{Thoughts on the Group Stage here. The break in play at the Women’s World Cup has allowed me to catch up on the U20’s. I was able to avoid knowing results for quite some time, but right now I do know which two teams make the finals. Hard to avoid results for this long!}
Doing this a little differently …
#MOST IMPRESSIVE
Mali just continues to be incredibly composed, organized, and opportunistic. Ghana was the brightest of the African sides in the group stage, and Mali completely robbed their attack of any momentum, continually breaking up attacks before they reached the final third. I don’t see any future world stars on this team, but the coaching is certainly massively impressive.
Serbia was lucky to pull out their victory, as both sides were very hard to break down. Hungary‘s Bence Mervó continued to impress, and he should have increased his stock significantly over the course of the tournament. The tying goal for Serbia–scored in extra time–was by another name to watch, Ivan Šaponjić.
#MEH IMPRESSIVE
Colombia was probably the better team, but the USA won the game: a long clearance, a nice touch, and Rubio Rubin‘s scoring instinct gave the Americans the win, but they needed a penalty save from Zack Steffan to preserve their lead. Gedion Zelalem continued to impress with his touch, but he doesn’t look particularly comfortable in his role: unsure of where to go, often occupying the same space as a teammate, unsure what runs to anticipate. That will come: remember, he was only called into the American just before the tournament. Steffan, Matt Miazga, and surprisingly scrappy Paul Arriola continue to impress for the USA.
Germany–after breezing through their group matches–looked merely solid against Nigeria. They were never really in danger until the last dozen minutes or so, but they also never really dominated, and their goal, a knuckling, head-level shot by Levin Öztunalı, perhaps should have been saved. Taiwo Awoniyi had another good game, but the announcer’s love for Success Isaac seems based on his name alone. I mean, yeah, it’s a great name …
The Brazil – Uruguay game was just a nasty, testy, grueling affair with Uruguay playing very defensively until the final minutes of regular time, where they had two chances that really should have won the game. Judivan was taken off with what looked like a serious injury, which was a shame as he was having a breakout tournament to that point. Brazil got through, and it may end up being their toughest game.
#MISSABLE
Neither Ukraine nor Senegal look like contenders to me, although Sidy Sarr has had a nice few games. Likewise, Austria and Uzbekistan.
Not only was Portugal‘s defeat of New Zealand missable, I actually missed it.
#QUARTERFINALS PREVIEW
USA v Serbia. Serbia should win this. The USA is just a bit too toothless, and Serbia looks too tough.
Mali v Germany. Boy would I love a Mali win here, but Germany is clearly the better team. This is a true test of Mali’s tactical success: if they can neutralize Germany, their coach’s phone should start ringing immediately.
Uzbekistan v Senegal. Um … coin flip? Neither team has impressed me, and in that sense, they are lucky to draw each other. Let’s go for Uzbekistan, but, whatever …
Portugal v Brazil. This is where, I think, the Uruguay game helps Brazil: this contest should be less physical, more to their liking, and in a game that allows offensive freedom, Brazil should win.
Tournaments are hard. The best teams are probably Serbia, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, and Mali, but four of those teams play each other.