Seattle Soccer Scene

After breezing through the group stage, the US played their quarterfinal match in the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship yesterday. It was a critical match, since the winner not only advanced to the semifinals but also qualified for the World Cup this summer in Mexico. A loss would mean the US would miss the youth tournament for the first time in its history.

The Young Nats were matched up against unheralded El Salvador, who advanced in the knockout round despite not winning a match on the field. They were given a 3-0 forfeit win over Haiti — after the Haitian side had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness — and then lost to Costa Rica 3-2 in their other group match. The game was broadcast on ESPN3, so I had a chance to watch first hand what should have been a gimme.

As is often the case in sports, the match was nothing like a gimme. The US got out ahead early on a 4th minute goal from midfielder Alejandro Guido, but El Salvador ended any thought of a cakewalk by pegging back almost immediately in the 8th minute. The game then settled into a tough midfield battle on a pretty ragged pitch. The US had the majority of offensive chances but were stymied by some bad decision making in the offensive box and a couple of great saves by Salvadorian keeper Rolando Morales. El Salvador had some dangerous counters that were misplayed by the US defense, but the Americans bailed themselves out well enough to avoid giving up a go-ahead goal.

The stalemate continued through the regulation 90 minutes and injury time, and the US was forced into extra time by the heavy underdogs. Then the game may have been turned by coach Wilmer Cabrera’s decision to leave his substitutions late, as the relatively fresh Mario Rodriguez finally put a US chance away to take a 2-1 lead in the 96th minute. The US held possession well and added another when Marc Pelosi (who had assisted the second goal) scored on a tap-in in the 112th.

It looked like the US were going to close it out then, but the game suddenly went pear-shaped. Shortly after the goal, US defender Kellyn Perry-Acosta received his second yellow and the US was down a man. Then in the 119th US Keeper Fernando Pina rose high for a ball and managed to knee Salvadorian attacker Jose Pena in the face while making the catch. Whether it was intentional or not, he received a straight red, as did Pena, who took a swing at Pina after the play. El Salvador converted the resulting penalty (after a backup keeper had been sent in) and now the US were down 9 men to 10 with only a one goal lead. Fortunately, they were able to see it out relatively comfortably and moved on after a game that was much harder than it should have been.

In my opinion the players of the game were Guido and Pelosi on the offensive end (each of whom notched a goal and an assist). On the defensive end it had to be Joe Amon at right back, who did a tremendous job cutting in and bailing out the center backs on attacks down the middle when one of them (too frequently) were caught out of position.

The most important goal of qualifying for the World Cup is now accomplished, but the US will still want to win the tournament. Their semifinal opponent will be Jamaica, who beat Honduras this morning. The match is Friday morning, and the US will be heavily favored again, though Jamaica will be on home soil and El Salvador have proven that you can’t take any match for granted.

The group format at the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championships is pretty generous. First there’s a general lack of parity that sees a small handful of teams in the final stages each year, meaning that the Pot 1 and 2 teams significantly outclass the Pot 3 teams. Then take into account the fact that each group is only three teams, of which the top two advance.

So missing the knockout stage at this tournament wouldn’t have just taken a stumble from the US squad; it would have taken a legendary collapse. Fortunately no such collapse was forthcoming and the team easily beat Cuba in its first game on Monday. And after Cuba and Panama drew in their game on Wednesday, the US were assured of advancing before they’d played their second game today versus Panama. But the game still mattered, as winning the group meant facing El Salvador in the next round rather than perennial CONCACAF powers Costa Rica.

The US came out strong and dominated possession in the first half — outshooting Panama 5-0 — but they couldn’t find a goal and the game went into the break scoreless. The draw didn’t last long after halftime, though, as the US scored in the 50th on an Andrew Oliver header via a free kick from Alejandro Guido. It was all the US would need (and all they would get) as Panama would get their first and only shot in the 85th minute and the young Yanks could comfortably close out the game.

They now move on to face El Salvador, who’ve made it into the bracket for the first time since 1999, when they took 4th place. The match is on Tuesday morning.

The US Women continue their buildup to this summer’s 2011 World Cup in Germany. After (narrowly) winning the Four Nations Cup in China in January, the team is in training camp in Florida preparing for the Algarve Cup in Portugal, which kicks off on March 2. Like the Four Nations Cup, the Algarve Cup routinely draws the best teams in the world, and yet the US has won 7 times and finished second 4 times in the 17-year history of the tournament, including a victory last year over the resurgent Germans — another indicator of the US team’s historical dominance of the womens’ game.

But the US gap over the rest of the world is narrowing — a fact most vividly illustrated by the narrow US qualification for this year’s World Cup, which required a playoff match with Italy after being booted out of the Gold Cup by Mexico. The US will want to have strong showing in Portugal against top-tier competition in order to crush any remaining seeds of doubt about the quality of this year’s team. They’re grouped with Japan, Norway, and Finland (currently ranked 5, 7, and 16 respectively).

And one factor that will certainly help is the return of Husky alum and first-choice keeper Hope Solo, who’s been sidelined since September thanks to surgery on her right shoulder. She’s been called into the 32-player camp roster, and assuming all’s well medically, she should be safe to make the 23-player roster for the Algarve Cup that coach Pia Sundhage should be naming either today or tomorrow.

Amid all the recent news about the senior US men’s team — including the evaluations of the Chile match and the sudden cancellation of the Egypt friendly — it’s been easy to overlook the upcoming CONCACAF U-17 Championships in Jamaica. But this will be an important tournament for the US team for a few reasons.

First, it will serve as the qualifier for this year’s edition of the biannual U-17 World Cup, which will be held in Mexico in June. Second, it will be the first tournament since 1997 that will actually involve a championship match, which will give the US a chance to stake their claim as the dominant nation in the region. Third, Mexico is not participating in the tournament since they already qualify for the World Cup as the hosts, which should open up the tournament for the Americans.

The US has been drawn into a group with Panama and Cuba, two very beatable teams. The first US match is Feb 14 versus Cuba.

Unfortunately, there’s not much of a local angle, as there aren’t any Northwest players on the team. Here’s a breakdown of the states represented on the team in camp:

Yes, that’s Japan. 6-foot center back Mobi Fehr was born in New York but grew up in Tokyo playing in Tokyo Verde’s heralded club system. He’s been identified by the US coaches as a top talent and will be one to watch.

It’s not clear yet what media coverage there will be. It’s possible CONCACAF.tv will broadcast the games. Otherwise, we might have to rely on twitter.