The US U-17 Men’s National Team’s first foreign competition of the year ended with a 4-0 defeat to the Czech Republic Friday. This loss puts the US toward the bottom of the table in this two group competition and sees Wilmer Cabrera’s last tournament as head coach end in disappointment.
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The US U-23 Men’s National Team scrimmaged the Senior Team twice over the last week before a crucial stretch of friendlies in Costa Rica. The 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying begins in March and Caleb Porter will use these upcoming friendlies to evaluate key elements of his young and ambitious system.
The U-23s lost the first contest 4-0 with goals from the senior side by Wondolowski, Feilhaber, Bunbury and Zusi. Much of the second half, however, was dominated by the U-23s and the final score was not representative of the entire match.
Two days later the stern test continued for the U-23s, but this time they managed a 1-1 tie vs. the senior squad. Goals came from Zusi and McInerny respectively, as this match resembled more of what Caleb Porter had been working to implement during his time in Los Angeles with the Olympic hopefuls.
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Preparations for the US U-23 Men’s National Team are reaching the final stages before Olympic qualifying matches. The US was drawn into Group A of the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament and will begin the competition against Cuba on March 22nd. US U-23 Men’s National Team head coach Caleb Porter has had two camps already with this group and is looking to further establish the squad moving into January.
In an interview with a reporter from ussoccer.com on December 12th, Porter commented on his immediate plans for the build up to the qualifying rounds. Porter spoke about the schedule for the next three months.
“We’ve got this camp Dec. 15-23. We want to do a camp in January, and the plan is to do another 10-day camp domestically. Piggybacking on the tail end of that, we want to travel somewhere in Central America, and we want to play two games,” said U-23 head coach Caleb Porter.
Rumors have risen about games against top Costa Rican clubs, namely Saprissa and Alajuelense with a third game to be scheduled. No official report has been released, but it is certain that Porter will hold a January camp in Los Angeles.
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Recently, US Soccer announced that Wilmer Cabrera will no longer be head coach of the U-17 US Men’s National Team. Cabrera is set to remain in charge throughout the month of January while US Soccer transitions to a new coaching staff to oversee the U-17 residency program in Bradenton, FL. A statement from Sunil Gulati came shortly after the move was announced.
“Parting ways at this time was the best way forward,” said US Soccer President Sunil Gulati.
Cabrera’s squads were consistently made up of highly talented youngsters, many of whom have gone on to professional clubs, such as Perry Kitchen (DC United), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Juan Agudelo (NY Red Bulls) and Marc Pelosi (Liverpool FC).
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Although Brad Friedel’s move abroad has been stamped by his recent spectacular play for Aston Villa and Tottenham, his time in the EPL began with Liverpool FC. Liverpool hasn’t been the traditional destination for young US talent, neither has any other major European club that represents the very best that world football has to offer. However Liverpool, one of the most famous clubs in Europe and one of the most successful clubs in the Premiership, has recently decided to dip into the talent pool of young US born players.
News this summer came from Liverpool that they were giving trials to a few very high profile youngsters, one of which was highly touted Mexican Marco Bueno. The young Mexican forward signed a pre-contract with the club after displaying scintillating form at the U-17 World Cup.
Liverpool FC scouted the U-17 World Cup very closely, and many scouts were watching the young American side who forced their way into the competition through good form and strong individual performances.
The English giants wasted no time when the competition ended to snatch up as much young talent as they could find. As a result, two Americans were invited in for trials; Villyan Bijev and Marc Pelosi.
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