US U-20s Advance to Quarterfinals...

Last night the US U-20 team looked to be in trouble. In the 73rd minute Uruguay scored a goal, to take the lead 1-0, that capped off a period of time where they looked dominant. In the minutes running up to the Uruguay goal I said to myself, "this is it, it is over." There were many stretches of play where it seemed the US couldn't string two passes together. Where they couldn't find their creative engine, Freddy Adu. Josmer Altidore was out with a knock after being hacked all night long, and he had been the most dangerous American player to that point.

Uruguay played the game right last night. They pressured well. They took the game to the US. They didn't let the US think about passes to make and it forced a lot of errors. I can't even count how many times the US passed to the other team. The US looked like a bunch of amateurs, which is not what they looked like against Brazil.

The starting team was 36% amateur. College players Brian Perk, Julian Valentin, Tony Beltran and Sal Zizzo got the start. Andre Akpan came on for the injured Altidore to bring the college total to five players.

There is an interesting comparison between the professional left starting flank and the right flank. On the left you have pros Athony Wallace & Robbie Rogers, while on the right you have college players Tony Beltran & Sal Zizzo. In my opinion Wallace defended better and Rogers was more dangerous with the ball then their team mates on the other side of the field. Additionally, both Beltran and Zizzo were subbed out of the game. I'm not going to say that the professional players were more talented or more qualified to be there. I am going to say that they were better prepared. The pros are in mid-season shape while the college players haven't played a serious game since the fall of 2006 (yes there is the college spring season, but the NCAA puts a lot of restrictions around practice and playing time in the off-season so it isn't the same as the fall).

Throughout this event the college players have shown they can play, but they've also showed they are not at their peak form. Brian Perk was shaky to start the match and gave up a tough rebound that led to the Uruguay goal. He did improve and we should give him a break since this was his first start in the tournament.

The biggest weakness this American team has is defense. Last night they were shaky and they committed a lot of fouls in dangerous places. They were lucky Uruguay didn't have David Beckham to take the free kicks from right outside the 18. The US will face Austria in the Quarterfinal this Saturday. They had better work on better organization in the back or they will not make it to the Semifinals.

In the World Cup there is always a bit of luck on the side of the eventual champions. Last night the US were lucky Uruguay let up the pressure after their goal, allowing the US more possession and time to create a goal, all be it an own goal. The US dogged a bullet and in the next match they had better control from the start, create good chances early and take a lead into the half. Because next time a squeaker comes around, it could be the other team's lucky day.