By FRANCO PANIZO
The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team has been touted as one of the deepest in the program’s history.
We are about to find out just how true that is.
The U.S. has reached the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup for the first time since 2007, and will meet a Serbia team on Sunday (12:30 am ET, Fox Sports 1/Telemundo) that just played 120 minutes in the Round of 16. The Americans will enter the match with plenty of confidence after grinding out a win over Colombia on Wednesday, but face the challenge of having to make one change, likely two, to a starting lineup that is already without two first-choice players in Maki Tall and Russell Canouse.
Left back Kellyn Acosta will sit out this match at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland after getting sent off in the last round, and will likely be joined on the sidelines by forward Bradford Jamieson. While U.S. Soccer has not officially ruled Jamieson out of this match, his inclusion seems unlikely given the nature of the neck injury he sustained vs. the Colombians. Additionally, Jordan Allen is out due to yellow card accumulation.
Who will Ramos turn to and how might the changes affect the U.S. formation vs. Serbia? Here is the starting lineup we believe we might see:
PROJECTED U.S. Under-20s vs. SERBIA
The U.S. switched to a 4-1-4-1 setup after Bradford Jamieson’s early exit vs. Colombia, but Ramos will likely want to veer away from that and back to his preferred 4-4-2 diamond midfield after seeing how poorly the U.S. did with possession.
Rubio Rubin has shown in this World Cup in New Zealand that he operates better with another forward to play off of, and that means we could see someone like Paul Arriola pushed further up the field.
Arriola was used at forward next to Jamieson in the group-stage finale vs. Ukraine, and could again be used in that position next to a player like Rubin who can hold the ball and create chances for others. Serbia has only conceded twice thus far at the World Cup, so having two forwards who can combine could prove to be of great benefit.
While Tommy Thompson is a candidate to replace Arriola in the U.S. midfield in this scenario, Ramos may prefer to go with Joel Sonora in the No. 10 spot. That would force captain Emerson Hyndman to right midfield, but would give the Americans three midfield players – Gedion Zelalem on the left is the other – who are very comfortable on the ball.
Sonora started the tournament opener and played in every match during the group stage, and Ramos has often raved about how talented the Boca Juniors product is. This game against a physical Serbia side would provide the 18-year-old Sonora a golden opportunity to repay his coach’s faith in him after failing to deliver in group play, but if Sonora is seen too similar a player to Hyndman and Zelalem then Thompson gets the nod despite there being questions about his defensive abilities.
One guaranteed change will come on the left side of the defense. With Acosta serving as a spectator for this one, Ramos will have to find a suitable replacement for the FC Dallas youngster. All signs point to it being John Requejo, who was the starter at left back in World Cup qualifying but looked a bit suspect at times. Requejo has contributed in spurts off the bench in this tournament, but will face his stiffest test yet if he earns the start.
The rest of the U.S. back line should be the same as it was against Colombia. Centerbacks Matt Miazga and Cameron-Carter Vickers continue to play lights-out defense, and right back Desevio Payne also showed well on Wednesday. Some might think that pushing Payne to left back and slotting in Shaquell Moore on the right would be a good move, but Moore has struggled with his one-on-one defending several times in this World Cup.
In goal, a confident Zack Steffen will again start after coming up with a clutch penalty kick stop in Wednesday’s 1-0 win.
Shielding Steffen and the back four will again be Marky Delgado. While he has not exactly been stellar in the No. 6 spot, Delgado keeps getting the nod from Ramos and likely will again vs. the Serbs. Delgado, to his credit, looked slightly better vs. the Colombians than he did in the group stage, but there are still too many times when his lack of range and bite are exposed. His passing has also not been as good as some might have expected, but there are no other real options available here for Ramos to consider.
What do you think of this projected lineup? Agree that Requejo is likely to get the nod in place of Acosta? How much would the inclusion of Sonora help?
Share your thoughts below.
good lineup… we cant do much anyways with 4 players down…Palmer-Brown instead of Delgado… PB will match serbia’s physicality and speed.
Serbia U20 Scouting Report
Strengths:
-Strong wing play, these guys are fast and technical. Love to dribble at players.
-Crossing, again very good wingers
-Counter attack threat. Very fast in transition, use through balls and crosses to create chances.
-Set piece threat. They’ve scored twice from a direct set piece and more from corners.
-Strong in the air, they’ve scored a couple headers this tournament.
-Fantastic GK.
Weaknesses:
-Defensive lapses, the few goals they’ve given up were avoidable.
-Discipline, they’re physicality has won them some cards and even a red vs Hungary.
-Allow opposition to create chances, Mexico were all over them.
-Allow opposition time on the ball.
Serbia likes to…
-Creating chances through crosses and through balls
-Scoring from set pieces
-Scoring headers
-Counter attacks
EXCELLENT lineup prediction….. This is my 2nd prediction.
Steffen
Payne, Miazga, Vickers, Requejo
Delgado
Arriola, Hyndman, Zelalem, Thompson
Rubin
I think your lineup is better since it has the holy trinity of Soñora, Hyndman, and Zelalem. Plus Arriola can play off Rubin, his pace might compliment him.
Could you put Hyndman at the base of the diamond? I understand wanting him closer to goal but Delgado has been a weak link. Getting Hyndman on the ball more would help as well.
I hear you, but I don’t think it is the best use of Hyndman as that CDM really needs to stay back and protect the defense. It will prevent Hyndman getting in the attack too much. Delgado is probably the safest bet at this point although we all agree hasn’t been as skilled on ball or as disruptive defensively as we would like. From a destroyer perspective, I’d be interested in seeing Palmer-brown in that role, but the quarterfinals of the world cup is not the time to experiment.
The US just played them in a closed door friendly right before the world cup started and they won 1-0. It was in the rain though. The US should be prepared and familiar with them.
I meant Serbia won 1-0
I watch the full 120 minutes Serbia played against Hungary. They are big and strong. The move you saw accosta red carded on is a favorite of their strong wingers. They controlled the game against Hungary, but we’re caught by long ball counter attacks a couple times including on hungarys goal. I think we match up poorly to stop their strong ball control and physicality. That is what scares me. On the positive Rubio definitely has the skill to get a goal on the counter attack against these guys.
They did learn from the Colombia match- won’t be caught off guard by it and…. here’s hoping for a ref that draws the line early on all of the clutching and grabbing.
two quick questions:
what is Jamieson’s status?
and is the game Saturday night or Sunday night?
I think Jamieson is still injured, which would put him out of this game and no word yet on whether he’s lost for the rest of the tourney! The game will air EARLY sunday morning! I wanna say like 2:30 or 3am?!
This is one of my annoyances here. SBI doesn’t always post the time and channel…
That said, they provided it in this article. The game will be aired Sat. night at 9:30 PM for those of us on the west coast.
You guys should really read the whole article before you post something…. Game time is given at the beginning of the second paragraph. But, thanks for contributing.
can you relax? i read the article. the reason i asked because it was a little confusing for me since I am on the west coast. thank you to the two posters who cleared it up for me though; unlike your cranky pants, they did contribute!
As for Jamieson, I’m curious if he’s been ruled out completely from the tournament or if there is hope for the semifinals that he can play, we can definitely use his services!!
btown,
This is clearly on you. Bumpbailey was not rude, just pointing out the obvious. You, on the other hand, were very rude in your response. Additionally, your excuse does’t wash: “…i read the article. the reason i asked because it was a little confusing for me since I am on the west coast…”
“…The U.S. has reached the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup for the first time since 2007, and will meet a Serbia team on Sunday (12:30 am ET, Fox Sports 1/Telemundo)… “. They clearly state Sunday morning at 12:30AM ET which is Saturday night at 9:30PM PT. Based on his/her response, Ronniet clearly did not read the article carefully as well before posting either (2:30 or 3am????).
I hope they win..that being said after watching them get outplayed the last couple games AND having watched Serbia play Im afraid this team is going to get smoked. Serbians seem like the will manhandle Hyndman and Zaleem.
It may depend on the ref. I think If it’s a latin-american, southern european, East Asian, then I think the manhandling that Ukraine could get away with to shut down Zelalem will get called out. If the ref is Central Asian, African, British, or Eastern Europe then you’re more likely to get a repeat of the Ukraine game’s rough play.
Serbia was the better team against Hungary. Based on the quality of play that I saw, I would put the relative odds in a matchup between those two teams at: Hungary wins = 2; Tie =3; Serbia Wins=5
At least Serbia had to play overtime.
Good. Now I want more info on the Serbs: this is the 1/4 finals after all.
+1 – I don’t know much about them and don’t have time to watch/read about soccer all day although I wish I could.
Anyone qualified to add to this thread?
Strengths:
-Strong wing play, these guys are fast and technical. Love to dribble at players.
-Crossing, again very good wingers
-Counter attack threat. Very fast in transition, use through balls and crosses to create chances.
-Set piece threat. They’ve scored twice from a direct set piece and more from corners.
-Strong in the air, they’ve scored a couple headers this tournament.
-Fantastic GK.
Weaknesses:
-Defensive lapses, the few goals they’ve given up were avoidable.
-Discipline, they’re physicality has won them some cards and even a red vs Hungary.
-Allow opposition to create chances, Mexico were all over them.
-Allow opposition time on the ball.
-Waste scoring opportunities.
Serbia likes to…
-Creating chances through crosses and through balls
-Scoring from set pieces
-Scoring headers
-Counter attacks
-Shoot from distance
-Play on the wings
thanks
Love arriola up there with Rubin.
Think this is better lineup than the post 10th minute lineup v Columbia
I agree. Rubin and Arriola will be a hand full for the Serbian defense.
I have always thought a lot of Arioloa, his skill and mind for the game, but this tourney has been a revelation about how tough, tenacious and relentless he is. Impressed n every match… but he was giving the Colombians fits. Speed/threat of Hall and Jamieson missed big time in creating space for that entire midfield. Good learning opportunity for them all playing through that/the pressure in games that matter.
I’m glad to see Paul Arriola getting more praise. He was all over the field like a flash in one of the earlier games, showing up all over the field but it seemed he wasn’t getting much recognition in the SBI comments that I saw. Glad I’m not crazy. Bet he gets an invite to a national team training camp if the U-23’s can spare him before the Olympics. If not, then he gets a callup to camp cupcake after the Olympics.
Sometimes I repeat myself myself.