This edition of the Under-20 World Cup was characterized by an excess of attacking talent. Consequently, most games were open, free-flowing, and easy on the eyes. As a result, this year's NSC U-20 Best XI is an attack-minded machine built to score goals. Keep in mind as you read along that this lineup was constructed with the future in mind.

On the final weekend of a major international tournament, the consolation match is usually the best bet for open, entertaining soccer. If for no better reason than third place sounds a lot cooler than fourth place, the battle for the bronze is often times the best. Not on Saturday. Mexico-France was a fine opening act, but Brazil-Portugal was the final for good reason.

So the U-20 selecao boys have done it once again, winning the World Cup for the fifth time last night (officially tied with the senior team!) As mum would say : "PARABENS!!" It was a hat-trick from Oscar which sealed the deal for the boys, ensuring they got the 3-2 victory over colonial brothers, Portugal.

Brazil is the greatest footballing country in the world, and tonight they won the U-20 World Cup in Colombia, after defeating Portugal 3-2 after extra time. The credit for the Brazilians is all the greater considering that Portugal had not conceded a goal the entire tournament, and were 2-1 up. Oscar, the Brazilian youngster from Internazionale scored all three Brazilian goals, and he will surely

That's an awesome photo of Bruno Uvini and Henrique from Brazil's U-20 squad congratulating Danilo on his first call-up to the senior seleção yesterday! Sure, it looks borderline cheesy and posed, but who cares?!

Handshakes aside, the U-20 guys have an extremely important agenda to settle to today : The World Cup final against Portugal!

Portuguese, to me, has always sounded like Frenchy Spanish. With that in mind, the fact that France and Mexico will be playing a footnote game before the Portugese-speaking derby final on Saturday is fulfilling. Admittedly that's not the purist's definition of a derby, but I'm an American, and bastardizing/perfecting all things English is part of our national modus operandi.

I was recently in the most wonderful country in the world, Colombia, where the U-20 World Cup is currently taking place. The atmosphere is great as Colombians greet the world with their usual smiles, hospitality and friendliness.Except if you are Argentine... I had made nothing of an incident between the Argentinean team during a match against Egypt and the fans in Medellín until, last Saturday,

Whoever said kids should be seen and not heard has not been watching the U-20 World Cup. Stand up and shout boys, this has been one hell of a tournament. Watching the semifinals this weekend was euphoric and anxiety-inducing, just like good football should be.
Where to begin? With Portugal's one-for-the-ages penalties win over Argentina?

Seemingly every tournament takes on a nature of its own. Whether it's a flair for late dramatics, a penchant for upsets, or consistently poor refereeing, each tournament has a character of sorts. This edition of the Under-20 World Cup has gone straight up Wonderland on us. Time has been distorted, logic has been defied, and - if nothing else - this tournament has been fun to watch.

Just before Spain was busy being dispatched from their path along the impossible dream of winning the u19, u20 and u21 championships in the same summer, France was busy getting a lesson in late-game drama from Nigeria.

And then Gueida Fofana hit back with some drama and technique of his own, sending France on its way to a 3-2 victory in ET.

Remember back when Greg called that keen four for four during the 2008 Olympics? Well, the NSC intern just doubled the feat in the Under-20 World Cup round of 16. That's just how we roll, yo... The word of the round: swagger. Whether it was coming, going, or never showing up, swagger more than any other intrinsic quality turned the tides of this Under-20 World Cup's Round of 16.

Union

Four days remain until the close of the transfer window...

The Union will host its first Supporters Summit on Wednesday, August 17 with Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz, Peter Nowak, Faryd Mondragón and MLS Commissioner Don Garber answering questions. If, as Sakiewicz said, "hearing from a wider audience than usual" is the reason for the summit, the fact that only registered members of the Sons of Be will be allowed to attend is rather mystifying, particularly if topics for discussion will include "the Union's style of play, the League schedule, game-day experience, ticketing, stadium expansion, single table alignment and playoff structure.

The group stage of any major tournament - let alone the Under-20 World Cup - is not too different from a high school prom. It's the culmination of an arduous journey that is a cause for celebration. Everybody gets to hang around, dance a little, try to impress the ladies and generally have a good time.

Alleged Everton fan Sir Paul McCartney once sang about 'the ever-changing world in which we live in' and how it might make one 'give in and cry'. Now it is a rare occasion when I disagree with the true King of Pop, but soccer fans the world over can take comfort in the fact that there are some things that simply never change.

Aaah, meninos do Brasil... we haven't forgotten you! The U-20 Selecao got their World Cup campaign to a perfect start last night with a 3-0 victory over Austria (same result for the Argentinians). Unfortunately, three of their players had to leave the field after suffering bad injuries including Alex Sandro, Henrique and Casemiro (who actually left the pitch in tears!

The Under-20 World Cup is always an enjoyable tournament as the world's top prospects usually showcase a combination of raw hunger and youthful abandon that makes for some genuinely intriguing soccer. While the best and brightest strive to either justify their absence from their club's pre-season or attract richer suitors, the tournament also offers a glimpse into the future.

The U-20 World Cup officially kicked off over the weekend and the ninos of La Roja (Spain) kicked off their campaign with a neat 4-1 victory over the Costa Ricans. Sergio Canales and Daniel Pacheco are among the names representing Spain in the tournament along with Espanyol's Álvaro Vázquez.

By Gordon Fleetwood

Ten years after FIFA's premier youth competition was held on South American soil, the U20 World Cup returns to the continent as the best twenty-four teams in the world converge on Colombia. The tournament provides a stage for some of the brightest young talents in world football to show their skills and compete for a chance at glory.

After a day spent trying to calm nerves frayed by the transfer season to varying degrees of success, it's back to the offseason grind of news drip-fed into maws eager for something tangible to hold onto as summer drags along. This, then, is all the Liverpool news that's fit to drip today...

* After making his debut with Liverpool in 1976, Sammy Lee would go on to become a key player in midfield for the next decade, playing an important role in European Cup and league triumphs before eventually being pushed out by injuries and Jan Mølby in 1986.

You surely already got the bad news from Guatemala, but now we have U-20 highlights and reactions. Regulars here will know that the U-20 World Cup is one of my top favorites of all sporting events and I must admit to being crushed when I woke to find that our boys had come up short. Big. Fat. Ugh.- Greg Seltzer

I am going to be out nearly the whole day tomorrow, so let's just get some tube to "air" now...NSC pal Adam Spangler tipped off our opening clip: JayZ's web magazine hangs out with Hoffenheim U-19 midfielder Charles Renken on camp departure day.mobilerider.embedVideo(2416, 39692 ,'', 400, 220, 'osmf', {extras:'skin:,muteOn:,autoplay:0,autohide:1'});Let's check in with the U.

By Jon Levy Tonight is an important night for American soccer. Maybe not as important as last night congrats to Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer, by the way but important. Our berth in the World Cup is on the line. Yes, it's the Under-20 World Cup, and no, you're not allowed to ignore it. [.

But only a little... the U.S. U-20's moved closer to a World Cup berth by topping Panama, while the USWNT have a dodgy day in London. See for yourself.- Greg Seltzer

I've been asked to describe exactly what was on that Top 5 pizza picture: it was cherry tomatoes, yellow onions, fresh basil, mozzarella and what I call "risotto chicken" (as in the buttery/Parmesan/garlic flavor of risotto I had in Italy sautéed onto chicken) with pesto butter on the edge crust. I like a flavorpalooza.

Everyone in the world should be allowed to have for dinner a pizza like the one I just created/devoured. And a Pepsi. It should be a birthright. That alone could result in world peace...#1 - From the "we all knew this was coming someday" file: Cincinnati Bengal wide reciever Chad Ochocinco is going on trial with Sporting KC.