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USA U-20 Opener: How, When and Why Things Went Wrong
The U.S. opened the U-20 World Cup with a 3-0 defeat to Germany. J.R. Eskilson details exactly where it all went wrong for the USA.
Sep 26, 2009 7:28:23 PM
The United States was outclassed, outmatched, and outplayed in a 3-0 loss to the German national team to start the 2009 U-20 World Cup campaign. The red, white, and blue started the game with a nervous hesitation and never seemed to be able to cope with the tactical acumen of the German side. Thomas Rongen’s side couldn't deal with unorthodox 4-1-4-1 German formation and was left handing possession back to the German side through much of the game.
First Half
The Germans dictated most of the play in the first half and had all the attempts on goal. The first chances came early for the European Champions with forward Richard Sukuta-Pasu getting behind the U.S. back-line twice in the first ten minutes but both his attempts were unable to find the target.
Nerves seemed to settle for the U.S. 25 minutes into the first half when the midfield finally gained some control of the ball. The best chance for the U.S. came when midfielder Mikkel Diskerud slotted a pass through to forward Tony Taylor behind the German back-line, but Taylor was unable to connect his pass and it harmlessly rolled through the German six-yard box.
The Germans were finally able to get something to show for their domination in the 29th minute. Left back Bjorn Kopplin was taken down in the box by U.S. midfielder Brian Ownby for a penalty kick. Semih Aydelik converted the spot kick to put the Germans up 1-0.
Germany captain Florian Jungwirth quickly doubled the lead in the 32nd minute, getting on the end of a corner kick and hitting a shot that U.S. goalkeeper Brian Perk was unable to save.
U.S. captain Kyle Davies went down with an injury in the 35th minute. Unable to continue, he was replaced by Chivas USA youngster Jorge Flores.
The half ended with the Germans hitting nine shots, four of them on goal. The U.S. didn't register a shot in the first 45 minutes.
Second Half
The latter 45 minutes brought a better U.S. effort to the game, with them finally able to threaten the German net. The U.S. recorded their first shot of the game in the 47th minute when substitute Bryan Arguez’s 25 yard strike went high.
In the 61st minute, Arguez dribbled through the German midfield and send Diskerud in one-on-one with the German 'keeper Ron-Robert Zieler, but Zieler was up for the task and blocked Diskerud’s attempt.
The U.S. hit the crossbar in the 65th minute off a 20-yard missile from Jared Jeffery, and the rebound was cleared by the Germans.
The champs of Europe put the game out of reach in the 72nd minute, against the run of play, when Manuel Schaeffler connected with fellow substitute Cihan Kaptan’s cross to make the score 3-0. The third goal seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the U.S. attack.
The match came to a conclusion without any other attempts troubling either net. 'Keeper Perk finished the game with three saves.
J.R. Eskilson, Goal.com
For a full preview of the U-20 World Cup, check out a sneak peak at Goal.com Magazine.
First Half
The Germans dictated most of the play in the first half and had all the attempts on goal. The first chances came early for the European Champions with forward Richard Sukuta-Pasu getting behind the U.S. back-line twice in the first ten minutes but both his attempts were unable to find the target.
Nerves seemed to settle for the U.S. 25 minutes into the first half when the midfield finally gained some control of the ball. The best chance for the U.S. came when midfielder Mikkel Diskerud slotted a pass through to forward Tony Taylor behind the German back-line, but Taylor was unable to connect his pass and it harmlessly rolled through the German six-yard box.
The Germans were finally able to get something to show for their domination in the 29th minute. Left back Bjorn Kopplin was taken down in the box by U.S. midfielder Brian Ownby for a penalty kick. Semih Aydelik converted the spot kick to put the Germans up 1-0.
Germany captain Florian Jungwirth quickly doubled the lead in the 32nd minute, getting on the end of a corner kick and hitting a shot that U.S. goalkeeper Brian Perk was unable to save.
U.S. captain Kyle Davies went down with an injury in the 35th minute. Unable to continue, he was replaced by Chivas USA youngster Jorge Flores.
The half ended with the Germans hitting nine shots, four of them on goal. The U.S. didn't register a shot in the first 45 minutes.
Second Half
The latter 45 minutes brought a better U.S. effort to the game, with them finally able to threaten the German net. The U.S. recorded their first shot of the game in the 47th minute when substitute Bryan Arguez’s 25 yard strike went high.
In the 61st minute, Arguez dribbled through the German midfield and send Diskerud in one-on-one with the German 'keeper Ron-Robert Zieler, but Zieler was up for the task and blocked Diskerud’s attempt.
The U.S. hit the crossbar in the 65th minute off a 20-yard missile from Jared Jeffery, and the rebound was cleared by the Germans.
The champs of Europe put the game out of reach in the 72nd minute, against the run of play, when Manuel Schaeffler connected with fellow substitute Cihan Kaptan’s cross to make the score 3-0. The third goal seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the U.S. attack.
The match came to a conclusion without any other attempts troubling either net. 'Keeper Perk finished the game with three saves.
J.R. Eskilson, Goal.com
For a full preview of the U-20 World Cup, check out a sneak peak at Goal.com Magazine.
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