U17 MNT looking strong as qualifying nears

U17 MNT looking strong as qualifying nears
February 6, 2009
Wilmer Cabrera’s U17 Men’s National Team is in the home stretch of its preparation for the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament for the FIFA U17 World Cup.

Elite club soccer playes compete.A U17 MNT player challenges for the ball against Brazil.
An ongoing trip to Chile and a follow-up journey to Spain will serve to fine tune the squad before the CONCACAF tournament begins April 21 in Tijuana, Mexico (and no, I’m not making the Tijuana part up). The U.S. squad has been drawn to play group matches with Cuba, Canada and Honduras. This year’s event will advance all four semifinalists from the two groups to the FIFA U17 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 24 in Nigeria.

This cycle of the U17 MNT Residency in Bradenton has had perhaps a little more drama than previous years due to some disciplinary issues and especially injuries, but the squad appears to be rounding into form at a good time.

The return to the lineup of defender Jared Watts and midfielders Carlos Martinez and Charles Renken seems to have given the squad a needed boost, and so far they look to be doing well at a tournament in Chile, having beaten the hosts and Peru with shutout wins. Thursday a reserve-laden squad drew with Ecuador.

Following is a largely speculative, completely long-distance look at the squad’s progress, aided by expert opinions, anonymous conjecture and well-placed insider information:

•    The squad is making serious progress in resolving its perceived defensive woes. It looks as though team captain Perry Kitchen has moved to the right back spot, with Jared Watts, who has recovered from an ACL injury, dropping back from midfield into a center back’s role. Eriq Zavaleta completes the twin towers tandem at center back with Watts, with Tyler Polak once again the starting left back.

•    The midfield is once again a strength with Carlos Martinez back into the starting lineup after a much-publicized disciplinary ban. Martinez can flat out play, and this has had a good effect when it comes to not just holding the ball, being dangerous with it from a 4-3-2-1.

•    Luis Gil and Brian Duran are the water carriers in midfield, with Joseph-Claude Gyau playing a supporting offensive role off the bench. Everybody wants to start of course, but having a player with Gyau’s considerable skill and explosiviness as an option for the latter third of a match must seem like a very attractive option for Cabrera, Paul Caffrey and the rest of the coaching staff. Duran is extra special when it comes to taking free kicks.

•    CHARLES IS BACK!!! Charles Renken seems to have gotten over his ACL, tendonitis and rust, and is once again helping pull strings from a withdrawn forward spot in a 4-3-2-1. It took him all of two minutes to score in his return to international play vs. Chile. So the boy wonder is back and he’s got something to prove. Look out world.

•     The strike force of choice may be undetermined. Jack McInerney has scored goals at an impressive clip, but Stefan Jerome’s speed and Soony Saad’s finishing ability make both attractive options for selection, and Gyau could be excellent on either wing if the team were to use a straight 4-3-3.

•    Roster depth on this team, a concern at the beginning of this cycle, now seems to be a bit of a strength. Perhaps all the time out for injuries and what not has helped raise the level of the squad. Along with the aforementioned options at forward and midfield, you now have young playmaker Sean Davis, speedy forward Donovan Henry (also back from injury), New Yorker Johnny Agudelo on the wing and South Florida commit Zachary Herold, residency newcomer Jose Perez and West Texan Michael Ambrose adding depth in defense.

•    Before I forget, the team’s strongest position might still be goalkeeper, where Earl Edwards is top class, and backups Spencer Richey and Jonathan Kempin would be starting just about anywhere else.

This particular component of the youth national team program always seems to have the brightest lights shining on it. Our youth soccer subculture can be a jealous place and too often we look at these talented players with an “it should be me there” perspective rather than with one of support. In this cycle you also have a relative outsider in U.S. coaching circles running the show in Cabrera, and this also tends to foster less-than-friendly analyses among coaches who think they could do better.

But as I suspected, the group has hung together through some tough times and is beginning to show signs of being a force to be reckoned with as we move toward qualifying. Never let it me questioned where our sympathies and rooting interest lies.
Trending Videos
 
IMG Academy Top 150 Rankings
see full ranking:
Boys Girls