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.

Kickoff runs a little late today, but I'll make up for it by providing a big run down on the US roster for their final two qualifying games.

-Trinidad's Under 20 team finished up their World Cup run garnering a point against Paraguay's lesser squad. The game was a poor one with pretty poor finishing on both ends, so it was little surprise when it ended a scoreless draw. I would have liked the team to have shown more urgency in the closing minutes and try to get three points rather than settling for the one.

This kickoff comes as a sorry replacement for the Match Day recap, which had to be cancelled due to work related commitments. Or you know, me having a job on a weekday afternoon.

-A busy day yesterday kept be from watching Liverpool's 2-0 loss at Fiorentina (a coincidence that I couldn't follow a loss, I swear). It's too bad in a way, critiquing a team when it loses can be even more educating than a when a team wins. On the other hand, I figure I might have pulled my hair out if I had to watch the squandered chances.

As I begin this Tuesday kickoff, I'm left wondering if the US Under 20 team must always play on the same day as Liverpool...

-I caught the second game for the Trinidad Under 20s yesterday and the effort was loads better. Perhaps the raucous crowd in the first game, they were playing hosts Egypt, affected the players. Or maybe it was just nerves of a different sort as many haven't been in a competition this large before. Either way, things were better in this one, even if the results ended up being the same points wise as they fell 2-1 to Italy.

These thoughts come courtesy of a man whose wallet is 88 dollars lighter thanks to Arizona's ineptitude...

-I didn't follow much of the US-Germany under 20 opener but the scoreline told me all I needed to know. Three unanswered goals later, things couldn't have started more poorly for the US squad. To make matters worse, this supposedly wasn't even the best and brightest the German youth had to offer.