Interesting Statistic - U17 World Cup

[FSM]

Saw this in another forum:

Tajikistan 4 USA 3
Per Capita income of Tajikistan is less than the cost of a year's soccer in a run of the mill U.S. club soccer program.

I had to check it out and it appears the poster is right: http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator.c ... y=TJ#rowTJ

What was this in reference to?

This was in reference to the U17 World Cup results.

[FSM]

Sorry. I should have mentioned that it was the U17 World Cup which Sheanon Williams is playing. The loss is apparently causing a lot of hand wringing, but Sheanon is apparently earning some pretty good comments despite the loss.

http://images.ussoccer.com/Images/Ga...070820_022.jpg

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From ESPN: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/st ... us&cc=5901

The U.S. U-17 team knew that despite Tajikistan's lowly world standing, Monday's World Cup opener at the Changwon Main Stadium in Changwon, South Korea, would be no walk in the park.

However, the team certainly didn't expect to be upset by the world's 123rd-ranked team, making the U.S.'s next Group E match, against Tunisia on Thursday, a virtual must-win.

So, what went wrong against Tajikistan? First, the anticipated American midfield dominance never materialized. Central mids Jared Jeffrey and Dan Wenzel were ineffective for long stretches of the contest. Most of the U.S. attacks originated from Garza on the left side, Nimo running out of midfield or from right back Sheanon Williams, who often bypassed the midfielders entirely. Diminutive Bryan Dominguez (who stands just 5-4) had a few encouraging moves, but it simply wasn't enough.

FC Dallas forward Abdusalam Ibrahim, filling in for first-choice striker Ellis McLoughlin (throat ailment), didn't impress, badly missing a golden first-half chance to put his side up 2-0 and feebly shooting at the keeper on another.

Any way you cut it, it was a shocking result for John Hackworth's team, which now could be eliminated from second-round contention with another loss on Thursday. What's more, the Americans will be facing a dangerous Tunisian team that is flying high after an impressive 4-2 opening victory over Belgium.

Player ratings: (scale of 1-10)

Zac MacMath, 7 -- Young backstop (he turned 16 Aug. 8) patrolled his area confidently and wasn't at fault on any of the goals. Made several important stops, including two on searing long-range blasts from Vasiev.

Sheanon Williams, 6 -- Dealt well with everything that came his way defensively, which wasn't much as Tajikistan attacked mainly down the right side. Impressive skills going forward, but could have been more involved.

Mykell Bates, 6 Timed his run for the goal perfectly and snapped his header home with authority. Despite the ugly score line, was rarely out of position and organized well.

Kofi Sarkodie, 4 -- Abused by the tricky Fatkhuloev on two of Tajikistan's four strikes. Should have made a tactical foul on the second. Seemed to tire toward the end.

Dan Wenzel, 4 -- Picked up a silly yellow card in the first half that could come back to haunt the U.S. in its final two group matches. Contributed little to the attack and was unable to disrupt the Tajiks' ball possession late in the match.

Jared Jeffrey, 4 -- Basically invisible, which isn't always bad for a defensive-minded midfielder. In this case it was, as the squad's most experienced player offered little of substance on either side of the ball.

Bryan Dominguez, 5 -- Colombian-raised midfielder displayed a good work rate and skill on the ball. Had a nice turn and shot that was well-saved in the first half, and had some clever touches and impressive runs in the second.

Abdusalam Ibrahim, 3 -- Team's second-youngest player (to Garza, by one day) and lone professional will want to forget this match, especially his first-half whiff on a sitter that would have made the score 2-0 in favor of the U.S. U-17s.

Greg Garza, 7 -- His pinpoint corner kick to Bates opened the scoring and he showed good anticipation and a nose for net on the second U.S. goal. Was active on the left side all evening, making clever runs and causing problems for the Tajik back line.

Billy Schuler, 7 -- Took his goal well and might have had two, but his 12th-minute strike was called back on a dubious offside call. Made a good run and provided a great cross on Garza's tally.

Alex Nimo, 6 -- Was the most dangerous American on the field, but had only one assist to show for all his hard work. Was effective running out of midfield and showed an impeccable touch on the ball, as well as a willingness to contribute defensively.

Subs:

Dane Shea, 5 -- Missed a tackle on Davronov's late equalizer and did little else to thwart the pressing Tajiks during his 20 minutes of action.

Brandon Zimmerman, 5 -- Replaced the hobbled Garza with 12 minutes left but couldn't do anything to help prevent the late strikes.

Ellis McLoughlin, NR -- Came on just before Fatkhuloev's winner, and couldn't conjure anything against a packed-in D in the waning moments.

[FSM]

From another forum:

Per Capita income of Tunisia is less than the cost of a year's soccer in a run of the mill U.S. club soccer program. Tajikistan pci is $1274 and Tunisia's is $1576.

Tunisia only has 10 million people and Tajikistan is a mountainous landlocked country with only 7 million people.

Should we not expect to defeat teams like this routinely and convincingly. We have 300 million people and a per cap $43,444 and nice fields to train on and paid full-time staff. Where are the results?

Oh dear. The U17s are not having a very good tournament. Tunisia 3, USA 1. People are calling for John Hackworth's head and the shutdown of Bradenton.

[FSM]

Sheanon Williams seems to be one of the few bright spots in what is appearing to be a very dismal tournament for the US, although his defending isn't quite up to snuff yet, but that is to be expected of a striker recently turned defender. Here is what appears to be a pretty typical summation of the way the US played.

They don't know how to play. They have reasonably good technical skills but tactically they are lost and they also didn't look particularly athletic.

On offense they just spread themselves around the field passing the ball around until they lost it or hit a lame cross. Very little movement off the ball, no concept of combining past simple 1-2's. If you are not more athletic (Tunisia looked both bigger and faster), not more technical (Tunisia's kids looked as good or better), then you are not going to win by playing simple possession soccer.

The coaching staff should be fired and never be let near any potentially gifted players. If they spent several years in Florida, then it was several years of wasted time. We have kids with talent, but it is unfortunately wasted because we have very few coaches with talent.

[MASoccer]

We have kids with talent, but it is unfortunately wasted because we have very few coaches with talent.

Harsh words, but maybe a necessary wake up call to revamp the current system.

[MASoccer]

http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewAr ... 28227.html

U.S. U-17 MNT Enters Knock-out Phase of U-17 World Cup
Thursday, August 30 Against Germany at 7 a.m. on ESPNU

U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team
2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup
Cheonan, South Korea
August 29, 2007

WIN OR GO HOME: The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team enters the knockout stage with their Round of 16 game against Germany on Thursday, Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) live on ESPNU. The match will also be replayed at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU, and fans can also follow along on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The team advanced through Group E as the second-place finisher, with a two-goal victory over Belgium on Sunday (Aug. 26).

STARTING XI: With forward Billy Schuler unavailable for Thursday’s game due to accumulation of yellow cards, head coach John Hackworth will use his fourth different starting lineup in as many games. Daniel Wenzel and Mykell Bates picked up one yellow card each in the first round, but their slate is wiped clean prior to the match against Germany. So far, 20 out of 21 players have seen minutes on the field, with goalkeeper Larry Jackson the only player to not yet hit the pitch.
U.S. Under-17 World Cup Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wis.), Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Larry Jackson (East Palo Alto, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Sheanon Williams (Boston, Mass.), Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Tommy Meyer (St. Louis, Mo.), Chris Klute (Grand Prairie, Texas), Kofi Sarkodie (Huber Heights, Ohio), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas, Texas), Kirk Urso (Lombard, Ill.), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Gregory Garza (Grapevine, Texas), Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.), Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.)
FORWARDS (5): Ellis McLoughlin (Seattle, Wash.), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga.), Abdusalam Ibrahim (FC Dallas.), Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.), Daniel Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.)

BIRD WATCHING: Back in April, when the roster for the 2007 CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament was announced, Kirk Urso wasn’t a part of it. Obviously disappointed, he watched as the U.S. qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup with one goal in mind: work harder to improve his game and keep his confidence up in order make his dream of playing in a World Cup a reality. Now, after scoring the game-winner against Belgium to help the U.S. advance to the second round of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Kirk Urso told Center Circle about his journey thus far.

WE MEET AGAIN: The United States and Germany met just a little more than a month ago, with the U.S. coming away with a 3-1 victory on July 20 in Geissen, Germany. Gregory Garza, Ellis McLoughlin and Alex Nimo all scored in the first half to lead the U.S. to victory. The U.S. opened scoring in the 18th minute when McLoughlin flicked the ball to Garza on the left side, and the midfielder was able to beat German goalkeeper Fabien Giefer to the left side of the goal. In the 24th minute, Bryan Dominguez found McLoughlin on the left side of the field, and Giefer came out to try and intercept the pass. McLoughlin was able to touch it around him and put the U.S. up by two. Just three minutes later, Sheannon Williams played a brilliant ball into the corner to Billy Schuler, who ran onto the ball and found Nimo at the top of the penalty area. Nimo took a touch on the ball and fired a shot that beat Giefer to make it 3-0. Sacha Bigalke scored the lone for Germany in the second half.

ALL_ACCESS WITH THE U17S: Already, the Round of 16 has proven that anything can happen. After two losses in the Group Stage, the U.S. rebounded back against Belgium and is going into the knockout stage with a clean slate. Check out how the team is preparing mentally and physically for the must-win game against Germany in ussoccer'com's exclusive all_access feature.

LAST TEAM STANDING: One of only two teams to earn the maximum nine points in the first round, Group E winner Tunisia fell on Wednesday night in their Round of 16 game against France, 3-1. Tajikistan, Group E’s third-place finisher, battled Peru through two overtimes, and eventually fell on penalty kicks (5-4), leaving the U.S. as the last Group E representative in the Round of 16. Other results from the Round of 16 include Ghana upsetting the tournament favorites, Brazil, by a score of 1-0. Brazil led the tournament with 14 goals in the first round.

QUICK HITS

• *Josh Lambo’s shutout against Belgium was the first for a U.S. team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup since a 1-0 win over Belgium in 1999
  *Five different players have scored goals for the U.S. through three games: Mykell Bates (2), Gregory Garza, Jared Jeffrey, Billy Schuler and Kirk Urso.
  *Bates leads the team with two goals so far in the tournament, both coming off headers from Garza corner kicks.
  *Schuler’s 53rd minute goal against Tajikistan night was his sixth of the year, adding to his team-leading total in 2007
  *Schuler also leads the team in caps this year with 19
  *Jeffrey scored his third goal of the year with his 90th minute penalty kick against Tunisia, to move to third on the team in goals scored this year, behind only Schuler and Ellis McLoughlin
  *The U.S. is 2-2-4 all-time against European teams in their previous 11 FIFA Under-17 World Cup appearances.
  *The U.S. faced East Germany in the 1989 tournament, falling 5-2 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
  *Germany has scored 11 goals in the tournament, and all but two have come in the first half. The other two were scored in the opening minutes of the second half against Colombia, and in second-half stoppage time in a 5-0 rout of Trinidad & Tobago.

[MASoccer]

http://images.ussoccer.com/Images/Ga...D082607145.jpg
http://images.ussoccer.com/Images/Ga...D082607146.jpg

Head to head results is a later determining factor for advancement in international tournaments. Tajikistan and the U.S. finished group play with three points apiece, but won the tiebreaker because they had scored the most goals. Should all youth tournaments be determined this way?

[MASoccer]

Head to head results is a later determining factor for advancement in international tournaments. Tajikistan and the U.S. finished group play with three points apiece, but won the tiebreaker because they had scored the most goals. Should all youth tournaments be determined this way?

I disagree with this (although I am still glad to see the US advance). In my opinion, head to head competition should weigh more than point differential. If you beat a team outright you should be able to advance before that team does if you record is equal. Goal scoring on the youth level should never be the ultimate decider. The abuse to run up scores on weaker teams in a bracket should be restrained not encouraged.

Head to head results is a later determining factor for advancement in international tournaments. Tajikistan and the U.S. finished group play with three points apiece, but won the tiebreaker because they had scored the most goals. Should all youth tournaments be determined this way?

I disagree with this (although I am still glad to see the US advance). In my opinion, head to head competition should weigh more than point differential. If you beat a team outright you should be able to advance before that team does if you record is equal. Goal scoring on the youth level should never be the ultimate decider. The abuse to run up scores on weaker teams in a bracket should be restrained not encouraged.

That is a typically American viewpoint. The rest of the world does not see see it as running up the score.

[Senrab]

Head to head results is a later determining factor for advancement in international tournaments. Tajikistan and the U.S. finished group play with three points apiece, but won the tiebreaker because they had scored the most goals. Should all youth tournaments be determined this way?

I disagree with this (although I am still glad to see the US advance). In my opinion, head to head competition should weigh more than point differential. If you beat a team outright you should be able to advance before that team does if you record is equal. Goal scoring on the youth level should never be the ultimate decider. The abuse to run up scores on weaker teams in a bracket should be restrained not encouraged.

That is a typically American viewpoint. The rest of the world does not see see it as running up the score.

Agreed.

Besides, most tournaments discourage running up the score by only counting a maximum goal differential of three or four.

US U17 fall 2-1 to Germany, eliminated in second round of World Cup, 1-3 for the tournament.