2018 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup Uruguay ( Nov13-Dec 1 )

[Joe MacCarthy]

5 hours ago, Kent said:

I don't think your provider matters, but you need to have a subscription to the TSN channel(s?). If you have access to the channel, the streaming is free (or rather, no extra charge)

If you don`t have TSN you can get the user/pass from a friend or relative and it'll work.  It's usually just the account user/pass you pay your bills with.

[Joe MacCarthy]

2018 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup: Semi-Final 2 – Mexico vs Canada
Wed 4:50PM ET / 1:50PM PT on TSN4 and TSN5

[Joe MacCarthy]

Huitema, Canada make semis at U17 Women's World Cup for first time
The Canadian Press Nov 25, 2018

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Captain Jordyn Huitema's 83rd-minute goal lifted Canada to a 1-0 win over Germany on Sunday, moving the Canadian women into the semifinals of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup for the first time ever.

The 17-year-old from Chilliwack, B.C., beat two defenders to knock in the winner.

The Canadians had never made it to the final four of the U-17 tournament, losing in the quarterfinals in 2014, 2012 and 2008 (when it was beaten 3-1 by Germany). Canada tied Germany 1-1 and 2-2 when they met in pool play at the 2016 and 2014 tournaments.

"To be at the helm of this young team is just a privilege," said coach Rhian Wilkinson.

"Canada is a world-class team that can handle all types of formats and physical play. Our players really showed who they were today against a very strong German team."

The young Canadians will play Mexico, which rallied to beat Ghana in a penalty shootout Sunday, in the semifinal Wednesday. Canada lost 2-1 to the Mexicans in the CONCACAF Championship semifinal in June.

New Zealand faces Spain in the other semifinal Wednesday. Like Mexico, both teams needed penalty shootouts to reach the final four.

Only two previous Canadian teams, male or female, have reached the semifinals of a FIFA world championship. In 2002, Canada lost 1-0 after extra time to the U.S. in the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's Championship (now the FIFA U-20 Championship). Meanwhile, Canada finished fourth at the 2003 Women's World Cup.

Canada had 58 per cent of the possession in a tight first half Sunday that saw only half-chances at Estadio Charrua. Neither team ventured much in attack.

Huitema had a rare chance in the 71st minute, getting in behind her marker but her shot was stopped.

Wilkinson, returning to her first-string roster, made eight changes from the team that lost 5-0 to Spain in the final round-robin game. Canada went into that game knowing it had already qualified for the quarterfinals.

Only Kaila Novak, Lara Kazandjian and Jade Rose stayed in the starting 11.

Canada was boosted by the return of Huitema from a one-game suspension. Huitema was sent off in Canada's 2-0 win over South Korea for an elbow during an aerial challenge.

Kazandjian had Canada's first chance, in the 33rd minute, off a Huitema feed, but the shot was easily handled. Andersen Williams shot high in the 35th minute.

Canada drew Germany in the quarterfinals after losing to Spain on Wednesday. That dropped it into second spot in Group D. Germany then blanked the U.S. 4-0 to finish atop Group C, setting up the final-eight showdown with the Canadians.

Canada blanked Colombia 3-0 and South Korea 2-0 in its first two games at the tournament. Germany beat North Korea 4-1 and lost 1-0 to Cameroon.

Twenty players on Canada's 21-woman roster saw action in the group phase, with only goalkeeper Sophie Guilmette yet to get on the field.

[red card]

The starting back line and goalkeeper continue to be the strength of the team and also have the most potential for senior caps. When only one played against Spain, it showed how much they were missed. 

As a good striker should do, Huitema scores with the limited and half chances she has had. Thankfully, Wilkinson moved Huitema from her the wing after the first half of the first match. 

The midfield is the weak point. But Balata had her best match against Germany. She seems to have a good football iq but will need to be more consistent in passing and first touch. The others show flashes of quality only like Shaw's run, Kazandjian's goal and Novak's pass for the goal but they then disappear for most of the match. In all matches, they had a hard time unlocking opportunities with runs, dribbling or passes. Service to Huitema has been poor. Shaw and Kazandjian corner kicks have also been inconsistent.

And once we get beyond the top 13-14, there appears to be a large drop off in quality. 

Except for Spain, this has been the weakest group of WC u17 teams I have seen. Individually, there has also been no stand out players emerging as the next superstar. Only area of improvement has been goalkeeping. 

[rkomar]

16 minutes ago, red card said:

Except for Spain, this has been the weakest group of WC u17 teams I have seen. Individually, there has also been no stand out players emerging as the next superstar. Only area of improvement has been goalkeeping. 

Are they weak, or maybe they're all good and it's hard for anyone to stand out?

[Wilfrid Laurier]

Interesting subplot: Silvana Flores of Georgetown, ON has started every game for Mexico. Would expect her to start this game as well. Brother is in Arsenal academy, father used to be technical director of Guelph Soccer.

[carolynduthie]

20 minutes ago, Wilfrid Laurier said:

Interesting subplot: Silvana Flores of Georgetown, ON has started every game for Mexico. Would expect her to start this game as well. Brother is in Arsenal academy, father used to be technical director of Guelph Soccer.

She'd been to a couple of Canada youth talent ID camps, as recently as 2017 - wonder what prompted the switch to Mexico, if it was triggered by not making a Canada roster or just a preference of playing for Mexico. 

[paul-collins]

What are the odds that of the entire roster none are born in September-December?

[paul-collins]

17 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I appreciate folks see Huitema as the leader, but for me she is neither the best player nor the real inspiration on the pitch, at least from what I've seen so far. I like Balata better, going forward. The two centre backs are also very strong. So is Shaw. I see as much talent in the core of our mid and back line as up front.

I'm not really commenting on the skill surrounding her (I understand your liking Shaw, and I've been impressed as well) so much as the temperment of the team.  (As I am coaching girls this age in ringette right now, I have a bias as to how I interpret interactions between teammates)

I see a team that reacts to Huitema's presence in a way that to me says they believe she is their leader.  She's having to accept that responsibility.  That's the development opportunity that I was referring to.

[The Ref]

1 hour ago, paul-collins said:

I see a team that reacts to Huitema's presence in a way that to me says they believe she is their leader.

I support your statement and as long as Huitema keeps scoring a goal she will continue to be seen as such.

[red card]

14 hours ago, rkomar said:

Are they weak, or maybe they're all good and it's hard for anyone to stand out?

 

About half of the teams were sub par relative to their past performances (Japan, Brazil etc..) or simply bad in absolute terms (Uruguay, South Africa)

Even the mostly good teams had at least one bad match (Ghana, Germany, NK & Spain). Only three teams have outperformed: Canada, Mexico, NZ. But they haven't looked always good.

Mexico was scoreless with South Africa (2nd worst team),  NZ barely beat Uruguay (the worst team) and was outclassed by Ghana and we know Canada's lacklustre first halves and looking like a really bad team against Spain.

Basically, the traditionally good teams did not deliver this time around, the outperformers haven't played at the level the traditionally good teams have shown previously and there has no been no stand out performances by any individual player ex Germany goalkeeper vs USA. 

Most of the matches have also been ordinary to boring. The handful of interesting encounters for neutrals was in the group with NK/Germany/USA/Cameroon only.

 

[Kent]

4 hours ago, paul-collins said:

What are the odds that of the entire roster none are born in September-December?

I don't know, but the odds are a lot higher of that than of there being nobody born in January-April. Athletes tend to skew towards being born early in the year, because when they start as a youngster they are relatively older than the other kids (for example, there is a big difference between someone who is 5 years old vs someone who is 4 years and 1 month old). That advantage lingers longer than you would expect and never really fully goes away (better players can get more responsibility on the field and as a result grow their talents more, perhaps enjoy the game more due to being more proficient at it, etc.)

[paul-collins]

1 hour ago, Kent said:

I don't know, but the odds are a lot higher of that than of there being nobody born in January-April. Athletes tend to skew towards being born early in the year, because when they start as a youngster they are relatively older than the other kids (for example, there is a big difference between someone who is 5 years old vs someone who is 4 years and 1 month old). That advantage lingers longer than you would expect and never really fully goes away (better players can get more responsibility on the field and as a result grow their talents more, perhaps enjoy the game more due to being more proficient at it, etc.)

Yeah I am aware of the skew based on when the start of the year is for competitive cohorts; the question was a bit facetious to be honest.

I did think part of what we were trying to do with LTAD was to spread that out, and give the birthdate-disadvantaged a bit more of a chance...  But clearly any such efforts are not being reflected in this squad (if they in fact exist).

England experiences it for the months of September through December because their age categories start on Sept 1 instead of Jan 1 as we have.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/18891749

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, red card said:

 

About half of the teams were sub par relative to their past performances (Japan, Brazil etc..) or simply bad in absolute terms (Uruguay, South Africa)

Even the mostly good teams had at least one bad match (Ghana, Germany, NK & Spain). Only three teams have outperformed: Canada, Mexico, NZ. But they haven't looked always good.

Mexico was scoreless with South Africa (2nd worst team),  NZ barely beat Uruguay (the worst team) and was outclassed by Ghana and we know Canada's lacklustre first halves and looking like a really bad team against Spain.

Basically, the traditionally good teams did not deliver this time around, the outperformers haven't played at the level the traditionally good teams have shown previously and there has no been no stand out performances by any individual player ex Germany goalkeeper vs USA. 

Most of the matches have also been ordinary to boring. The handful of interesting encounters for neutrals was in the group with NK/Germany/USA/Cameroon only.

 

Although I'd like to believe this is not really accurate, I am afraid it mostly is. I remember more vital, electric play, in the Jordan WC. I wonder if the lack of fan support has been a factor. The field at Colonia is not so great either. Perhaps there is an overall lack of ambience and fan support that affects the tension and performance of the teams. I don't know. 

Really, of what I have seen, our back line and mids vs Germany were amongst the best performances we've seen this WC by anyone, our keeping was also good (she is very good with distribution, with her feet, a truly modern keeper, apart from shot stopping). 

It is also possible that what we are seeing is indicative of a shift, where teams are better defending, stalwart players have it harder to shine and are being keyed (Shekiera Martínez for Germany, against us, was nowhere near the quality and danger she showed vs. the US, we totally iced her; Irene, arguably the best player on Spain who bosses the pitch, was annuled by North Korea--and so on). 

[The Ref]

Mexican coach Monica Vergara believes the technical level of players has increased a lot over previous years.

She said:  “En general creo que este mundial ha desarrollado mucho talento, comparado con otros años, el nivel técnico individual de las jugadoras ha aumentado bastante”.

[dyslexic nam]

Huge game tonight.  Best of luck girls. 

[The Ref]

Good win for Spain against the big NZ women.  Size is not important.  Once again the refereeing was subpar.

[dyslexic nam]

Man that was a bad penalty to concede. From trying to dribble past the striker out of the back to the obvious and clumsy foul, that was just bad. 

And a goal denied....

Shit.

[xabuep2]

A live stream please !!!!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

Ol' Joe Mac's observances

Calls all seem to be going against us, which is ok for now.

I was a little worried before now but after the goal we seemed to wake up and have pressed forward much better

Thought the non call on Huitema in the box was worse than the penalty call on us.  From one angle it didn't look like a penalty but I'd like to see it again but really doesn't matter now.

I will stick with the girls, De Filippo will change this game.

 

[mtlfan]

11 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Man that was a bad penalty to concede. From trying to dribble past the striker out of the back to the obvious and clumsy foul, that was just bad. 

And a goal denied....

Shit.

You said it as there us no explanation for stupidity. meanwhile Canada must do better at the midfield.

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

7 minutes ago, xabuep2 said:

A live stream please

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://cricfree.org/soccer/mexico-u17-w-canada-u17-w-cfd7c458?l=2393347302

Just close the "ads"

[dyslexic nam]

Pretty mediocre game from us. Not many positives to take away. No shots on goal. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

In a game that was very tight, a foolish penalty was the difference. There was no need for that rashness. Otherwise she had a good game I thought.

Until then, Mexico had pressed us well and we did not have a lot of time or ways to move out of the back. But by around m. 20 or so they had taken a step back and we had found a bit more space. Over time, as it was, you would have thought they would tire and we'd have more space to bring it forward.

The penalty was also at the critical moment, late in the half.

Wilkinson seemed to come out with changes that on paper were good, but with a "stick to the game plan" mentality. We were in fact worse 2nd half, less coordinated, and they continued to press with real talent. I thought Mexico was a veritable team, working very well together to stall our attempt at a comeback. They kept us a long way away from their goal, and even when we had an advantage, like on high balls, they did not suffer too much. 

So if we outcoached Germany clearly a few days before, today we were outdone. Hearing Wilkinson  saying stuff like "step it up white" and other inane comments throughout the 2nd half was not at all encouraging. 

I'm surprised that folks complain about the ref. I mean, I too was shouting at her through the tv screen, but I think she was fine, we were not really hurt by that reffing job don't think. 

[red card]

If the aim was to win, it was the wrong starting line up. Both Walk & Akindjou have not had impressive tourneys - especially Walk. Then I thought Wilkinson learned the mistake of putting Huitema on the wing from the first match but I was wrong. Then with losing the defensive rock in Rose, adding two new faces on the backline is very unorthodox. Plus, Vallerand has played better than Portelance.

Antoine's mistake was not accepting she lost the ball. instead she went hard charging after the player rather than cutting off the angle and banking on Karpenko to make a save if needed.

Wilkinson corrected her major mistakes for the second half but given they were behind, they weren't as composed on the ball and Mexico did a decent job of clogging up Canada.

The rest was what we saw of Canada in the tourney - limited offensive skills and iq in midfield to unlock the opposition. Limited set pieces achieved to give a chance for Huitema to put one in.