Compelling Soccer

I didn't see all of the US junior squad's game against South Korea Friday, but I had more than my fill. The 3-0 scoreline told only part of the debacle for the US. While they got the better of possession, they did little with it and ended up barely troubling their opponents despite being down by two goals for most of the second half. But that wasn't the worst of it.

Sometimes a team just gets outplayed. It happens. And maybe this squad just isn't that talented. I don't like to hear the excuse that Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore are eligible and could have played for the team when Germany beat the US and had it's second tier squad out there, but the reality is Germany is a soccer superpower. The US is not. It's depth isn't there.

However, what is inexcusable was the discipline display as the second half moved on. Ike Opera was sent off for a pair of yellows. Opera was unlucky on the first, while it was a clear yellow and because of where it happened on the field a borderline red, Opera wasn't the player who committed the foul. I believe it was Jorge Flores (though I'm not 100% certain), but the fact remains, the tackle was brutal. Opera then got his second yellow on a clumsy challenge which resulted in a penalty kick that Korea buried. Some may wish to debate whether it was deserved; the problem was Opera played the man first and then the ball. When you do that and the player goes down, you are risking it.

But it got worse. Kyle Davies threw a man down on the wing to pick up a yellow. Brek Shea launched himself on a two footed challenge that made me grimace on replay. He should have been sent off as his play could have resulted in serious injury. Instead he just received a warning. All tell, six yellows were handed out to the US. For those who love to say all referees are out to get the US, every card I saw was legitimate. Again, Opera's may have been the case of mistaken identity, but a card was deserved by a US player on the play.

The discipline, or lack thereof, was disgusting and unfitting of true sportsmanship. The US looked like a bunch of bullies who after not being able to match the Koreans skill wise, decided to take out their frustrations by physically abusing them. I hope they received some type of talk after the game. Performances like that are bad indicators and can scare off teams that might have been scouting the Under 20's.

That said, I'm not going to speak on who here has a future; I haven't seen any of these kids enough to make that judgment. If you are interested in someone's take, check out Ryan Noel's write up on the squad.

As of right now it does not appear the US team will be one of the third place teams that will go through. Maybe it's for the best. Play like that should be punished, not rewarded or excused. That way these kids can learn from the experience and be better for next time.