2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship in Nicaragua

[Symp_Res]

Good game from the ladies. They hung on a bit at the end, but they controlled a lot of the game.  Some very nice movement off the ball in the attacking third as well.

It's nice to see all of our national teams start to play some technical soccer for a change.

Now go beat the Americans!

[The Ref]

I was expecting more from Carmen Marin.

 

[red card]

Likewise, Carmen got more of a write up on this thread than any Canadian player?

[Symp_Res]

Water break, first half. Lots of high press from the US. Its causing Canada all sorts of trouble. Some nice saves from the keeper to keep it 0-0. Canada trying to play it out of trouble, but making poor decisions through the middle of the pitch. Not taking the easy pass to the outside to break the pressure.

[Symp_Res]

Half time 0-0. Much better after the water break. The Canadians came into the game. Huitema is very dangerous on the counter and any time she gets the ball at her feet and has a chance to run at defenders.

Americans looking a little rattled through that stretch of play trying to draw fouls. Very sloppy play from the ladies in the last 5 minutes of the half.

[Symp_Res]

Veey poor defending off the corner leads to a US goal

[Symp_Res]

There was no push back after the US goal. The Yanks pushed the ball around and there was no urgency from the Canadians to get it back and attack.

Anyways, on to the next one!

[Vic]

CAN: 1-Anna Karpenko, 5-Maya Antoine, 6-Ariel Young, 7-Serita Thurton, 9-Jordyn Huitema (capt.) (12-Oluwateniola Akindoju, 46), 10-Aaliyah Scott, 11-Kaila Novak, 13-Olivia Cooke (3-Jayde Riviere, 63), 15-Wayny-Natasha Balata, 17-Stella Downing (14-Maya Ladhani, 57), 20-Julianne Vallerand
Substitutes not used: 18-Sophie Guilmette, 2-Lou-ahou-elizabeth Tse, 4-Sonia Walk, 8-Caitlin Shaw, 16-Andersen Williams, 19-Jade Rose
Head Coach: Beverly Priestman

Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 27 / 8
Shots on Goal: 11 / 3
Saves: 3 / 10
Corner Kicks: 11 / 1
Fouls: 6 / 4
Offside: 3 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
None

Officials: 
Referee: Mirian León (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Emperatriz Ayala (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Elizabeth Aguilar (SLV)
4th Official: Quetzalli Alvarado (MEX)

[Vic]

On 1/29/2018 at 9:23 AM, Jith12 said:

I'm excited to see Huitema play against players her own age. If she can score a brace at the senior level and win the golden boot at the U20 level she can really light up the U17's.

Given that she couldn't score in two critical games against Haiti and Mexico in our elimination from the U20 World Cup, and hasn't scored this week in two games at U17, perhaps she is after all a U17. Most senior internationals of a FIFA Top 5 country would run rampant.

We tend to bump kids up over their heads, sometimes that's the right move and works out, sometimes it can work in the other direction. Hope this isn't one of those.

Part of the problem with the young teenager approach at senior is there's really no accountability. When you're selecting the best 18 players you're 100% accountable for your talent evaluation and selection. When you're selecting very young players with a crystal ball that basic tenet is out the window and it's a bit of a kitchen sink.

I've always felt badly for the players who've sacrificed enormously in their lives to make that senior roster and been dropped and left behind for young players who may one day be better than them. Or for other reasons like not buying into the system. Perhaps I'm a purist but it should be about talent, not age or kissing ass.

[The Ref]

I've seen this a few times in girls and boys.  A youngster has a great game or scores a great goal and all of a sudden they are built up, put on a pedestal, exaggerated media coverage all causing great expectations.  But then the temporary greatness just vanishes in following games.  As an example, I bought all of this greatness said about Huitema and on her last game I kept on waiting for something great by her but nothing happened at all.

[rkomar]

Huitema looks better playing with the seniors than she does with her peers.  She gets better service and has better support.  She looks like she fits in with the seniors.  So, I don't think it's a matter of hope; we have had some proof.  She's just not the kind of forward who speeds by defenders or dekes them out of their shorts, so she can't impose herself in U17 games that way.  She needs good service in the box (where she is fearless and tenacious), and she isn't getting it in this tournament.  To be honest, the team doesn't seem to know what to do in the final third of the field.

[red card]

I would agree Huitema needs service to look good. She hasn't learned yet or will never be the type of player who can do it on her own.

And this u17 midfield at least in the US match looks poor. There are no playmakers. They all look like defensive mids who treat the ball like its a brick. There are better ball handlers in the back line. 

That being said, Huitema had one break away chance and her shot was more in line with the u17 level than the senior national team.

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1  ] FT.  Mexico  2 -  1  Canada.  Mendoza 6', Jimenez 45+2' (PK),   Akindoju 37'. Stats look bad for Canada.

[ 2 ]  Canada in the third place match on Tuesday ( June 12 , 2018 )  A loss and they miss the 2018 FIFA  U17 WWC Uruguay.  A win and they are in Group C with  North Korea U17, Germany U17 , and Cameroon U17 ( the draw was already held ) That's a scary group to be in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_U-17_Women's_World_Cup

[ 3 ]  Only a small handful of the Mexico U17 roster  played regularly in Liga MX femenil -- most of them were used sparingly. Anyway I read that Liga MX femenil were not satisfied with the U17 development in the league last year, consequently  there's a new requirement that  Mexico U17s get a 1000 development minutes   when  the league starts up again ( the apertura tournament) in  early July. 

[Yorktown FC]

Probably will be Canada vs Haiti for Qualification to the U17 World Cup.  Deja vu of the U20 qualifiers.

Don't want to sound negative, but if we fail to qualify, what does it say about the much lauded EXCEL program.

 

[xabuep2]

I wonder if it was clear to CSA that Bev Priestman failed as a coach once again 

[red card]

If they don't make it, Priestman should go. Both the u20 and this u17 haven't looked good and have been bossed around by the other top 3 teams while previous teams at least were playing proper football. 

That being said, they are at least 2 players on this u17 team who'll likely play at the senior level. Antoine in the back and Karpenko in goal along with the already capped Huitema. Riviere  has also been capped but she hasn't too noticeable in this tourney. 

[Vic]

Perhaps Priestman is the right person and just in the wrong chair.  

Perhaps she should be responsible for the female youth training programs, curriculum, management, top-level administration, etc. 

And perhaps we should have tournament team coaches who are canny tactitians with a proven history of "man"-management and results.

Development and performance are two different things.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

My goodness! Couldn't watch the game but it looks like Bev Priestman just managed not to lose her job!

Well done girls!

[Ed_S]

Tough fucking crowd. We narrowly lose to USA in final game of our group. Likewise to Mexico in semis. Take a victory over Haiti (who drew Mexico 1-1 in final game of their group and lost to USA 3-2 in semis) and people are calling for heads to roll?

[Vic]

Personally as I said I she may just be in the wrong seat. Or perhaps in the right seat but just gaining experience and could end up being in the right one. I guess we'll know next cycle.

As for the reactions, we've been in U17s for a decade and U20s for almost double that. They run every two years. Given the coach is the same for both, can you reference a worse combined U17/U20 performance?  And if not, would questioning the results not seem natural?

[rkomar]

To be fair, Mexico and Haiti have stepped up their games.  They've both been competitive against the US, who seem to be as good as ever.  So, it's not like we're falling below them, they are moving up.  I think we'll have a better measure of things in the World Cup, where we'll play some other teams.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, Ed_S said:

Tough fucking crowd. We narrowly lose to USA in final game of our group. Likewise to Mexico in semis. Take a victory over Haiti (who drew Mexico 1-1 in final game of their group and lost to USA 3-2 in semis) and people are calling for heads to roll?

I wouldn't have made that comment if it wasn't for the loss at the U20 level. Not qualifying at both the U17 and U20 level would have been a complete disaster.

2 hours ago, rkomar said:

To be fair, Mexico and Haiti have stepped up their games.  They've both been competitive against the US, who seem to be as good as ever.  So, it's not like we're falling below them, they are moving up.  I think we'll have a better measure of things in the World Cup, where we'll play some other teams.

True. Which means that we have to step up OUR game.

[Vic]

There's usually someone in the region working on their women's youth game, like the Ticos a few years back or T&T when Warner hired Pellerud.

And the Americans aren't that strong at U17:

2010 - did not qualify for World Cup
2012 - qualified for the World Cup but did not come out of group
2014 - did not qualify for World Cup
2016 - qualified for the World Cup but did not come out of group

We have been at all U17 World Cups and have come out of group twice.

"To be fair, Mexico and Haiti have stepped up their games."

If not for Lindsay Tarpley in extra time we came within a hair of being youth World Cup champions at the turn of the century.  We were the host nation and beat Japan, Denmark and Nigeria in group, then England in the quarters and Brazil in the semi before meeting the Americans in the final.

We've never made it back to a youth medal game since that thriller almost two decades ago. That's a long time for a team ranked #5 in the world with a big head start. Now we're at the point where we're lucky to get out of CONCACAF.

It's only natural that other countries progress in women's youth as they put more focus on their programs like we did early on. But on the flip side, have we taken our advances and continued our leadership and kept up with them?

[rkomar]

The first half of the final has been very entertaining.  Both teams have excellent playmakers in the middle of the park, something that we seemed to be missing this time around.  I'm not sure why that is (poor coaching and/or selection, lack of high-end competition in league play, bad luck in that we didn't happen to have anyone gifted in that area right now?).  I'm hoping that it's mostly the last.  I think we were competitive in most other areas, and if this team had another Jessie Fleming, we would have looked a lot better in those last few games.

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ]  Bit of revenge here for Canada:  A few months ago, Huitema, Antoine, Riviere, Akindoju, Shaw and Young were all part of the  CANWNT U20 team  that lost the third-place match  to  Haiti U20   in the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U20 Championship T&T ( which qualified Haiti for the  2018 FIFA  U20  Women's World Cup France  later this fall) . There are  seven players  on Haiti U17 who  were part of that U20 team : Dumornay, Supris, Petit-Frere, Caremus, Etienne, Tabitha Joseph, and Mathurin.  So this time around, Huitema's group get to return the favour;  they win the third place match and get to go to the FIFA tournament ( the 2018 FIFA  U17 Women's World Cup Uruguay )  whereas  Dumornay's group gets to stay home. 

https://int.women.soccerway.com/matches/2018/01/28/nc-america/concacaf-womens-u20/haiti-u20/canada-under-20/2713120/

[ 2 ]  In 2017, the Haitians were saying that Melchie Dumornay was the new  Nerilia Modesir  and after this tournament  you could say she was a close copy. Dumornay   created  a few  dangerous chances against Canada and overall she finished the U17 tournament tied for top scorer with five goals. Additionally,   Dumornay recently signed a 2 year pro contract with HSC Montpellier joining fellow Haitian players :Sherly Jeudy and Nerilia Mondesir .

http://radiohaitinews.com/haiti-football-bonne-nouvelle-pour-le-foot-feminin/

[ 3 ]  So it turns out that  the three numbered CONCACAF  slots  is  NOT the  final ranking of the 2018  CONCACAF U17 tournament but rather the result of a seeding formula applied to all of the CONCACAF U17 tournaments going back to  2008. The slots were filled as follows: 

CONCACAF 1    is Mexico and they were put  in WWC Group B   ( South Africa, Brazil, Japan)

CONCACAF 2   is  Canada and they were put  in WWC Group D  ( Spain, South Korea, Colombia )

CONCACAF 3    is USA and they were put  in  WWC Group  C  ( North Korea, Germany Cameroon) 

http://www.concacaf.com/en/under-17s-women/article/concacaf-teams-in-the-under-17-women-s-world-cup

So Canada not in Group C but rather in Group D