Just a couple of things on my mind today, so... U-20's Bounce Back The USA U20's recovered from dropping their opener in the U-20 World Cup, a 3-0 loss to Germany, by routing Cameroon 4-1. Of course, the final score was terribly flattering to... Click to continue reading...

Here's the local schedule so you can watch the four FCD kids in action. Click to continue reading...

As feared, FCD has been dealt a blow to whatever slim chances remained for this season with the call up of five players for the US U20s. While only two are starters, Brek Shea and Kyle Davies, the loss of Josh Lambo, Anthony Wallace, and Peri Marosevic, will decimate the depth of the team leaving a very thin margin for injuries and tactical substitutions. Click to continue reading...

Steve Hunt has a great piece on Brek Shea in which Shea expresses his frustrations. I'm surprised MLSnet was willing to publish it. Click to continue reading...

Thomas Rongen has called another 10 day camp for the US U20s and Josh Lambo and Anthony Wallace have been recalled. Based on the roster this came is taking a look at a few players who haven't been available previously and perhaps a few fringe names. Click to continue reading...

When there used to be five FCD players going to every US U20 camp, now there is only one: Peri Marosevic. Click to continue reading...

I won't come as a shock to anyone who has been following the US U20 team preparations for the CONCACAF U20 Championships, but four FC Dallas players have been named by coach Thomas Rongen to his final team. Brek Shea, Peri Marosevic, Josh Lambo, and Anthony Wallace will be leaving FCD to join up with the U20s. Click to continue reading...

New Kid on the Block, Peri Marosevic, is joining old school baller Brek Shea and the US U20 team. Click to continue reading...

Well, the summer has come and mostly gone. We still have the U-17 World Cup to get out of the way, but with the senior and U-20 sides involved in three major tournaments his summer, we got a better picture of what the national program looks like heading into qualification for the most important tourney of all - the World Cup. In this first of a five-part series, we'll take a look at the five players who surprised or impressed me the most - the five who "planted their spears" and gave "fist shaking performances" in the parlance of everybody's favorite Geordie. Click to continue reading...

Tickle

• The U-20's got dumped by Austria, but they had a pretty good run at the U-20 World Cup. I'm fairly certain we'll be seeing a few of those boys step up to the full national team as qualifying for 2010 progresses.
  
• USL teams are absolutely abusing MLS in the Open Cup with the quarterfinal brackets reading USL 4, MLS 3 with one game pending tonight as Chivas take on the Sounders.

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Or, more specifically, a lack thereof on the part of both Toms. Thomas Rongen's U-20 side, pegged back by a scrappy goal against the run of play at the close of the first half after having the better of the play in the first 45, never managed to adapt to the change made by the Austrian side coming into the second half and they ultimately paid for it. Click to continue reading...

Well, the Baby Nats proved against Poland that they could come back from a goal down, and they did it again against a feisty Uruguay squad. It wasn't quite the spectacular explosion of goals that the earlier triumph was, but it was certainly more dramatic and nail-biting.
Uruguay clearly came into this game ready to rough up the US attackers and did so without much opposition from the awful referee, who seemed to alternate between letting brutal play go with nary an admonishment, yet blew the whistle for seemingly innocuous bumps off of the ball - for both sides. Click to continue reading...

Since everyone else hit 'em hard, I figured I may as well hit 'em late.
- Want to see the United States' U-20s Round of 16 tilt against Old South American power Uruguay? Then join the campaign to, um, enlighten ESPN as to their self-interest in airing this game. Seeing as they finally invested in soccer broadcast rights, why not show off the young bucks on their way into the system (maybe. Click to continue reading...

Tickle

• US U-20's drop six on Poland. Six goals! By a US side in an international competition! And it's not the women! There were some real gems as well - maybe they could teach the senior side a thing or two about finishing?
  
• Speaking of quality goals, there were some beautiful "bulges in the ol' onion bag" in the Uruguay-Spain match as well.

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A hat-trick for Adu, a brace for Szetela, a tap-in for Altidore, and suddenly things are looking much rosier for the Baby Nats then they were after opening Group D play with a draw against the Koreans. The 6-1 thrashing of previous group leaders Poland puts the US atop the group and makes qualification for the knockout stages seem a much more distinct possibility than it was before the kickoff in Montreal. Click to continue reading...

How many people will be kissing his ass tomorrow, after he turned in what reads like a commanding performance for the U.S. U-20s? I followed the game on MatchTracker and, to be honest, couldn't believe how many times his name came up.
Anyway, the chatter ought to be something.
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The Koreans are probably in for a few days worth of shooting practice as they dominated this game but were unable to apply the finishing touch that would have sunk the baby Nats. While it's true that Seitz carried on the proud tradition of American excellence in the nets, he was aided by shanks, slices, ground kicks, and the crossbar. So let's get to the talking points:

1. The Koreans were quick, not just in sheer team speed, but in passing, thought, and recovery as well.

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