US U-17 Men Can't Advance...

The US U-17 Men's National Team didn't have enough in the tank to beat Germany at the U-17 World Cup. Germany showed early in the tournament they were going to be a top team and they continued to win, pushing the US out of the event.

I've got to think this is a major disappointment for US Soccer. This young team was seen as a strong side going into the event but they stumbled early and couldn't recover. While advancing to the knock out stage is good, US Soccer needs to advance deeper into these events to continue earning worldwide respect. This U-17 is certainly not going to live long in the minds of American fans. Since 1999 the U-17 men have reached the quarterfinals three out of five times.

Back to the drawing board for the next U-17 World Cup cycle.

FIFA U-17 World Cup Update...

The US won't play until tomorrow and the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals are half set. The biggest shock of the first knockout round? Brazil lost to Ghana, 1-0. The US knows all about Ghana's senior team's quality but the U-17 team was able to surprise Brazil. This is the same Brazil that went through the group stage scoring 14 goals. Brazil lost to England in group play so we knew they weren't perfect, but getting shut out by Ghana...that was unexpected.

European teams have faired well so far. Spain and France will face each other in one of the quarterfinal matches. The other will feature Africa against South America, Ghana vs. Peru. Peru was able to do what the US couldn't, beat Tajikistan.

Tomorrow the US faces Germany. The German offense was the second best in group play, scoring 11 goals. However their defense wasn't too solid in giving up 5 goals. Seeing as that the US gave up 7 goals, they will need to be organized and solid in the back to have any hope against the Germans.

The game tomorrow will once again be shown on ESPNU at 7 am edt. Why ESPN2 can't give up some precious Mike and Mike in the morning time for the youth national team, I don't understand. So, I won't be able to DVR this game. Too bad. Those of you in college should be able to see it.

U-17 Men...They Did It!!!

The US U-17 Men were able to beat Belgium this weekend to jump into second place in the group. They will play against the winner of Group F, Germany, on Thursday. Way to go!!!

US U-17 Men...What Happened...Still a Chance...

The US U-17 went into the 2007 World Cup as the team with a lot of potential. They have potentially great players. They could potentially make some noise in the knock out stages. They could potentially win the whole thing. It isn't just me saying this. Worldwide media and FIFA were saying it. FIFA went so far as to say the US is expected to dominate Group E. I don't know what has happened, either no one told the US or people told the opponents.

After the group draw I was telling myself there is no way the US won't advance against these smaller programs. Seriously, we played countries no bigger then many states in the US. Tajikistan is slightly smaller than Wisconsin and 7,076,598 residents. Tunisia is slightly larger than Georgia and has 10,276,158 residents. How do these countries come out and beat the US, population 301,139,947? Seriously...how?

These two teams must have had more heart, desire and luck. I can't explain it any other way.

The US next faces Belgium and there is still somehow a chance for the US to make it through to the next round. If the US beats Belgium by a large margin they can move into second if Tunisia beats Tajikistan. Tajikistan's +/- is zero while the US' is -3. So the US would need to win by three goals while Tajikistan loses by at least one. There are also two third place spots the US could qualify for. If the US wins and Korea DPR, Syria and France all lose or tie there should be a third place spot open for the young Americans.

It is hard to stomach that the US is looking at what if type scenarios but here we are. They should have come out and put away early chances to take control of the first two matches, but they didn't. That is what happens in these types of youth tournaments. Let's all cross our collective fingers that the US can crush Belgium with Tunisia also beating Tajikistan by a large margin. I don't want to count on the third place games.

In Four Years Danny Cruz Learned To Play Soccer...

This is a really interesting story. Danny Cruz grew up playing Hockey and Football. In-between the two high school sports seasons he started playing soccer to stay in shape. Now he is on the U-17 World Cup team and going to UNLV to play soccer. He's certainly going to be one to watch.

This story will undoubtedly play into the arguement that American athletes are just good at sports and can play any they set their mind to. If more of these great athletes choose soccer over the other American sports, watch out world. But, will pure athleticism overtake Brazilian creativity and flair? The future will reveal itself.

2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup Is Upon Us...

US Soccer has had a very busy summer. The Senior Men's team played in two major tournaments back to back, winning one. The U-20 Men played in their World Cup and reached the Quarterfinals. The Women will be playing in their World Cup soon. Countless friendlies have gone in the books and some more are coming up. 2007 has been the summer of soccer.

The next event for the men, the FIFA U-17 World Cup, is kicking off this Saturday, August 18th, in Suwon, South Korea. The US will see their first action on Monday, August 20th, in Changwon against Tajikistan. Below is the team's group stage schedule:

20 Aug - Tajikistan vs. USA - Live on ESPNU at 7:00 am EDT
23 Aug - USA vs. Tunisia - Live on ESPN2 at 4:00 am EDT
26 Aug - Belgium vs. USA - Live on ESPNU at 3:00 am EDT

Note the live television broadcasts on the ESPN network. Previously these games would be on a Spanish language channel, but to my knowledge this is the first time we're seeing them in English. Correct me if I'm wrong. Who's going to stay up for these like they did in 2002? Not I, the DVR is magic. Too bad ESPNU is so hard to come by.

The team arrives in South Korea today to start their amazing journey through a World Cup. For some this will be a once in a lifetime experience. For others it will be the first of many World Cups.

US Soccer has put a couple of videos out so you can meet the team. Say hello to the US U-17 Men's National Team. (For some reason youtube has not posted the embed link, once they do I will post that way.)

You can also see some clips of the kids in action.

It is hard to imagine the US not advancing out of the group stage in this event. However, the three teams we're grouped with are big unknowns. They could rise up and pull an Austria. Should the US make it out of the group, based upon their finishing rank in the group and all of these other teams' final rank in their groups, they could face Costa Rica, Togo, Korea Republic, Peru, Nigeria, France, Japan, Haiti, Colombia, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago or Ghana. Personally I enjoy seeing that Brazil and Argentina aren't on that list. We'll know what the knockout round looks like once all group games are finished August 26th.

Many of the Americans playing in this event are too young to be starting college, however a few will be freshmen once they return from South Korea. Below is the roster and which college they are attending in the fall, if they are headed to college. Additionally there is one professional player in the ranks:

Goalkeepers:
Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wis.) - N/A
Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.) - N/A
Larry Jackson (East Palo Alto, Calif.) - N/A

Defenders:
Sheanon Williams (Boston, Mass.) - N/A
Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.) - N/A
Tommy Meyer (St. Louis, Mo.) - N/A
Chris Klute (Grand Prairie, Texas) - N/A
Kofi Sarkodie (Huber Heights, Ohio) - N/A
Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.) - N/A

Midfielders:
Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.) - Wake Forest
Jared Jeffrey (Dallas, Texas) - N/A
Kirk Urso (Lombard, Ill.) - N/A
Dane Shea (College Station, Texas) - N/A
Gregory Garza (Grapevine, Texas) - N/A
Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.) - N/A
Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.) - N/A

Forwards:
Ellis McLoughlin (Seattle, Wash.) - U of Washington
Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga.) - N/A
Abdusalam Ibrahim (FC Dallas) - FC Dallas
Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.) - N/A
Daniel Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.) - UNLV

There is a chance a player on the above roster will turn pro after the tournament. MLS could sign someone and assign them to a club, or a foreign club may sign someone based on their play at the tournament. Anymore all of these players have a good chance at becoming professional soccer players. If you get a chance to watch one of these games, do. The younger teams often play a more attacking style of play, sometimes completely ignoring defensive responsibilities. Enjoy!

You can now find a history of the US' performance in the U-17 World Cup in the right margin.