Gian-Luca Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Well, I'd be surprised if the likes of Colombia & Italy weren't better than Jamaica or the Mexican team we faced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Well Colombia as South American champions are surely one of the pre-tournament favourites. However, both Italy and Syria beat teams down a man (or two in Italy's case) in the games they used to qualify and weren't particularly impressive in qualifying apparently. I'm sure Italy will have plenty of talent and this Majed Al Haj sound tricky, but I think this is a reasonable draw and if this team is indeed better than the 03 group, we should advance out of this group. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted March 6, 2005 Author Share Posted March 6, 2005 Another thing to consider about a side like Italy. Alot could depend on the kind of fanfare and publicity that this event generates in Italy leading up to the event. Remember England in 2001? I remember looking for various write-ups on the event on any english media sources that I could find but came up with nothing. Wayne Rooney and James Milner were two well known players that come to mind that did not join their team and I did not recognize any of the others. Their performance at the WYC reflected these factors. The Uefa U21 is a prestigous event in Europe, but the qualifiers for the U20 WC are from last year's Uefa U19 tourament. An event that followed by a far lesser degree. For example we knew that Claudio Gentile coaches the U21 side, but whose in charge of the U19 side?. Will the best players be made available? Yes, the event is in the summer rather than december, but will the preparation and mental focus be the same. Thats why it will be interesting to see what kind of interest this generates in the Italian press leading up to the event, since that could go a long way in determining the strenght of the side that Canada could face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusanBhoy Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 the real screwing could come if we move on. It seems like E has about the worst second step of any. The small glimmer is that one outcome has third E playing first A (dutch group) it could prove a less difficult tie than comming in second v.F1 (ie. Brazil) or even winning the group v.D2 (ie .Germans, Americans, Egyptians) Of course the other outcome for E3 is Argentina. So might as well win the whole damn thing! This kind of "luck" had better find us for our draw in 07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 The National team coached by Paolo Berrettini Italy has 3 important tests are left for the Under 20 team before the World Cup: on March 30th in Imola against Switzerland, second to last match of the Four Nations tournament; on April 13th a friendly match against Russia; on April 27th the last match of the "Four Nations" tournament in Austria. here are some of there latest results in the past of this team Malta U21 team 3 Italy u20 - 1 Jan 26, 2005 Swiss 2 - italy u20 0 Oct 21st, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 http://fifa.com/en/comp/wyc2005qual/0,4065,5,00.html - Canada http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/wyc2005qual/0,4065,14,00.html - Colombia http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/tournament.html?static=501&comp=WYC&year=2005 - Italy http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/wyc2005qual/0,4065,1,00.html - Syria Many have probably seen these summaries, but these are just some links provided from FIFA to let everyone know a little bit more what we're up against, their star players, how they did in the past, and how they qualified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadiankick97 Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I don't mind this draw, and we have a good enough squad to come in second at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Here the lastest list of players for the italian teams and there clubs in which they play for....this list I dont think is final but most of these players will be there All of these players are under contract with their 1st teams Goalkeepers: Curci 85 (Roma), Padelli 85 (Sampdoria); Defenders: Canini 85 (Sambenedettese), Coda 85 (Empoli), D'Agostino Andrea 85(Foggia), Nossa 85 (Pavia), Rossettini 85(Padova), Zambelli 85(Brescia); Midfielders: Bentivoglio 85(Juventus), Carotti 85(Como), Esposito 87(Siena), Galloppa 85(Triestina), Lombardo 85(Inter), Mitra 85 (Empoli), Nocerino 85 (Catanzaro), Troiano 85 (Modena); Forwards: Alberti 85 (Sambenedettese), Cozzolino 85 (Giulianova), D'Agostino Giuseppe 85 (Piacenza), Sorrentino 85 (Parma) trying to get Syria and Columbia as well this was at my finger tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 The Italians are mostly 85s which means they will be significantly older than are side which has quite a few 86s and 87s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 From the reviews of the sides, Syrian and Italy both seem a bit lucky to be here. I think if we get a victory against Syria....in our last game against Italy we may be able to steal a point especially if a tie would get both sides through. Columbia looks very tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I'm thrilled to get Italy! I've been wanting this match-up for years (didn't care about soccer when we met in 1984 and 1987). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I'm thrilled to get Italy! I've been wanting this match-up for years (didn't care about soccer when we met in 1984 and 1987). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DJT I'm thrilled to get Italy! I've been wanting this match-up for years (didn't care about soccer when we met in 1984 and 1987). I sure got what I wanted also I am trilled to see the match up a June 18th, close to my day iiiiiii in europe... Italy Canada and columbia should get in to the second round Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I think having a Canada vs. Italy game broadcast in Canada is good news for the game here, particularly for increasing awareness for the U20 tournament. Not that many Italian soccer fans here are aware of this tourney because Italy doesn't always take it as completely seriously as some other countries do (which helps them to not qualify on many occasions - they didn't make the last two tourneys). Plus a lot of Italian fans miss watching the national team on TV since the TLN/RAI dispute started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted March 7, 2005 Author Share Posted March 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DJT I'm thrilled to get Italy! I've been wanting this match-up for years (didn't care about soccer when we met in 1984 and 1987). Have to agree. The 87 event was an U17 event which is far less significant. Plus this game is on a Saturday. The disappointing part of the 2003 event was that no games were played on weekends. But this time, two of three group matches are played on weekends. I beleive that I heard that the RAI issue has been resolved. But I don't think that any of the matches will be on TLN. I may be wrong on this but I think that RAI Int'l has been granted approval by the CRTC. So they would be a separate channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Mister Mitchell will have the buys better prepared to play Syria than did Paul (Colin) James for Irag in 2001. As for the second round, one win gets you in! The Syrians are the ones under pressure, playing Canada in the WYC seems to be a precursor for being invaded and occupied by Bush and the boys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I was reading about the draw in De Telegraaf today, and it looks like our third match may be in Kerkrade instead of Tilburg (the Italy match). We play Syria on Sunday (12 June), Colombia on Wednesday (15) and Italy on Saturday (18). The same page also had a blurb about a new rule being tested at these championships. Basically, when a player is whistled for a foul, if he (or anyone on his team) kicks the ball afterward (for example, knocking it back 5 yards as players often do), he will be given an automatic yellow card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Article in the Toronto Star today by Neil Davidson, indicating that Dale Mitchell is "miffed" at the draw, as he felt that the two teams that won their group in Concacaf (US & Canada) got much tougher groups than Honduras & Panama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Colombia had the top goal scorer in the Comebol qualifiers, forget his name right off, but word from here was that they were a strong, athletic, attacking team. A good challenge for us, but I would think that they might drop off a bit in Europe, unlike teams like Argentina and Brazil who usually play okay outside their continent. I don't like the days we play, as I was hoping we'd get opening day and the Monday, just to be able to take a long weekend and see two matches. But if it had to be one match, I'd take the one vs. Italy. I am quite confident about our kids, we have them in good club sides, a lot of experience in Europe, adaptation should not be hard. Weather will not work against us either. Have to muse about travelling for this though, not sure it is a great schedule for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Colombia had the top goal scorer in the Comebol qualifiers - Hugo Rodallega is his name. from FIFA.com Hailed as the most explosive talent to come out of Colombia in recent years, 19-year-old Hugo Rodallega is currently riding a wave of popularity in his homeland. Having demonstrated his sensational goal-scoring touch at youth level, the question on everyone’s lips right now is whether he could do the same for the senior side and solve Reinaldo Rueda’s attacking problems once and for all. At 1.70m and 80 kilos, this strapping youngster with the ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha-style locks has a story with all the ingredients of a Hollywood movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sstackho Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca Article in the Toronto Star today by Neil Davidson, indicating that Dale Mitchell is "miffed" at the draw, as he felt that the two teams that won their group in Concacaf (US & Canada) got much tougher groups than Honduras & Panama. Here's that article: Canada in with Colombia, Italy, Syria at world under-20 soccer championship BY NEIL DAVIDSON CP 1,095 words 6 March 2005 17:44 The Canadian Press English © 2005 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved. Canada's reward Sunday for going unbeaten at its qualifying tournament for the World Youth Championship was a date with possibly the best under-20 men's soccer team on the planet. Dale Mitchell's side drew South American champion Colombia along with Italy and Syria at Sunday's draw in Utrecht for the 24-country tournament June 10 to July 2 in the Netherlands. ``Well, (it) could have been worse,'' Mitchell, speaking from Utrecht, said of his team's placement in Group E. ``But there's definitely some tough teams in our group.'' The tournament is second only in terms of size to the men's World Cup among FIFA world competitions. Canada is hosting the event in 2007. The draw divided the field into six groups of four. The top two in each pool, plus the four best third-place finishers advance to the knockout second round. Mitchell reckons the U.S., which won the other CONCACAF region qualifying tournament, probably got an even harder draw. The Americans were put in Group D with four-time winner Argentina, Germany and Egypt. ``You would think going undefeated in qualifying might get you some sort of seeding once you get here,'' Mitchell said of his team. ``But the reality is whoever you play at this level, they're going to be good. ``I could see some teams that did maybe a little bit better than us, but then I look at the U.S. They've probably done maybe a little bit worse so I don't know what the answer is. But we're just happy to be in the tournament.'' Mitchell wasn't complaining. But it's clear he was wondering how CONCACAF rivals Honduras and Panama perhaps fared better than his side Sunday. Despite the presence of Colombia, Canada's draw is not dire. Mitchell's side showed fine team chemistry in its qualifying campaign and the lineup may be strengthened by the return from injury of players like David Edgar. But there is no room for error. And while advancing out of the group is possible, a tough opponent awaits. The runner-up in Group E will play the winner of Group F, likely Brazil. A third-place finish, if good enough to advance, entails meeting the winner of either Group A or D - likely the Netherlands/Australia or Argentina. Essentially the draw was divided into four pots of six. The first featured the seeded countries, the second Asia plus two CONCACAF countries, the third Africa plus the other two CONCACAF teams, and the fourth the five remaining European countries plus Australia. U.S. coach Sigi Schmid said his team had drawn the hardest group but wasn't complaining. ``We have a tough group, but for me it's more a glass half-full. We're in the World Cup. There's a lot of countries that would love to be in the position we're in.'' He also said the U.S. should have been considered as a seeded team, however. And Schmid wondered openly about the benign Dutch draw of Australia, Benin and Japan. ``I don't know how you want to put it, it always seems that FIFA draws work out fairly well for the host nation,'' Schmid said in a conference call. Good news for Canada in 2007. The Canadians opens against Syria on June 12 in a match that could well decide the Canadians' future at the tournament. ``They're a little bit of an unknown and haven't been in this tournament that often,'' Mitchell said of the Syrians. ``So we're going to really need to be ready to play from the first game, which is a little bit different setup that we had last time where we had Brazil first.'' In 2003, Canada was drawn with Australia, Brazil and the Czech Republic. The team went 1-2, beating the Czechs, and moved on as one of the top third-place finishers. Led by Atiba Hutchinson and Iain Hume, the young Canadians beat Burkina Faso 1-0 before losing 2-1 after extra time to eventual runner-up Spain and finishing eighth. It marked Canada's finest hour at the tournament - or any other FIFA-sanctioned men's world championship. Colombia was one team Mitchell had hoped to avoid this summer. The seeded Colombians were third at the 2003 tournament and won the recent South American qualifying tournament ahead of Brazil and Argentina, who between them have won the world under-20 title eight times. The Colombians defeated defending world champion Brazil 1-0 and tied Argentina 1-1. Striker Hugo Rodallega scored a record 11 goals at the qualifying tournament. Italy was the European under-19 champion in 2003 but failed to defend its title last year, booking its ticket for the Netherlands after finishing third in its group in qualifying play. The Italians have not excelled at previous under-20 championships (2-5-3 record in three previous trips) but Mitchell notes the timing of past events has not been conducive to clubs yielding their best young talent. That should not be a problem this time around. ``Italian football has got a great history. Tactically they're going to be very good,'' Mitchell said. ``And I think it's a game that will have a lot of interest back home. We've got kids in the squad with Italian backgrounds and there's a lot of young soccer players and people in Canada with Italian backgrounds. Canada plays Colombia on June 15 and Italy on June 18. Located in the southern part of the country near the border with Belgium, Tilburg is a city of more than 200,000. The teams will play at the 14,800-capacity stadium that is home to Willem II. Unheralded Syria made it to the finals by reaching the semifinals of the Asian qualifying tournament, losing to China and then Japan in a third-place playoff. The third-place team in Canada's group will play either the winner of Group A or Group D in the knockout round of 16. A look at the groups (x- denotes seeded teams): Group A (Kerkrade): x-Netherlands, Japan, Benin, Australia. Group B (Utrecht): x-Turkey, China, Ukraine, Panama. Group C (Doetinchem): x-Spain, Morocco, Honduras, Chile. Group D (Enschede): x-Argentina, U.S., Germany, Egypt. Group E (Tilburg): x-Colombia, Italy, Syria, Canada. Group F (Emmen): x-Brazil, Nigeria, South Korea, Switzerland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 According to the article I saw in a Dutch newspaper today, the first two games of the group stage will be played in the host city as reported. For the third game, things get mixed up a bit. I think the Netherlands match against Benin will be played in Tilburg, while one of the Group E matches (I think Canada's) will be played in Kerkrade. A similar thing happens with the other groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 if he (or anyone on his team) kicks the ball afterward (for example, knocking it back 5 yards as players often do), he will be given an automatic yellow card. That is going to be a tough one for the Italians to get used to! If they applied this in Serie A, there would be no one left on the field! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 i like this draw. really tests our metal, and i think that's great! should be fun to watch if nothing else, and prepares us well for our hosting event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 I could see them moving the finals to one of the bigger stadiums if the Dutch made it deep into the tournament Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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