The FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt is about to start this week, and were here to give you a preview, players to watch, and our predictions on whats going to happen! We will do two groups for the next three days, then give you a breakdown of the knockout phase on the final day.
Group A
Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Italy
Egypt fields a side full of domestic professionals led by Goalkeeper Abugabal (Enppi) and Talaat Mohamed (Al Ahly) a striker who had totaled 5 goals in 9 appearances for the U-20 Pharaohs' side, and has scored 1 time in three appearance for the Al Ahly senior side this year.
This is Egypt's fifth time appearing at the U-20 World Cup finals.
Trinidad and Tobago, host of the 2009 CONCACAF U-20 championships, finished fourth in that tournament to qualify for the U-20 World Cup finals. They come into the tournament filled with a squad full of domestic professionals, three American university players, and three European club professionals. Ones to watch are Sean de Silva, a midfielder for the College of Charleston, Qian Grosvenor, a striker from the University of South Florida, and defender Jake Thomson of England's club team Southampton.
This is T&T's second time appearing at the U-20 World Cup finals.
Paraguay finished runners up in the South American qualifying, only behind Brazil. Their squad is full of South American talent playing in Argentina and Paraguay. The trio of Hernan Perez, Robin Ariel Ramirez and Federico Santander, who scored fourteen goals between them in qualifying, are definitely the ones to watch for Paraguay in this upcoming tournament.
This is Paraguay's eighth appearance in the U-20 World Cup finals.
The Italians qualified for the tournament by finishing runners up in the last UEFA U-19 Championships to Germany. All of the players are affiliated with domestic professional sides. Fabio Sciacca, a midfielder who has appeared nine times for Catania's senior squad is one of the leaders of the Italian side. Michelangelo Albertazzi, who is part of the AC Milan setup, was rumored to sign for Arsenal of London at age 16, but decided to stay in Italy instead.
This is Italy's fifth appearance at the U-20 World Cup finals.
Prediction of group A:
I think that Egypt's home field advantage will help them finish second in the group behind Paraguay. Italy usually struggles at this age group, and I dont really see it stopping here. Look for T&T to possibly get a shock result against Italy.
Group B
Nigeria, Venezuela, Spain, Tahiti
Nigeria finished third in CAF qualifying for the competition after the same player pool won the last U-17 World Cup in Korea. They come in as hot favorites to the tournament. The squad is full of both domestic and international professionals. Two players to watch are Rabiu Ibrahim and the captain of the Flying Eagles Lukman Haruna. Ibrahim is currently on the books at Portuguese club Sporting Club de Portugal though on loan at Real Massama. Haruna has made three senior squad appearances for the Nigerian senior squad as well as eight senior appearances for his club team AS Monaco of France.
This in Nigeria's eighth appearance at the U-2o World Cup finals.
Venezuela's shocking qualification, finishing ahead of Argentina, has some calling it one of the most important things a Venezuelan side has ever accomplished. The side is anchored by goalkeeper Rafael Romo, who has just signed for Italian side Udinese. The rest of the squad is comprised of domestic talent.
This is Venezuela's first appearance at the U-20 World Cup finals.
Spain though usually a powerhouse at the youth ranks, struggled to get out of their group to qualify for Egypt, and it took a last ditch 4-0 effort over Bulgaria to make sure that they qualified for the tournament. The side is full of Spanish professionals that make their living in Spain's La Liga. Though Barcelona's Bojan Krkic is set to miss the tournament due to a knee injury, look for teammates Daniel Parejo on loan from Real Madrid to at Gatafe, and Sergio Asenjo first choice keeper at Athletic Madrid to pick up the pace for the the Spaniards.
This is the thirteenth time Spain has appeared at the U-20 World Cup finals.
Tahiti, arguably the biggest minnows to ever make a World Cup final at any level round out group B. The Tahiti Nui qualified through heavy perennial favorites New Zealand, Fiji, and New Caledonia. They feature an all domestic side from Tahiti, with some lower level teams in France looking to sign some of the talent as well. Leader Teheipuarii Hauata, the Tahatian keeper will be kept busy at the back, and for them to succeed, Hauata will need to play his best.
This is Tahiti's first appearance a the U-20 World Cup finals.
Group B prediction:
This is a fascinating group with two youth powers and two youth minnows. Nigeria v Spain is a rematch of the U-17 World Cup in Korea. I think it would be a safe bet to say that Nigeria and Spain will go through this group one-two.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
UEFA Europa League thoughts
The UEFA Europa league group stage opening round has started with a bang, and with a bang, here are my opening thoughts!
What happened in Basel? Wern't the Giallorossi supposed to be a far superior team? They fielded a full side, and were properly stuffed by their Swiss counterparts. Roma played an uninspired game from the start, looking somewhat like the Italian national team, a team that looks that it cant be bothered to play sometimes. Fair play to Basel for being the only team to show up!
Another contender for the first Europa League cup, Celtic, also showed up to a far inferior team with a full lineup and got stuffed. What is happening up in Glasgow? Why are the administrators allowing Celtic to become West Brom far-north? A uninspiring second half saw their counterparts from Tel-Aviv take full advantage of a team that did not look like a Celtic team of the past.
The tale of two sides from England, Fulham and Everton saw two savvy managers play the right cards. First, David Moyes, with his team coming out of the gates stuck in a quagmire, plays pretty much a full strength side against AEK Athens of Greece, and just throttles them 4-0. I have not seen an Everton team play to that calibre in a very long time. Not only did he get the full three points for the Toffees in group play, I think he got the gears in motion for the rest of the season. Fulham's main man, Roy Hodgson, did the exact opposite of his last weekend's counterpart, and came out smelling like roses as well. Hodgson fielded a side filled with reserve players in their match at CKSA Sofia and came out with a hard fought 1-1 draw at the Bulgarian National Stadium. Hodgson caught a lot of flak before the match for his selection, but yet again, as the Fulham faithful say, "In Woy we trust!"
German national pride suffered a small hit as Hertha Berlin drew at home against lowly touted side FK Ventspils and Hamburger SV was hammered 3-0 away to Austria Vienna, both quite shocking results for the German sides. The only bright spot for the Germans was Werder Bremen's 2-3 comeback win over Portugese side CD National, as Claudio Pizarro scored a late minute winner for the team from northwest Germany.
Overall, I was very impressed with the level of play compared to last years competition. I think the group stages this term are going to be far more competitive, and we will see this in the tactics of the clubs involved on the pitch. Home and away really changes the whole face of the competition, for the good. I am eagerly awaiting the next round of games!
What happened in Basel? Wern't the Giallorossi supposed to be a far superior team? They fielded a full side, and were properly stuffed by their Swiss counterparts. Roma played an uninspired game from the start, looking somewhat like the Italian national team, a team that looks that it cant be bothered to play sometimes. Fair play to Basel for being the only team to show up!
Another contender for the first Europa League cup, Celtic, also showed up to a far inferior team with a full lineup and got stuffed. What is happening up in Glasgow? Why are the administrators allowing Celtic to become West Brom far-north? A uninspiring second half saw their counterparts from Tel-Aviv take full advantage of a team that did not look like a Celtic team of the past.
The tale of two sides from England, Fulham and Everton saw two savvy managers play the right cards. First, David Moyes, with his team coming out of the gates stuck in a quagmire, plays pretty much a full strength side against AEK Athens of Greece, and just throttles them 4-0. I have not seen an Everton team play to that calibre in a very long time. Not only did he get the full three points for the Toffees in group play, I think he got the gears in motion for the rest of the season. Fulham's main man, Roy Hodgson, did the exact opposite of his last weekend's counterpart, and came out smelling like roses as well. Hodgson fielded a side filled with reserve players in their match at CKSA Sofia and came out with a hard fought 1-1 draw at the Bulgarian National Stadium. Hodgson caught a lot of flak before the match for his selection, but yet again, as the Fulham faithful say, "In Woy we trust!"
German national pride suffered a small hit as Hertha Berlin drew at home against lowly touted side FK Ventspils and Hamburger SV was hammered 3-0 away to Austria Vienna, both quite shocking results for the German sides. The only bright spot for the Germans was Werder Bremen's 2-3 comeback win over Portugese side CD National, as Claudio Pizarro scored a late minute winner for the team from northwest Germany.
Overall, I was very impressed with the level of play compared to last years competition. I think the group stages this term are going to be far more competitive, and we will see this in the tactics of the clubs involved on the pitch. Home and away really changes the whole face of the competition, for the good. I am eagerly awaiting the next round of games!
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