This Might Be Obvious, But Seriously

Much hype surrounded the talented U.S. U-17 national team during the Fifa World Cup in Nigeria. Ultimately, the team fell flat, losing in the round of 16 to a classier Italy side. And so the mumblings have started, gnawing into America’s rotten system of developing professional players. “Is the Academy system the best way to develop players?” “Is this crop of players grossly overrated?” “How can we continue to suck so bad?”

Before we start pouring gas on our 2022 chances, I just want to say, you know, back the hell off. The Americans disappointed big time, it’s true. Judging from the team’s qualifying results and all that I had read leading up to the tournament, I expected a buzz saw of an American attack to tear through the defenses of weak soccer nations like Malawai and UAE. This never happened. The U.S. squeaked by both countries with 1-0 wins and a goalkeeping error that would have been less embarrassing had the goalkeeper simply crapped his shorts.

Don't fire this man. Despite a poor showing in the World Cup, Wilmer Cabrera's young team showed glimpses of its attacking potential.

But even over the course of four sub-par performances, many in scorching African heat, Wilmer Cabrera’s young team showed qualities that I’ve never before seen in American white and blue. Primarily, they showed collective confidence on the ball, even in the defensive third. And although they failed to break down defenses, many players showed a heartening hunger to take defenders on, instead of simply winging blind American-brand (TM) crosses into the box.  The goals never came, which is a shame. But  you get the sense that on another day, or couple of days, they would have. Cabrera has his boys playing a forward-looking, positive and promising brand of soccer.

A number of players showed more than technical competence. 15-year-old Luis Gil was often brilliant. The spark of most American attacks, he sprayed deft passes all over the field and maneuvered out of clogged spaces with ease. And his midfield partnership with the pint-sized Marlon Duran often looked more refined than anything the senior U.S. national team has produced recently. Duran covered the backline with smart and vicious challenges. And he often kept attacks surging with linking passes.

Luis Gil, getting looks from Arsenal and others, apparently.

On defense, outside backs Tyler Pollack and Zachary Herold both looked more solid than most highly-rated college backs. Herold got roasted a few times by slick Italian attackers like Giacomo Baretta, Marco Fossati and Federico Carraro. But he was nails in the air and showed awesome recovery speed. Pollack might have been the most consistent American player all tournament. He stifled talented Italian and Spanish attackers while choosing opportune times to push forward. And I’m guessing that he turned the ball over fewer times than any other player on the American team. His composure consistently got the U.S. out of trouble in the defensive end and led to promising attacks.

Some other players struggled. But maybe us critics can forgive them a little considering some of them haven’t even started shaving yet. Jack McInerney never revealed the form that many of us expected of him as America’s most hyped attacking threat. Despite the two goals he scored, McInerney disappeared for large chunks of games, seemingly letting his turnovers and mistakes compound on top of one another.

Alex Shinsky, who announcers often confused with McInerney, also turned in a number of up and down performances. But he was more up than down. He dominated spells of games, including an entire half against Spain, carving up defenses with slick dribbling and relentless pace. His whining attitude looks the most harmful part of his game, as he often threw up his hands to teammates and wore a Ronaldo-like pout for not getting the ball exactly where he wanted it, when he wanted it.

Oh yeah, and goalkeeper Earl Edwards looked like a beast. Also encouraging for the national team’s future is that more players from this crop of U-17 national team players are making designs to play abroad. A few have already signed European contracts, preventing them from playing in Nigeria. Joseph Gyau and Charlie Renken signed Academy deals with Hoffenheim in Germany. And Sebastian Lletget moved this past summer to the famed West Ham Academy. And even after many disappointing individual performances in Nigeria, more moves will come.

So don’t give up just yet America. Our development system needs work. And this U-17 team, one of the most talented in years, grossly underperformed. But the team’s performance was still one to praise, however quietly, more for the way it tried to play than for any results.◊

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