The U-17 World Cup kicked off in Nigeria yesterday, and while three of the four CONCACAF sides gave creditable performances, only Costa Rica managed to win points. (USA play tomorrow against Spain.) Honduras ceded most of the possession to Argentina, but they came close to scoring when Néstor Martínez struck the bar and crossbar on a free kick. Sergio Araújo scored on the hour mark to give the tournament favorite Argentines the 1-0 win. Mexico had most of the possession in the first half, but Switzerland were much more efficient in front of goal and ran out 2-0 winners. Costa Rica drew 1-1 with New Zealand and maintained their record of not losing their opener in the U-17 World Cup since 2001.
The Americans and Spanish are seen as the favorites to progress from Group E, and the Spanish U-17 squad looks just as formidable as their senior counterparts. The US under former Colombian World Cup player Wilmer Cabrera are playing a more attacking style than previous editions, and the important figures in the side are Jack McInerney up front (scorer of five goals in the qualifying tournament), Luis Gil and Will Packwood in the center, and Earl Edwards in goal. The U-17 level is not always a reliable barometer of future success, but tomorrow's match will go a long way toward showing how much potential this US U-17 team has.
UPDATE: The USA lost 2-1 to Spain today. Spain played almost the entire match with 10 men and fell behind to a well-taken goal by McInerney, but demonstrated what a well-organized and tactically aware team can do even with a numerical disadvantage. The result's not too unexpected, but it's disappointing that the USA couldn't do more with an extra man. USA will play Malawi next, who beat UAE 2-0. Here's the report from ESPN, and from MARCA.
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