The USA U-20 nationwide group dominated play within the first spherical of the CONCACAF Championship in Jamaica, however a late strike by Jose Ruiz tied issues up, and left the Yanks dumbstruck.
BY
Josh Deaver
Posted
January 09, 2015
8:57 PM
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GUT. PUNCH. DELIVERED.
The Tab Ramos-led United States under-20 males’s nationwide group had been struck a big blow on Friday, with the younger Individuals drawing 1-1 with Guatemala to open Group A play within the 2015 under-20 CONCACAF Championship. The Individuals noticed an early second half objective from Cameron Carter-Vickers cancelled out byan unimaginable 20-yard volley from FC Dallas academy product Jose Ruiz within the closing minute of regulation.
Because the Guatemalans celebrated in rapture, the younger Yanks had been lefts with arms on their heads. Underneath the flood lights at Independence Park in Kingston, the Individuals had utterly bossed possession all through the match, retaining the Azul y Blanco on their heels for many of the night time. Current Freiburg SC signee, goalkeeper Zack Steffen, barely broke a sweat till Ruiz’s luxurious volley skated simply over his outstretched fingers.
Whereas it was a jaw-dropping objective, the Guatemalans ought to really feel lucky for escaping with a decidedly unearned level.
With Ramos rolling out an attack-minded lineup, the Yanks managed the tempo early, with all 10 subject gamers incessantly making their approach into the Guatemalan half. Among the many standouts of those early forays was San Jose Earthquakes homegrown ahead Tommy Thompson, whose deft twists and activates the proper touchline opened house for the U.S. strike corps, resulting in some early probabilities within the closing third. Thompson himself produced one of the best scoring alternative within the first half, latching on to a John Requejo cross (after a intelligent dummy by, who else, Thompson) solely to have his shot saved contained in the six-yard field and the rebound sky over the crossbar.
The perfect Guatemala may muster was a collection of minimally threatening crosses at across the half-hour mark and a whole lot of tough challenges on the American assault. Guatemala ended the half with zero photographs on objective and 10 fouls.
Whereas the Individuals generated a number of half-chances and scuffed photographs within the first 45 minutes, one of the best scoring probabilities didn’t come till after the break—particularly, with the doorway of Fulham midfielder Emerson Hyndman, the one European based mostly skilled within the American squad.
A late arrival to camp, Hyndman’s presence instantly buttoned up the U.S. midfield which seemed out-of-sorts positionally with the mixture of FC Dallas’ Kelyn Acosta and Tijuana’s Paul Arriola, each of whom tried to get ahead with frequency—leaving the backline unprotected at instances.
Within the 58th minute Hyndman’s calming presence paid dividends, with the Texas native delivering a pinpoint nook to the pinnacle of Tottenham’s man-child defender, Cameron Carter-Vickers. Displaying a vertical leap that will make his NBA veteran father proud, Cameron rose up and looped the ball far submit for the American objective.
The rest of the match seemed to be a fait accompli for the Individuals because the challengers may hardly get a great contact on the ball. Each Hyndman and Sunderland’s Lynden Gooch had good probabilities to double the benefit late within the second half however couldn’t discover the goal.
With late midfield substitutions, Ramos tried to protect the factors, however the late nook—a sequence that began, coincidently, from referee interference—delivered the sort of heartbreak all too acquainted for followers of the seemingly cursed U.S. youth nationwide groups.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Individuals will really feel exhausting completed by the consequence because of its largely constructive efficiency. The Individuals had a number of probabilities to place the Guatemalans to mattress, however simply couldn’t discover the goal. Whereas it begins the marketing campaign on a bitter observe, the qualification course of is way simpler for the area’s heavyweights this time round. Sitting on one level in Group A, the Yanks would wish to complete within the high three for an opportunity on the World Cup. With minnows like Aruba and Trinidad and Tobago, advancing shouldn’t be a difficulty.
Ramos seemed to have midfield depth earlier than the match, however the abundance of choices brought about some positional points within the opening match. The selection to start out Paul Arriola and Kelyn Acosta in entrance of the backline was a little bit of head scratcher. Communication appeared frazzled and solely calmed down with the doorway of Emerson Hyndman—who may be very, excellent by the best way.
The U.S. backline is gentle years forward of the 2013 iteration of the under-20’s and possibly the world that has seen essentially the most enchancment between cycles. Cameron Carter-Vickers is a freakish athlete at age 17. He seemed robust towards the seldom Guatemalan assaults, was good within the air, and scored his first worldwide objective within the 1-1 draw.
The Individuals await a matchup with Panama on Sunday—a membership that simply dispatched Aruba, 4-0, earlier within the afternoon. This would be the hardest check of the group with the Yanks now desperately in search of a consequence.
ASN Contributing Editor Josh Deaver is a former educational turned soccer obsessive. Comply with him on Twitter already.
