on-one saves ... including the penalty. Wish he could do that for me :)

Obviously I need to find some good tactics :)