Yesterday I caught a portion of the United States game against Poland in the U-20 Championships being held in Montreal and if this is any indication of what is to come, the US is in great shape. Traditionally the US has not performed at the same level as the powerhouses of the world such as Brasil, Argentina or Holland (though the US has done a lot better than many give credit for). Poland, which is a strong soccer nation took the lead 0-1 early in the game with a beatiful feed up the left side which the forward blasted past the US keeper. My first thought was "oh oh". But what would happen next was a real treat for soccer fans.
The US tied it up with a long header off a feed from the right side. Not long afterwards, Freddie Adu delivered one of the nicest goals I've seen in a long time. He ran up the right side and with a defender to his left, ran past the ball, did a 180 turn, collected the ball and curved around the guy. Then he took a shot to the left goalpost past the reach of the goalie but bending right so it hit the inside of the post and into the net. 
Beckham would have been proud! He added another goal late in the half. Then the US added THREE more goals in the 2nd half to win 6-1. At some stretches I forgot these kids are under 20 years of age! We have another test on Friday against Brasil which will be an indicator as to whether this game was an aberration or the real deal. Let's hope it was the latter!
Beckham would have been proud! He added another goal late in the half. Then the US added THREE more goals in the 2nd half to win 6-1. At some stretches I forgot these kids are under 20 years of age! We have another test on Friday against Brasil which will be an indicator as to whether this game was an aberration or the real deal. Let's hope it was the latter!
