Marc Pelosi (R), Stephen Carmichael (L) USA U-17 team played against New Zealand in the FIFA Under 17 World Cup game on June 25th, 2011, held in Pachuca, Mexico. Photo Credit ISI Photos

2011 FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP UPDATE: USA U17 READY FOR GERMANY IN ROUND 16

Related article: USA vs New Zealand FINAL GAME RECAP

U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team Game Notes USA vs. Germany Estadio Corregidora; Queretaro, Mexico

ONTO THE SWEET 16: After a dramatic second-place finish in Group D, the U.S. has arrived in Queretaro, Mexico, to prepare for a Round of 16 match against Group E champion Germany. With a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals at stake, the match kicks off at 1 p.m. PST on Thursday, June 30, at Estadio Corregidora, live on ESPNU and ESPN3.com. 

DRAWING OF LOTS: Entering the final match day of Group D, all four teams were locked on three points, and the U.S. and New Zealand were even on every tie-breaking category. Uzbekistan beat the Czech Republic 2-1 to clinch the top spot in the group, and the U.S. and New Zealand played to a scoreless draw to finish tied across all categories. It took a drawing of lots to determine who would finish second or third in Group D, with the U.S. drawn into second place to set up a date with Germany. New Zealand also advanced as a third-place team, and will play Japan on Wednesday, June 29. All eight Round of 16 games will be shown live on ESPN3.com.

Final Group D Standings

Team  GP  W  L   T  GF  GA  GD  Pts.

UZB    3     2   1   0    5     6    -1     6

USA    3     1   1   1    4     2    +2    4

NZL    3     1   1   1    4     2    +2    4

CZE    3     1   2   0    2     5     -3    3

AUSTRALIA COMPLETES THE FIELD: The final scheduled group match between Australia and Denmark ended more than 12 hours after it was supposed to. Heavy rains and lightning in Queretaro forced Sunday night’s match to be suspended and replayed on Monday morning at 10 a.m. With an 89th minute goal clinching the 1-1 draw, Australia also sealed its place in the knock out stage and is set for a match against fellow Asian side Uzbekistan on Wednesday afternoon in Torreon.

KNOCK-OUT STAGE SET: With the final group match between Australia and Denmark finished, the Round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup is set. Host Mexico and Germany are the only two teams that won all three group matches. Japan, England and Brazil each won their respective group with seven points and Uzbekistan was the only team to finish atop its group with six points.

REPRESENTING THE REGION: Three CONCACAF teams have advanced to the knock-out stage, as Mexico, the U.S. and Panama will all represent the region in the Round of 16. At least one CONCACAF team is guaranteed to move on to the quarterfinals, as Mexico and Panama will meet in the second round. The U.S. will face Germany, one of three European teams in the Round of 16 along with England and France, with South America the only other region with three representatives in Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina.

FIFA U-17 World Cup Round of 16 Schedule

Date        Match                               Time        Venue

June 29    Uzbekistan vs. Australia     3 p.m / 4 p.m.         Torreon

June 29    Brazil vs. Ecuador              3 p.m. / 4 p.m.        Guadalajara

June 29    Congo vs. Uruguay            6 p.m. / 7 p.m.        Morelia

June 29    Japan vs. New Zealand      6 p.m. / 7 p.m.         Monterrey

June 30    Germany vs. USA              3 p.m. / 4 p.m.        Queretaro

June 30    England vs. Argentina        3 p.m. / 4 p.m.        Pachuca

June 30    France vs. Cote d’Ivoire      6 p.m. / 7 p.m.        Queretaro

June 30    Mexico vs. Panama             6 p.m. / 7 p.m.         Pachuca

REGRESAMOS A QUERETARO: The USA’s second-place finish in Group D meant a return to Queretaro, where the U.S. held a training camp in late April that included two friendlies against Mexico in Estadio Corregidora. More than 20,000 fans watched Mexico top the United States 1-0 on April 27 and 2-0 on May 1. All 21 players on the U.S. World Cup roster took part in that camp, staying in the same hotel and using the same training facilities that the team is using ahead of the Round of 16 game against Germany.

STRAIGHT TO PENALTIES: In May, the FIFA Executive Committee voted to bypass extra time in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and, should a knock-out game end in a draw, it would move directly to a penalty kick shootout. The new policy will also be in effect for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

EACH WITH ONE OUT: The U.S. will be without the services of midfielder Marc Pelosi, who has served as the team’s captain in the first three matches, after her earned two yellow cards against New Zealand. For their part, Germany will be without starting midfielder Okan Aydin, who received a straight red card in the team’s final group game against Panama.

Fun Facts:

• U17 USA Coach Cabrera changed his lineup in the third match against New Zealand when he started Alfred Koroma, giving the forward his first start of the tournament. The head coach will have to change his lineup at least once more against Germany as he’ll be without the services of suspended team captain Marc Pelosi.
• U.S. players Tarik Salkicic, Zach Carroll, Mobi Fehr and Joe Amon each enter the match with a yellow card. Another caution against Germany would mean a one-match suspension if the U.S. were to advance.
• U.S. goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh has allowed just two goals in seven games he’s started this year. Both of those goals came against Uzbekistan, which was also the first loss McIntosh has suffered this year.
• The U.S. and Germany have both earned two shutouts from their three group games.
• Including the win against the Czech Republic in Group D, the U.S. holds a 6-8-2 record against European teams at this competition.
• Germany is one of only two teams to have won all three of its group matches at the World Cup (the other is host Mexico).
• German forward Samed Yesil scored three of Germany’s six goals during the final round of UEFA qualifying in May.
• Germany is the only team to score six goals in one match at this tournament, a 6-1 win against Ecuador in their opener.
• Neither the U.S. nor Germany will hold training sessions at Estadio Corregidora to ensure that the pitch is at its best for Thursday’s matches.
• In total 569,913 people attended the 36 group matches in the six venues across Mexico, with an average of 15,380 supporters per game.

A LOOK AT THE U.S. ROSTER: Head coach Wilmer Cabrera named his 21-player roster on June 9, the day before the team traveled to Torreon to begin training. There are 15 players representing 14 different clubs in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with Arsenal FC the only club to send two players to Mexico in Paul Arriola and Wade Hamilton.

U.S U-17 Men’s National Team Roster by Position ( Detailed Roster ) 

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Wade Hamilton (Arsenal FC; Murrieta, Calif.), 1-Kendall McIntosh (San Jose Earthquakes Academy; Santa Rosa, Calif.), 12-Fernando Piña (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas) 

DEFENDERS (6): 16-Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas Academy; Plano, Texas), 4-Joe Amon (South Carolina United; Summerville, S.C.), 2-Zach Carroll (Vardar; Grand Blanch, Mich.), 6-Mobi Fehr (Tokyo Verdy 1969; Tokyo, Japan), 15-Alessandro Mion (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.), 3-Nathan Smith (Cal Odyssey; Clovis, Calif.), 

MIDFIELDERS (8): 5-Matt Dunn (FC Cologne; Dallas, Texas), 10-Alejandro Guido (Aztecs Premier; Chula Vista, Calif.), 13-Nico Melo (Florida Rush; Kissimmee, Fla.), 11-Marc Pelosi (De Anza Force; Sunnyvale, Calif.), 8-Esteban Rodriguez (Cosmos Academy West; Palmdale, Calif.), 14-Tarik Salkicic (Strictly Soccer; Pinellas Park, Fla.), 17-Andrew Souders (Crew Soccer Academy; Amherst, Ohio), 20-Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids Academy; Brighton, Colo.)

FORWARDS (4): 18-Paul Arriola (Arsenal FC; Chula Vista, Calif.), 7-Alfred Koroma (Solar SC; Arlington, Texas), 19-Jack McBean (Los Angeles Galaxy; Newport Beach, Calif.) 9-Mario Rodriguez (Central Aztecs; North Hollywood, Calif.)

IN FOCUS: Germany 

Head Coach: Steffen Freund

Best U-17 World Cup Finish: Third place (2007)

STRAIGHT FROM EUROPE: Germany played a tough road through the UEFA U-17 Championships in 2011, opening with a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands. A draw with the Czech Republic set up a must-win game against Romania to advance to the European semifinals, and a goal from Samed Yesil helped secure the 1-0 victory. Once into the knock-out stage, the German side showed its strength in a 2-0 semifinal win against Denmark before falling 5-2 in a rematch against the Netherlands in the championship match.

Germany UEFA U-17 Championship Final Round Results 

Date Opponent Result Germany Goalscorer(s) 

May 3 Netherlands 0-2 L --

May 6 Czech Republic 1-1 T Yesil

May 9 Romania 1-0 W Yesil

May 12 Denmark 2-0 W Ayhan, Quaschner

May 15 Netherlands 2-5 L Yesil, Aydin

Germany Roster by Position 

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Odisseas Vlachodimos, 12-Cedric Wilmes, 21-Thomas Daehne

DEFENDERS (7): 2-Mitchell Weiser, 3-Cimo Roecker, 4-Koray Guenter, 5-Nico Perrey, 13-Koray Kacinoglu, 14- Kaan Ayhan, 15-Noah Korzowski

MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Robin Yalcin, 8-Emre Can, 16-Sven Mende, 18-Rani Khedira, 20-Fabian Schnellhardt

FORWARDS (6): 7-Mirco Born, 9-Samed Yesil, 10-Levent Aycicek, 11-Okan Aydin, 17-Marvin Ducksch, 19-Nils Quaschner

GERMAN CONNECTION: The U.S. teams have several ties to Germany. Midfielder Marc Pelosi was born in Germany and has dual citizenship and Matt Dunn currently plays with FC Cologne alongside German defender Mitchell Weiser and midfielder Fabian Schnellhardt. That pair, along with defender Mobi Fehr, all speak German.

REMATCH OF ‘07: The Round of 16 match against Germany will mark the second time in three FIFA U-17 World Cups that the U.S. and Germany will meet in the Round of 16. Germany won the most recent match 2-1 in Korea Republic 2007 behind two goals from Richard Sukuta-Pasu and two assists from Golden Ball winner Toni Kroos. The U.S. goal came in stoppage time from Mykell Bates in that match, which also featured a Josh Lambo save so good that referee Craig Thomson shook his hand during the next stoppage of play.

Match: U.S. Under-17 MNT vs. Germany 

Competition: FIFA Under-17 World Cup 

Location: Cheonan, South Korea 

Date: August 30, 2007 

Attendance: 15,069

Scoring Summary:   1   2   F 

USA                         0   1   1

GER                         0   2   2

GER – Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Toni Kroos) 65th minute

GER – Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Toni Kroos) 89

USA – Mykell Bates 92

Lineups: 

USA: 1-Josh Lambo; 2-Sheanon Williams, 3-Mykell Bates (capt.), 4-Tommy Meyer, 16- Brandon Zimmerman; 6-Danny Wenzel (14-Danny Cruz, 83), 8-Jared Jeffrey, 17-Greg Garza (11-Abdusalam Ibrahim, 46), 19-Alex Nimo; 12-Kirk Urso (10-Bryan Dominguez, 75), 9-Ellis McLoughlin 

Subs Not Used: 5-Chris Klute, 7-Kofi Sarkodie, 15- Brek Shea, 18-Zac MacMath, 20-Larry Jackson, 21-Brendan King

Subs Not Available: 13-Billy Schuler

Head Coach: John Hackworth

GER: 12-Rene Vollath; 3-Jonas Strifler, 4-Nils Teixeira, 5-Konstantin Rausch, 6-Kevin Wolze; 9-Richard Sukuta-Pasu (17-Alexander Esswein, 90+4), 10-Toni Kroos (capt.), 11-Dennis Dowidat, 16-Sebastian Rudy; 18-Mario Erb, 20-Sascha Bigalke (7-Henning Sauerbier, 90+1)

Subs Not Used: 1-Fabian Giefer; 2-Kai Evers, 8-Patrick Funk, 13-Mehmet Ekici, 14-Matthias Haas, 15-Tony Jantschke, 19-Fabian Broghammer 

Head Coach: Heiko Herrlich

 

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