MLS lives by a simple creed, there is no such thing as too many drafts. Thus today we had our fourth draft of the off-season with the 2012 Supplemental Draft. This is essentially rounds 3-7 of the SuperDraft but in the interest of time, money and general interest, it's been split off in to its own event.

Photo by Max Becherer/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. - Prior to November, the last time Jared Jeffrey suited up for a U.S. youth national team was in 2009, and much has changed for him since then.

Since representing the United States at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup three summers ago, Jeffrey has switched clubs, learned a new language and overcome the nagging hip injury that put him on the shelf for much of last season.

U.S. Soccer referee Mark Geiger and assistant referee Sean Hurd have been selected to officiate the final of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup between Brazil and Portugal in Bogota, Colombia.
The match will be broadcast live on ESPNU and ESPN3.com on Saturday, August 20, at 7 p.m. ET.
The American referees, along with Canada's Joe Fletcher, have also been on the referee crew for a Group E match between Brazil and Austria, a Group B match featuring Uruguay and Cameroon and a Round of 16 game between Spain and Korea Republic.

Even though the much-anticipated start to the domestic soccer season in Spain has been delayed by a players' strike, there's still plenty of intriguing matches on the docket for the weekend.

The FIFA Under-20 World Cup comes to a close, with Brazil and Portugal battling it out for youth international supremacy.

By DAVID MOSSE

If Brazil intends to avoid the drama of another penalty shootout on Saturday when it takes on Portugal in the final of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Ney Franco's side must become the first team to find the back of the net against Portugal, whose remarkable shutout streak in this tournament reached 570 minutes following Wednesday's 2-0 semifinal victory over France.

By DAVID MOSSE

No country has been more irritated by the emergence of Spain in recent years than Brazil, which always took for granted being the main attraction at every tournament and the great purveyor of The Beautiful Game. A quarterfinal clash at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup might not seem like much, but Brazilians hope Sunday's triumph over Spain in penalty kicks was a small step towards putting their universe back in order.

The field at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup has been narrowed to 16 teams.

Spain, Nigeria and host Colombia were the only teams to win all of their matches in the group stage, with Nigeria boasting a tournament-best +10 goal differential.

On the other end of the spectrum, Guatemala managed to qualify for the group stage after a late goal lifted the first-time participants to a 1-0 victory over Croatia in their final group game.

Host Colombia isn't the only South American team enjoying a strong start to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Brazil routed Panama, 4-0, to win Group E, and Argentina shut out North Korea, 3-0, to win Group F as both powers advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament Thursday night.

Grab a seat and get comfortable, because there's plenty of quality soccer to watch tonight.

Between Seattle and Dallas vying for places in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage, some intriguing MLS matchups, the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and a friendly involving FC Barcelona, Wednesday night promises to be an action-packed one.

FIFA Under-20 World Cup host Colombia won't be leaving its own party early.

Colombia defeated Mali, 2-0, on Tuesday to become the first team to seal a place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Jose Valencia and James Rodriguez scored the goals, and FC Dallas Designated Player Fabian Castillo made his tournament debut, entering as a 61st-minute substitute for Colombia, which is almost assured of winning Group A.

By ADAM SERRANO

After a disappointing loss to Argentina, Mexico roared back to life in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup with an impressive 3-0 victory over a fiesty North Korea side.

An own goal by North Korea moments before halftime gave Mexico the lead. El Tri doubled that lead in the 54th minute when forward Taufic Guarch launched a laser from 30 yards out, and Mexico midfielder Diego De Buen added a third goal four minutes into stoppage time to cap off the victory.

Spain's dominance on the world stage has extended to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

The Spaniards opened their tournament with a thorough 4-1 beating of CONCACAF runner-up Costa Rica behind two goals from Rodrigo on Sunday. Spain wasn't the only team to impress in the opening round of games, either.

The last major international tournament of the summer kicks off on Friday, with the FIFA Under-20 World Cup beginning in Colombia.

Some marquee matchups highlight the opening days of group play, as Argentina and Mexico square off Friday night, and Portugal meets Uruguay and host Colombia takes on France on Saturday night.

By DAVID MOSSE

A busy summer of international soccer winds down with 24 countries vying to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Colombia, which takes place from July 29 to Aug. 20. Argentina and Mexico are both back in the fold after failing to qualify two years ago, and the two teams clash Friday in one of the very first matches of the tournament, as the South Americans begin their quest for a record seventh title.

Good news today that Newcastle's 18 year-old goalkeeper Jak Alnwick has been named in the England Under-20 squad for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, which will take place in Colombia in July and August. Jak Alnick talented young goalkeeper The youngster is Tottenham and former Sunderland goalkeeper Ben Alnick's young brother, and he will [.

The Nigeria Football Federation has dispatched to world football-governing body Fifa, a list of 30 players as Nigeria's provisional list for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup taking place in Colombia from 29th July - 20th August, 2011.

Daily Sun - Found 1 hour ago NFF) has dispatched to world football-governing body, FIFA, a list of 30 players as Nigerias provisional list for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup...

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has dispatched to world football-governing body, FIFA, a list of 30 players as Nigeria's provisional list for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, taking place in Colombia from 29th July – 20th August, 2011. The list includes ...

The Confederação Brasileira de Futebol and Nike have officially launched the Brazil 2011/12 home and away kits that the Seleção will wear for this summer's 2011 Copa America, FIFA Under-17 World Cup and FIFA Under-20 World Cup on February 1st. While we've had a detailed look at both jerseys, we haven't seen the new Brazil Nike [.

This weekend saw the completion of the South American Youth Championship and what a final match the tournament had in prospect as the top two of Uruguay and Brazil fought it out for the crown. Unfortunately, for those anticipating a closely fought contest, it proved to be a one-sided encounter.

The two most successful countries at this level in South America, Brazil and Uruguay were hoping to clinch the title with victory in their head-to-head clash on Saturday night.

The Confederação Brasileira de Futebol and Nike have officially launched the Brazil 2011/12 home and away kits that the Seleção will wear for this summer's 2011 Copa America, FIFA Under-17 World Cup and FIFA Under-20 World Cup (both pending qualification). It's been rumored in the Brazilian press that a Brazil 2011/12 third kit is slated [.

The 2011 Sudamerico Sub-20 championship was played between 16 January and 12 february 2011. The top two finishers (Brazil and Uruguay) qualify to play in the 2012 Olympic football tournament. The top four finishers qualified to play in the FIFA under-20 World Cup (Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina & Ecuador) and will be joined by the hosts Colombia.

The South American Youth Championship takes place in Peru from Sunday with ten teams hopeful of grabbing the title along with one of the four available places up for grabs in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup which takes place later in the year. The tournament which brought the likes of Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Alexandre Pato to worldwide acclaim welcomes in a new generation of potential superstars and Stoppage Time International Football Blog looks back at the history of the event and previews this year's tournament.