THE WARD REPORT >>

Friday, July 6, 2007

It’s Friday and I’m anxious to see tonight’s match. I’d like to look back at the games on Tuesday before focusing on the games which will determine first place in Group D.

I’ll admit that the US-Poland match began in a scary fashion, but after the entire match had been played, it was evident that the US was the far superior side. Less than five minutes from the opening whistle, Poland had gone ahead 1-0 with a goal from a brilliant through ball and a well-timed run.

The goal, combined with the pro-Poland crowd gave me a sense, even if briefly, that it could be a very long game of dangerous attacking from the opponent similar to the South Korea match.

Fortunately, my fears were short-lived as Danny Szetela once again opened the scoring for the American side only five minutes later. From that point on, the US dominated the Poles. Former Super Y-League player Freddy Adu scored twice in the first half off of two great plays from winger Sal Zizzo, and in the second half, goals from Szetela, Adu, and Josmer Altidore solidified the US team’s 6-1 route over the team that had upset Brazil. You may remember that Altidore is a two-time Super Y-League North American Champion from the Schulz Academy side that won its third straight title this past November. [Altidore story]

The game was a complete 180 from what I had seen from the US only a few days earlier. The slower, low-pressure style of the Polish side was a much better fit for an American team that only three days earlier had been subjected to a very fit and active Korean team. Post-match comments from the Polish side would also reveal that they didn’t feel 100% recovered from Saturday when they played a man down against Brazil for over an hour. Make no mistake about it, however, the US attack was on fire, and a high percentage of their shots on target were brilliant strikes that found the back of the net. It was great to see the team come out and play to the level of their potential.

Once the US match had finished, I was very eager to see the second match of the night between Brazil and South Korea. I knew the Koreans had worked tirelessly in the first game against the US and may not be able to sustain that same tempo, but I still believed they would be able to give the Brazilians a good match.

The Koreans came out buzzing in the first fifteen minutes and found themselves with a few great chances, but they were unable to capitalize. From then until the end of the match, they weren’t nearly as sharp as they were against the US, and it surely cost them the chance to take any points from the game.

Overall, it was a very entertaining match. The Brazilians strolled to a comfortable 3-0 lead, but Korea made it interesting during the last ten minutes when they scored two goals on the tournament favorite. Although they had a few chances in the dying moments to level the score and walk away with a point, it was not to be. Brazil held on for a 3-2 victory and grabbed their first points of the tournament.

There were plenty of chances from both sides and the Brazilians continued to show why they have some of the most talented players in the world. That being said, I’m still unimpressed with the Brazilian side as a team. From what I’ve seen thus far, I feel that their success in the tournament will be largely based on the ability of a few players on the team to continue to score goals through largely individual efforts.

They obviously had no issues possessing the ball in the back as the Korean pressure diminished, but from my recollection, all three of their goals came from counterattacks that were the result of mistakes made by the Koreans. Had the Korean passing and decision-making been to the same level as it was on Saturday against the US (note my comment above about South Korea not being as sharp), the game could have ended very differently. But in all fairness I didn’t expect them to be able to keep their work rate at such a high tempo without making numerous mistakes.

Along with the US performance on Tuesday, the South Korean team has put together the most exciting soccer from the matches I’ve seen thus far in the tournament. Time will tell if they are able to beat Poland and advance out of the group, or if they put too many eggs in one basket as they used the majority of their energy in the first match against the US. Assuming they can continue to play entertaining soccer, I surely hope that they are able to advance along with the Americans and Brazilians.

Tonight the US and Brazil will face off in a battle for first place in group D, arguably the most difficult group in the tournament. Although it is almost certain that the Americans will advance even with a loss, a win will give them first place in the group while a tie will ensure a place in the second round. The game will be shown live at 7:30pm on ESPNU (in the US).

USL Director of Business Development James Ward is in Canada following his brother Tim, a defender for the US U-20 Men’s National Team, as he competes in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and will be sending reports on the event from a family and fan’s perspective during his time north of the border.