U17 Results

[Observer]

Holland knock out USA 2-0
Mexico over CR 3-1
Turkey give China 5-1
Brazil beat Korea 3-1

Brazil vs Turkey
Mex vs Holland

[palos]

Once again...USA flatters to deceive.

Disappointing.

[kicker]

Once again...USA flatters to deceive.

Disappointing.

USA is up there, but they still have one step more to make before they actually threaten to WIN a world tournament.........they're lacking that little some'n...

[Trini _2026]

when you look at the USA Holland match stats the had an even number of shot and saves ,corners etc .they are on par you could say

[Jumbie]

Once again...USA flatters to deceive.

Disappointing.

USA is up there, but they still have one step more to make before they actually threaten to WIN a world tournament.........they're lacking that little some'n...

it's called the ability to win the games that matters .. The dutch youths always up there eh! Let's see what the mexican youths can do. Not bad that 3 teams from our region made the 1/4's

[kicker]

when you look at the USA Holland match stats the had an even number of shot and saves ,corners etc .they are on par you could say

yeah they were..........but they just couldn't hang down the stretch.......not as fit maybe ? .....I think the dutch players had a bit more int'l experience too....that helps

[kicker]

Once again...USA flatters to deceive.

Disappointing.

USA is up there, but they still have one step more to make before they actually threaten to WIN a world tournament.........they're lacking that little some'n...

it's called the ability to win the games that matters .. The dutch youths always up there eh! Let's see what the mexican youths can do. Not bad that 3 teams from our region made the 1/4's

yeah too bad two of them were paired up against eachother....now we only have one left....t'will be interesting

[morvant]

but what dem man and them does eat in brazil boy dem doh go to school amd ting or what. iz like dem does take dem from dey muda at birth and start to feed dem football dread.........................dem overtalented horse. i feel i related to one ah dem cause somtimes i does do some beat i cyar even believe myself

[davidephraim]

Palos, dat is de spanner dey. Yuh see how ronaldhino pass de ball in de man face and take it back. Dat is a spanner, Ronaldo have to watch man like Ronaldhino and Latas to learn it good.

[JDB]

yeah they were..........but they just couldn't hang down the stretch.......not as fit maybe ? .....I think the dutch players had a bit more int'l experience too....that helps

I doubt that the US youths lack fitness at thtis level compared to the other countries.

It is more likely that even at this level they are not producing enough players with that extra "je ne sais quois" that could separate two technically sound, well organized teams.

The US national team will have a better chnace eventually because as Greece has shown, basic ball can win tournaments sometimes.

At youth level thogh ability tends to show through more. That is why teams like Nigeria and Ghana are so much better at that level than at senior level.

[kicker]

yeah they were..........but they just couldn't hang down the stretch.......not as fit maybe ? .....I think the dutch players had a bit more int'l experience too....that helps

It is more likely that even at this level they are not producing enough players with that extra "je ne sais quois" that could separate two technically sound, well organized teams.


At youth level thogh ability tends to show through more. That is why teams like Nigeria and Ghana are so much better at that level than at senior level.

Excellent point.....at the higher levels well executed tactics and discipline may nullify that "je ne sais quois" as you say, but at the youth level, it definitely goes a longer way.......I see where you're coming from

[football king]

question-do our youngsters have that je ne sais quois-compared to say US mexico and CR?

[kicker]

question-do our youngsters have that je ne sais quois-compared to say US mexico and CR?

Perhaps one or two might, who knows ??

but uncoachable assets are very difficult to utilize if you don't have the coached assets.......and I think that is where our problem lies and we therefore end up bitching about wasting raw talent etc..

eg. If you are a good natural dribbler, or have good natural speed... you might never get the opportunity to show it if your ball control is poor, off-the-ball movement is lacking or your positional play is off...

......the "je ne sais quois" cannot stand alone.......

[KND2]

Holland was lucky to win that game.
The US throw it away.

[Filho]

Once again...USA flatters to deceive.

Disappointing.

why? because they beat a lame Italy? USA is good but they need a lil' something extra to get to the next level, but I don't think anyone thought they were there yet. In the end, it is also an under 17 tourney. These fellas bound to be inconsistent...so losing 0-2 to Holland not necessarily providing any conclusive answers to anything...otherwise Gambia would still be in the mix.

Really?
Holland has qualified for 1 out of 11 under-17 tournaments. This is their first.
They have qualified for 3 out of 15 under-20 tournaments (the last 1 they were hosts and didn't have to qualify...and lost in the 2nd round)

Dey looking decent this rounds. Nuff Africans and Surinamese in de squad giving the clockwork orange a lil' funk


 

[football king]

true holland never really had a record to boast about in youth cups. so all that talk about dutch youth system tops in the world-is their system overated??

are all the good youths in holland foreigners-maybe

[FF]

Take that stat with a grain of salt.... the u-17 WC has 16 teams...

3 each from Concacaf... UEFA... CAF... Conmebol... AFC and 1 one from Oceania

Therefore the fact that Holland rarely qualifed isn't so much as an indictment of their youth system but it just points out how competitive qualification is in Europe as compared to say Concacaf

[JDB]

question-do our youngsters have that je ne sais quois-compared to say US mexico and CR?

We used to. We might not have been able to go toe to toe with Brazil and Argentina but Mexico and CR definitely.

The thing is you don't need to have a team full of game winners. If yuh have the basic technique throughout the squad and are well organized you only need one or two stars. Also in the eighties we had youth sides with real talented youths playing at the same time.

Latas, Shaka, Kona, Rocke, Hutchinson, Marcelle.

Then we had the team that qualify for the WC. Back then we could have beaten Mexico and CR easy because we had talented players they just weren't developed well and we were behind the rest in terms of organization, especially defending and concentration.

That is no difference to now, we still don't develop players well enough but we also lacking in talent.

My fear would be that we make a WC and not capitalize the groundswell of interest among the youths. Remember strike squad days. Everybody was on a park pretending to be Hutson Charles or Leonsons. But we waste whatever potential we had there.

[Filho]

Nah, it is just very difficult to qualify out of Europe. I didn't give that stat to make a statement about how good Holland is, just wondering where Jumbie was coming from saying Holland always up there

[FF]

Nah, it is just very difficult to qualify out of Europe. I didn't give that stat to make a statement about how good Holland is, just wondering where Jumbie was coming from saying Holland always up there

Yeah I realise Filho... I was more responding to Football King post

[football king]

good stats though

but let we say last 5 tourneys i sure that more concacaf teams made it to 2nd round than european teams. who would have really thought that.

[football king]

main thing is that we in TT can hopefully get something going really soon.  one day.

[JDB]

true holland never really had a record to boast about in youth cups. so all that talk about dutch youth system tops in the world-is their system overated??

are all the good youths in holland foreigners-maybe

The goal is not to produce good youths but exceptional pros and Holland excels at that so I don't think the youth system is overrated.

I don't know why they don't do as well at Youth tourneys but the amount of great players they produce is a positive measure of their system.

And then you have to consider that players and team are two different things. Even the National team has only won one major honour despite the fact that the players have been better than more winning teams (cough*Germany*cough).

[football king]

when i said more concacaf teams qualified is wrong cause it's the same suspects every time US CR mex. 
small correction

[kicker]

Even the National team has only won one major honour despite the fact that the players have been better than more winning teams (cough*Germany*cough).

uh oh...someone's starting a debate there...Dutch vs German players historically....you sure you can stand behind that one JDB ??

[JDB]

uh oh...someone's starting a debate there...Dutch vs German players historically....you sure you can stand behind that one JDB ??

Nah I am not trying to start no debate but if you are comparing players to achievements, Germany's players are not three World Cups (plus an extra losing finalist berth) and one European Championship better than Holland.

A lot of Germany's success is down to the fact that they have made better use of their players, which is the point that I was trying to make.

[Filho]

My humble opinion: The problem with the Dutch is that they are not allowed to express themselves as freely as most other footballing nations. Total football requires an immense and unselfish team effort and extreme discipline. There is less room for Ronaldinhos and Robinhos in Dutch football. As youths in Holland they would have been told to cut out that nonsense and pass and run more. The dutch play beautiful flowing soccer, but individual brilliance is often sacrificed for the collective...and I think that is harder to perfect at 16 than other more liberal styles of soccer. Under 17 football still has a lot of rawness to it and  a very skillful individual player can be the difference. Notice the Italians, Germans and English do poorly as well. Too structured. Players like Cruyff and Robben are considered revelations in Holland. they get to play a little outside of the system because they are a little bit 'special'. They don't call them the 'clockwork orange' for nothing

[kicker]

uh oh...someone's starting a debate there...Dutch vs German players historically....you sure you can stand behind that one JDB ??

Nah I am not trying to start no debate but if you are comparing players to achievements, Germany's players are not three World Cups (plus an extra losing finalist berth) and one European Championship better than Holland.

A lot of Germany's success is down to the fact that they have made better use of their players, which is the point that I was trying to make.

Well using qualities of players to argue Germany's WC successes over Holland's is difficult if not impossible, because historically they've both had WC players of the highest order.

My opinion on Germany's WC successes is as follows: (you might disagree)

Apart from having a golden generation of players, Germany revolutionized the game in the mid to late 70's through the 80's, by adding an element of physical robustness and tactical discipline that I don't think was ever emphasized to that degree prior to that. Germans in the 70's were known to be physically superior in many cases to their opponents. At one point they were even recognized for the ability to come from behind (that I think was testament to the physical qualities).....I even believe that they were the first to be involved in publicised athletic doping scandals (might be wrong...going off hazy recollection).....In the era in which they were most successful, I think they were able to use their emphasis on physical conditioning and discipline as a comparative advantage...

..I think the world caught up to them in the 90's and German teams are no longer seen as having extra exceptional physical capabilities anymore......I think they lost that comparative advantage to some extent....

that's just my opinion (generalized).....one may easily find specifics to poke holes in my it.......but for the most part I think it holds true

[JDB]

As much as I dislike Germany, during their really good periods they definitely had quality players.

You can't get better than the Kaizer, Muller's record is second only to Pele. Maier was a boss goalie, Seeler, Overath, Hoeness, Breitner all good players.

And then the 1990 team. You have to come hard to find a more dominant player than Mathaus and then you have Haessler or Littbarski to choose from and a defence that gave yuh the best 5-3-2/3-5-2 system I have ever seen with Reuter, Thon, Augenthaller, Buchwald and Brehme. I ent even mention Voeller and Klinsmann.

It was more than physical capabilities that set them apart. Germany's problem now is not so much the loss of any physical edge, as the fact that they are just not producing those players anymore.

Right now France produces much better players and that is why you see them in Italy, Spain and England. Outside of Ballack and the youth with the dotish hair, what team is buying a German to add something special to their team.

[kicker]

As much as I dislike Germany, during their really good periods they definitely had quality players.

You can't get better than the Kaizer, Muller's record is second only to Pele. Maier was a boss goalie, Seeler, Overath, Hoeness, Breitner all good players.

And then the 1990 team. You have to come hard to find a more dominant player than Mathaus and then you have Haessler or Littbarski to choose from and a defence that gave yuh the best 5-3-2/3-5-2 system I have ever seen with Reuter, Thon, Augenthaller, Buichwald and Brehme. I ent even mention Voeller and Klinsmann.

It was more than physical capabilities that set them apart. Germany's problem now is not so much the loss of any physical edge, as the fact that they are just not producing those players anymore.

Right now France produces much better players and that is why you see them in Italy, Spain and England. Outside of Ballack and the youth with the dotish hair, what team is buying a German to add something special to their team.

yeah well I gave props to their golden generation- but they competed against the likes of Neeskens, Cryuff and co. form Holland & Tresor, Platini, Tigana & Fernandez eg...from France....so that's why I think their comparative advantage was beyond just the talent.....(not taking away anything from their players)....just a thought...

but yes you're correct....they haven't produced talent like that recently.....I meant they lost that comparative edge in the 90's.........now they just plain sh*tty......... ......ah watchin' them slight this WC though, they have a home crowd to please