Development Academy U-16 playoffs standings

After day one, here are how things stand in the U-16 bracket for the Development Academy playoffs:

Pool A

Teams	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Seattle Sounders	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
Empire United	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
D.C. United	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3
Crew	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3

Pool B

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Dallas Texans	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Vardar	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Albertson	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Concorde Fire	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Pool C

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
IMG	1	0	0	3	3	1	2
LA Galaxy	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Sporting KC	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Houston Dynamo	0	1	0	0	1	3	-2

Pool D

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Solar	1	0	0	3	3	1	2
Real So Cal	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
FC Delco	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
De Anza	0	1	0	0	1	3	-2

Pool E

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
NE Revolution	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Pateadores	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Texas Rush	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
NC Fusion	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Pool F

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
RSL-AZ	1	0	0	3	4	1	3
FC Westchester	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
Charlotte SA	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2
BBC	0	1	0	0	1	4	-3

Pool G

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
North Meck	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
PA Classics	1	0	0	3	1	0	1
South Carolina	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Chicago Fire	0	1	0	0	0	1	-1

Pool H

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
CASL	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
StLSG Missouri	1	0	0	3	1	0	1
FC Dallas	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Sockers	0	1	0	0	0	1	-1

Development Academy U-18 playoffs standings

Here are the standings after day one:

Pool A

Teams	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
D.C. United	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
Pateadores	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
N.C. Fusion	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Empire United	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3

Pool B

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
RSL-AZ	1	0	0	3	3	0	3
NYRB	1	0	0	3	3	1	2
Cal Odyssey	0	1	0	0	1	3	-2
Sockers FC	0	1	0	0	0	3	-3

Pool C

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
PDA	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
Chicago Fire	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
CDA	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
PA Classics	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2

Pool D

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Columbus Crew	1	0	0	3	3	2	1
Arsenal FC	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Dallas Texans	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Charlotte SA	0	1	0	0	2	3	-1

Pool E

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Seattle Sounders	1	0	0	3	9	2	7
BBC	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
St.L SG Missouri	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Seacoast United	0	1	0	0	2	9	-7

Pool F

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
Indiana United	1	0	0	3	2	0	2
FC Dallas	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Cosmos West	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Real Colorado	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2

Pool G

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
CASL Chelsea	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Albertson	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Colorado Rush	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
Concorde Fire	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Pool H

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	GF	GA	GD
St.L SG Metro	1	0	0	3	2	1	1
Chivas USA	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
Weston FC	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
DC Wolves	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1

Development Academy Playoff Groups

Here are the groups for the U-18 and U-16 age groups for the Development Academy playoffs, which begin Saturday, June 25 at Pizza Hut Park. The numbers of the groups are meaningless, it was just a way for me to keep track of the teams. After the playoffs are finished, the teams are reseeded for finals week. 

U-18:

1:                                                       2:

Weston FC*                                    FC Dallas*

Chivas USA                                   Cosmos Academy West

Derby County Wolves                    Real Colorado

St. Louis SG Metro                        Indiana United

3:                                                     4:

Charlotte SA*                                 Seattle Sounders*

Columbus Crew                              Baltimore Bays Chelsea

Dallas Texans                                 Seacoast United

Arsenal FC                                     St. Louis SG Missouri

 

5:                                                    6:

CASL*                                           PDA*

Albertson                                       Chicago Fire

Colorado Rush                               CDA

Concorde Fire                                PA Classics

 

7:                                                   8:

RBNY*                                        North Carolina Fusion*

Sockers FC                                   Pateadores

Cal Odyssey                                 Empire United

RSL-AZ                                       D.C. United

U-16:

1:                                                  2:

North Carolina Fusion*               North Meck*

Pateadores                                   Seacoast United

Texas Rush                                  Chicago Fire

New England Revolution            PA Classics

 

3:                                                   4:

Solar Chelsea*                            Charlotte SA*

Real So Cal                                 Baltimore Bays Chelsea

FC Delco                                     RSL-AZ

De Anza Force                            FC Westchester

5:                                                6:

St. Louis SG Missouri*             LA Galaxy*

CASL                                        Houston Dynamo

FC Dallas                                  IMG

Sockers FC                               Sporting Kansas City

 

7:                                              8:

Concorde Fire*                         Seattle Sounders*

Albertson                                  Columbus Crew

Vardar                                       D.C. United

Dallas Texans                           Empire United

Based off first glance, I would say that Group 7 in the U-18 bracket is pretty tough and should offer some very competitive games. Group 4 in the U-16 bracket looks tough as well.

U-17 World Cup Preview: U.S. v Czech Republic

After a 3-0 victory over Czech Republic, regarded as co-favorites of the group, the American youngsters were understandably pleased with their performance. However, the confidence got a quick dash of icy-reality from coach Wilmer Cabrera in the post-game press conference.

“The ideal situation is to improve on every game throughout the tournament and that is what we expect as coaches,” the coach said. “Let’s see how they’re going to respond on the field.” So the back patting ended pretty quickly after a fairly comprehensive performance against a decent European side.

On paper, Uzbekistan does not look like much of a threat to the Americans' quest to finish first in the group. The Asian qualifiers were readily dismantled by New Zealand, 4-1, on the first day of group play. The Kiwis, although unremarkable on the day, showed the defaults in the Uzbekistan defense that left Stephen Carmichael open all game on his way to the lone hat trick of the competition so far.

If Uzbekistan is able to rectify its deficiencies [namely employing a holding midfielder], it could offer some trouble to Cabrera’s side. The forward partnership – albeit rather quiet in the opening clash – still has a decent amount of skill and speed that could offer some trouble to the American defense . . . if Mobi Fehr and Zach Carroll both slip.

In all honesty, U.S. is in a position to cruise through this game and clinch a place in the next round. The main question for Cabrera will be how he uses his depth. Qualifying regulars like Alfred Koroma, Nathan Smith, Jack McBean, and Andrew Sounders either saw very little time on the field on Sunday or did not make it off the bench.

The options are there for the coaching staff, but don’t expect Cabrera to make too many changes – at least not yet. In previous tournaments, he has been rather consistent with his lineup and rotations of players.

Plus, this game plan will be very similar to the one implemented against Czech Republic. Both teams want to control the game with possession, although the Asian qualifier is more ambitious on the attacking front.

Despite the lofty opening defeat, Uzbekistan actually had more of the possession against the Kiwis [52-48] and a hefty advantage in shots [24-12]. Granted, only a third of those shots were on frame, but the point is Uzbekistan likes to attack and they tend to do it in numbers.  The side is very suspect to any team that can run at them with speed.

The Yanks will again rely on high-pressure early*, the talents of the forward Paul Arriola**, and the brilliance of Alejandro Guido to pick apart another defense. However, the Americans did have one area where they want to improve – chasing the ball.

“We were running all 90 minutes with the Czech Republic,” Cabrera said in the post-game press conference. “And yes, we need to work on that.”

With two players picking up cramps at the end of the game over the weekend, the young Americans realized that it is easier to grab hold of the ball early and let the opposition do the running.

With a mid-afternoon game on the slate for Wednesday, hydration, fitness, and conserving energy will be the focal point for the young Yanks. Grabbing another early goal will certainly help, but if they can just duplicate the second half performance from their opening clash, they should have little trouble with securing a berth to the Round of 16.

Game info:
U.S. v Uzbekistan, June 22, 1:00 p.m. (PT), Live on ESPN3 and Galavision

* Guido pushed the line forward for the first five minutes of the game so the U.S. played a 4-3-3. Once he found the back of net, he dropped back into a more traditional 4-4-2. His high-point attack position was in the scouting report for the Americans.

** Arriola made everyone temporarily forget about Andrew Oliver with a rather inspiring U-17 World Cup debut. However, the mark of a great player is consistency and the 16 year old needs to string some performances together to really make Oliver seem like a distant memory.