re: 2019 U20 World Cup Thread

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Can someone explain how some of these non-soccer power countries always seem to have teams go deep into the youth tournaments but then their senior team never does anything?

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Multifactorial, I think. In my opinion:

1. You can still get away with some tactical and technical deficiencies that you can’t get away with at the highest level
2. Younger players are less consistent, so teams drop games that you wouldn’t expect them to, particularly against teams that are well drilled (e.g., a national team that effectively plays together year round)
3. European powers prioritize their U21 cycle, so the field is more open
4. Some of the major countries that actually take the u20s seriously are consistently good, so they’re skimming the best players off of each team vs. hoping that all of the players on their best team come good
5. Less of a concern here vs. the U17s, but players are still developing, so it’s unlikely that a major power is going to field 11 players who will ultimately be the best in that age group 10 years from now. Smaller teams aren’t going to have as many players outside of their squad randomly come good

fricking Tab. Llanez has looked way more polished in the final third than KDLF but Tab will Tab.

Konrad wasn’t bad the first couple of matches. IMO him and Llanez is a toss up, certainly nothing to get upset about.

Who actually chooses to switch sides after the coin flip?

Punk move, Ecuador.

Ya I was wondering about the GK situation. Is it normal in a Uwhatever tourney like this to rotate the keeper?

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Keita

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I call him “The Wanderer”... he does it often

Can we string some passes together?

Clumsy by Keita, but thankfully the touch by Ecuador was so bad they let the foul go.

They're pressing us so hard and the boys can't handle it. We're gonna have to smash and grab our way to a win.