Defending u-20s World Cup Champions Argentina defeated Austria 2-1 on Sunday to win its 6th Championship title. The Argentineans have proved to be the best in the business, having won 5 of the last 7 tournaments and will be aiming to add a 3rd consecutive title come 2009.

Argentina actually started off the tournament with 0-0 draw against the Austrians and needed all off their experience against a physical Austrian side which actually took the lead in the 2nd half from a wonder-strike by Martin Fenin. After receiving the ball inside the penalty with his back to goal, the Austrian striker turned and hit a stunning opener.

The Argentines, however, kept their cool and leveled the score immediately as tournament’s top scorer and most-valuable player Sergio Aquero rolled the ball coolly past the Austrian keeper after being spotted alone by midfielder Ever Banega.

With the game looking destined for overtime striker Mauro Zarate then scored the winner in the dying minutes for the Argentines to claim the title in Canada.

Of course the quality of the Argentines can not be denied as players like Aquero and Zarate are already reeking havoc in the Argentine and European professional leagues.

Having proved a goal-scoring phenom at Independiente, Aquero now plies his trade for Atletico Madrid in Spain while Zarate has also shown the scoring touch in big games for Velez Sarsfield.

The sheer amount of quality players churning out of Argentina has every other country green with envy and miles behind the South American giant.

For all their Senior-side heartbreaks, Argentina looks likely to win their 6th u-20s World Cup Championship title this Sunday when they kick-off against the Czech Republic.

Argentina did away with the tournament’s best defensive side in Chile in the semis to continue their impressive success. Coming into the game, Chile had not conceded a goal, but finally felt the sting of 3 in this one to leave them branded in the fields.

Of course the fact that they were also shown 2 red cards had the Chileans fuming that foul play was at hand, and ugly scenes followed as the referees were in flight as angry fans and players demanded some type of restitution to no avail.

In contrast to the fiery and tempestuous all-South American semi, the Czech’s 2-0 victory over Austria looked like a sterile affair. The Czech’s claimed the game by the 15th min. as they put 2 goals away against an Austrian side that seemed to have nothing left after their over-time victory against the Americans.

The same will probably be said for the Czechs though after this one. Watch out for another Argentine stampede this weekend!

 

Remember savages “tricks are for kids,” so don’t be too fooled by the recent US u-20s (2-1) victory over Uruguay in the Round 16 at the U-20 World Cup in Canada because then you might believe that we are actually creating and developing a type of football like other soccer countries.

Of course, ultimately, you would fault the Uruguayan defense for their unfocused set piece defending in the dying minutes, and over-time period of the game; however, with a more objective look at the replay, you would recognize the American’s handball in the box that directly lead to the game tying goal.

Uruguay immediately showed their intentions in the game despite their unlucky, woeful defending (and worse a refereeing error) by constructing an immediate response quelled only by a deflection off the bar.

And as lightening always seems to strike twice in soccer, it was Uruguay’s failure to deal with the difficulties of an American corner, not the overall quality of our football, that lead to our coach’s son’s opportunistic goal.

Unfortunately while Adu and Altidore have shown promising and lethal finishing in this tournament, it is largely lost on our overall playing foundation. Both players have shown the ability to finish off once inside the box, but it is in our inconsistency and ability to get there which in the end negates a style of play.

Now we go on to play a safer Quarterfinal game on Saturday, with another vertically dominated Austrian side, that looks likely to boil down to the rudimentary physical aspects of the game.

Obviously, it is a game that favors the US, so a Semifinal showdown with Spain, who defeated Brazil 4-2 in the Round of 16 and looks certain to come through against the Czech Republic in the Quarters, looks destined in the stars.

Chile will face Nigeria and another block buster elimination game between Argentina and Mexico are the other Quarterfinal match-ups on Sunday.