Poland - USA 2007 U-20 World Cup highlights

Though Luis already linked Adu's goal, all the goals in the game were pretty nice. Enjoy them here.

On watch

Jen has his list of U20 players to watch in the World Cup for that age level. Because I cover the U.S. U20 team frequently, and will be going to cover the squad if they make the semifinals of the World Cup, we discussed some of the U.S. prospects.

He was very high on Altidore, and though I partly agreed with him, I pointed out that Jozy hasn't really delivered the goods with the U20 team yet.

But it's hard to argue with his points that Freddy Adu has fallen short of the hype that ensued when he played (and did well) in his first U20 competition back in 2003.

In many ways, we're guessing when we look at young players, and so many different factors go into the equation of success.

Here's a look back at the U17 players I thought would be making an impact for the current u20 cycle. I basically missed on all but one, Ofori Sarkodie, and he's not even expected to start. Granted, Quavas Kirk would have probably been on the squad if not for injury circumstances, but though they're still in the game, David Arvizu (now with Chivas USA), Nick Besagno (still with RSL), and Kyle Nakazawa (still in college, UCLA) haven't seen much time with the U20's at all.

In my defense, I did mention Jozy a little, at the end of the article.

U20 Insider

Pssst - want to know why Nathan Sturgis wasn't called into the U20 camp in Texas?

Or are you more interested in why Robbie Rogers came back from Holland to join MLS?

Sideline Views has you covered.

Also, to continue the Cobi Jones theme, here's a pic of Sturgis and teammate Josh Gardner at the Cobi ceremony today.

Jozy

In 2005, Josmer Altidore was down in Peru with the U17 national team for the World Cup. He was the youngest player to make the American roster. I remember watching Jozy and Dan Kelly play ping-pong at the hotel more than I saw Jozy play on the field, though he did well in his limited time in games.

During the 2007 CONCACAF qualifying for the U20 World Cup, Jozy was again the youngest on the U.S. roster, but it's hard for anyone to notice. I mean, the guy's well over six feet, so it's easy to forget he can't even vote yet.

Still, there's a lot expected of him this year, both with the Red Bulls and the U20 team. Number 17 isn't worried much, though, which is probably the best way to deal with the pressure.

Young Tri & Ticos

Last time I was present at the U20 qualifying games, they were here in LA, and Costa Rica was eliminated as the U.S. clinched the top spot. The Ticos were pretty devastated. I figured they'd come back - and considering they did quite well against an El Tri squad that consists of a lot of the players from the world champion U17 team, I think they're on their way.

Wannabe Soothsayer

In 2005, during the youth World Cup in Peru, I was impressed by Josmer Altidore in the little bit of time he was on the field. Not only by his game, but also because he was strong and fast, and the youngest player to make the roster, but mainly because in a heated match versus Italy, he was on a breakaway and got absolutely mugged, grabbed hard by the Italian defender who Jozy was easily outracing to the ball. They both went down in a heap, Jozy plaintively still watching the ball even as he fell. Since the ref was on the other side of the field, slow to catch up with the play, the Italian defender took the opportunity to kick Jozy, who bounded to his feet in angry indignation.

Despite his youth, he stopped himself, though. You could practically see his entire thought process on his face, "We're ahead, I've been put in to help my team. Is this idiot worth risking my chance at more playing time?"

Jozy backed off, the U.S. won, the Italians got bounced out in the first round.

All that said, Jozy didn't play that well during U20 qualifying. I trust that he still has it in him, though. I see the games, I make my guesses. It's not an exact science.

Speed racer

Mirror, mirror, on the US U20 locker room wall, who's the fastest of them all? Andre Akpan? Johann Smith?

I asked Smith if he was the one.

"Ha, ha - maybe. I don't know," answered the Bolton striker.

Freddy Adu was more sure.

"We know that Johann is the fastest guy on the team."

Andre, at the least, was the undisputed US goalscorer of the tournament, with three, all in the first match versus Haiti.

Now and then

This U20 team is actually the second that Rongen has been in charge of. He first led the squad to the U20 World Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates in 2003, where the team advanced under Bobby Convey's captaincy to a tough quarterfinal loss to Argentina, after leading for most of the game. Eddie Johnson won the tournament's Golden Boot as leading scorer.

Here are Rongen's thoughts on the two U20 teams:

"I think that first group was pretty special. So is this one, but that group was pretty special. If you look at that group, Clint Dempsey scores the only goal for the U.S. in the last senior World Cup. He played on that team and didn’t even see that many minutes, because Ricardo Clark and Bobby Convey played ahead of him. But I’m so pleased to see Justin Mapp out of that group, who is a very special talent, finally do well. He’ll be part of the senior team camp with Bob Bradley, the coach there. So that’s nice to see."

"Freddy was part of that U20 group. I think finally Santino Quaranta is turning the corner again and getting another chance in LA with Frank Yallop. He still has a lot of soccer in him. Mike Magee, too. We all hope that Eddie Johnson, who’s getting another chance with that injury to Taylor Twellman, that he will perform again at the level he did prior to the World Cup, at the level he played for me with the 20’s. Ricardo Clark is now in camp with the senior team. Ryan Cochrane and Chad Marshall are both now legitimate starters in MLS. That was a great group, a very enjoyable group. Drew Moor is a legitimate player now for FC Dallas."

"I think in this group now, there are some similarities. If you look at Eddie Johnson and look at Jozy, there are some similarities there with their skill and striking power. If you look at Justin Mapp and compare him with Robbie Rogers. Robbie Rogers is very special off the dribble, going to goal. If you look at Bobbie Convey and Freddy Adu, there’s some similarities there. If you look at Danny Szetela and Ricardo Clark – there’s true grit and they’re tough and hard-working guys. If you look at the back, at Nathan Sturgis, who, although smaller than Chad Marshall and very technical, was already a starter for Sigi’s group."

Moment of truth

Thomos Rongen names his final U20 roster today, after a week of multiple games to see where the players in his camp stand.

The team leaves for Panama on the 14th.

“This week, leading up to the first game in Panama, we’ll get a lot of questions answered about our starting eleven,” said Rongen. “Is that core group now here or do we need to integrate players even on a late date?”

No surprise here

U20 goalkeeper Brian Perk, when asked who on the U.S. team has the hardest shot: "It's definitely Josmer (Altidore). He has a cannon."

Altidore had a breakout year with the New York Red Bulls and was voted U.S. Soccer's Young Male Athlete of the year.

Plus, Luis Bueno thinks Altidore is a star for the future - so that's high praise there.

Pick a part

It's tough for me to judge the U20 roster that Thomas Rongen has picked for qualifying. This time the training camp was based in Florida, not LA, so I haven't been out to see the players train. I remember how in the last cycle, Sigi Schmid was criticized for putting two UCLA guys that not a lot of people knew about - Benny Feilhaber and Marvell Wynne - on his roster.
Those picks pushed others out, including MLS players like Arturo Alvarez, Michael Bradley, and Memo Gonzalez.
Of course, Benny and Marvell came out in the qualifying tournament, also held in LA, and looked great. Still, one has to wonder if part of the reason they did well was because they were in their backyard, so to speak, and that extra boost of feeling confident and comfortable helped. Yet they both also did really well in Holland at the World Cup, not to mention have gone on to good pro careers.
Whereas Memo Gonzalez did not. On the other hand, Alvarez and Bradley have. It's a gamble of sorts. I'm waiting for the qualifying games to see if Rongen is proven right.
Some of the players bypassed this round were surprising, like Dax McCarty or Tony Beltran being left off, but I do believe in late bloomers who come on strong in training camp. Schmid said in the last cycle that some pro players waltzed into camp expecting their spots, not really pushing hard in practice games. I don't know if that happened this time, but hunger and drive count for a lot.
Rongen had an interesting statement about the changing fortunes of U20 players that I couldn't really fit into any of my other articles about the U20's, so I've put it here.

"For us to think that every U15 will become a U17 national team player, that every 17 team player will become a U20 player and that every U20 player will become a U23 is wrong. This is what happens in the rest of the world. Some of the better ones will continue to make teams. Some will fall by the wayside. If you look at the last U17 group, the starting goalkeeper (Bryant Rueckner) isn’t here, (Kyle) Nakazawa isn’t here, the Farfan brothers (Gabe and Michael) aren’t here, (Ryan) Soroka isn’t here. Those are guys who were starting players for that team who are being bypassed right now by some other players. Some 89’s that weren’t part of the last U17 cycle have bypassed some of the other players. That’s normal. That’s the way it should be."