World Cup Over for US U-17s

The US U-17s lost to Italy today by a score of 2-1 in their round of 16 matchup. It was a fair result, with Italy controlling play for most of the game. The US had a golden opportunity to get an early lead after a 16th minute handball in the box by an Italian defender, but Jack McInerney's ensuing penalty was stopped by goalkeeper Francesco Bardi. McInerney hit it low, but it was too close to the keeper, who made the save with a short dive to his right.

Within 10 minutes, the US found themselves down a goal, as a flick-on to a sprinting Giacomo Baretta was able to beat the US backline, with the AC Milan youth player finishing cooly past Earl Edwards. The US defense was very flat on the play and did not pick up Baretta as he cut through, and the Italian made them pay. The Italians controlled the rest of the half and were unlucky to score again, with one goal being incorrectly ruled offsides. The sides went to the half with the score 1-0 to Italy.

The US actually had the better of play for the first 10 minutes of the second half, producing several quality scoring opportunities. It was the Italians looking flat-footed and sloppy at the back, as Stefan Jerome slalomed through a couple of Italian defenders before eventually sliding to get the ball over to an unmarked Jack McInerney inside the box. McInerney shot it on his first touch and beat the keeper, but the ball rang off the crossbar, and the Italians cleared.

The US stayed on the offensive, however, and broke through just minutes later, as a Luis Gil corner kick was headed home by Nick Palodichuk in the 51st minute. The midfielder sliced through the box unmarked and did well to place the header into the far lower corner. After several threatening attacks and now a goal, the US was brimming with confidence. Pietro Iemmelo, however, would snuff out that confidence by scoring against the run of play in the 56th minute. The Fiorentina youth player took a touch towards the center, cutting past his defender before hitting a shot from outside the box past a diving Earl Edwards. After this point, the Italians regained the control they had had for much of the match.

The Italians almost buried the US just a few minutes later, when Giacomo Beretta stripped Jared Watts at the back and went in alone on Earl Edwards. The California native was able to keep his team in the match, however, by coming out and getting his body behind the shot. The Italians kept pressing and producing chances, and the US were fortunate not to surrender a third goal.

In the final minutes of the match, the US were able to produce a couple of decent chances, but could not find the equalizer. In the 89th minute, Luis Gil showed good composure in the box, touching past his defender just outside the six, but he could only muster a weak effort to the near post that was steered aside by the Italian keeper. With the US pushed high up the field, they were vulnerable to the counterattack, and this eventually led to Eriq Zavaleta earning a red card for taking down an Italian attacker as the last man back. The match ended soon thereafter, and with it so did the US' U-17 World Cup.

It was a disappointing showing for Wilmer Cabrera and company, who had high hopes of moving deep into the tournament and redeeming 2007's underwhelming performance. The big question of this tournament remains: how far could the US have gone if stars Charles Renken, Joseph Gyau, and Sebastian Lletget were in the squad? The US struggled in the attack and did not have a great deal of creativity on display, with Luis Gil being an exception at times. It was certainly disappointing that the U-17s were without three of their best players for their most important tournament, and it was evident that they were missing some attacking bite.

With the tournament over, players will now look to the next step in their careers, whether that's moving on to an academy, going to college, or making the leap to the professional game. Luis Gil has gotten some interest from a few European teams, such as Arsenal, and he had a decent World Cup, so it will be interesting to see where he lands. Heck, it might be the only positive thing to come out of what was a lackluster U-17 World Cup for the US.