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Under-20 World Cup: USA vs. France: SBI Live Match Commentary

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By IVES GALARCEP

The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team will be looking to rebound from a dismal defensive performance against Spain on Friday, but they’ll have their hands full with another European power when they face France today (ESPN2/ESPN3, 11am).

The French squad features a number of players getting regular minutes in Ligue 1, La Liga, or Serie A for their respective clubs, such as Juventus star Paul Pogba, and brings the challenge of a more physical game on top of frighteningly good technical skills.

Luis Gil will be counted on in attack once again for the U.S. as they try and unlock a sturdy France defense, one that allowed just one goal in a 3-1 victory over Ghana last Friday. The U.S. still can advance to the knockout stages with a third-place finish, but they need to try and win or nick a point off of France before taking their chances against Ghana.

SBI will be providing live commentary on today’s match so please feel free to follow the action here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

Comments

  1. O’Neill looked pretty good. Torre looked okay in the first but gave up the penalty and got burned by the long ball up the middle on several occasions in the second. Theyve officially renamed that play, “The Torre.” Tab must really like this kid. It’s kind of unfair to throw him in these matches, though, when he’s had all of 6 college games under his belt. You can tell that he’s just lacking experience and slow to react.

    Ocequeda was much better. Trapp was poor going forward but better in coverage. They did a much better job in general of not allowing France time and space on the ball.

    Gil was decent but didn’t take his chances. Hernandez was ineffective, Joya was better, though he’s gone next match with yellows I think. Mikey Lopez will have to step up. Villareal made a great pa$$ that Gil missed and missed a point blank header that he nodded to far post instead of just creasing the back of the net as he should. He was otherwise lacking the ball. Cuevas was electric as a sub, though he did miss a couple obvious pa$$ing chances.

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  2. Yedlin sparked this team offensively in the second half. He was beasting France’s LB the last 30 minutes. Oddly enough winger is what Yedlin has primarily played hi entire carrer before going to college and then playing RB for the Sounders. His pace while dribbling is really something to watch. I would not be surprised if Yedlin is moved to winger against Ghana, and Sorto plays RB. yedlin was very good defensively in the first half as well, pretty much shutting down his side. France’s LB really was not a factor in the first half due to Yedlin.

    I think some people maybe even the editor should be eating some crow concerning him. He was good against Spain, but was lights out against France. And yes I can still see Klinsmann calling him up to the USMNT this year.

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    • His lack of quality in the final third is probably why he was pushed into an overlapping fullback role instead of a primary winger. I do really like how he attacks defenders though. With him in the senior setup we would be dangerous down both flanks.

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    • Yes Yedlin was the best player on the field for USA today. No, he shouldn’t be playing for the senior squad anytime soon. He still makes way too many mistakes as evidenced during the Spain match. He is a very dangerous offensive weapon at the u-20 level. What the Yedlineers are forgetting is that he’s a DEFENDER. His defensive technique is below average, his defensive awareness is below average he makes a ton of errors that will turn into goals on the intnl level. Tis is not surprising since he’s 19. He also doesn’t strike a good cross yet. he’s incredibly promising. I’d love to see him in a friendly or a similarly meaningless match to jump start his development, but he doesn’t belong anywhere near the pitch during the hex. Just be patient. His time will come soon enough if he keeps developing. He might even attract some European attention after this tourney.

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