Under-20 WORLD CUP: USA settles for 1-1 tie vs. South Korea

Danny Szetela's first-half header gave the U.S. Under-20 national team the lead but it didn't last long as South Korea equalized before halftime. Chris Seitz bailed out a shaky U.S. defense with a handful of quality saves as the U.S. team settled for a 1-1 tie in its opening match of the Under-20 World Cup.

What did you think of the match? Who stood out? Who stunk? Share your thoughts on the match below.

Comments

[Jim G]

The question of the day is whether or not the K-league develops younger players better than the MLS.

To say the US was lucky is a huge understatement.

[Brad]

Wow. The US U-20 Team is brutal. Dax McCarty is absolutely horrible. Our defense might as well have not been on the field. They had at least 20-25 long balls behind our defense to wide open strikers. Just throw some cones out there. I had to check the Guide to make sure I didnt' accidentally turn on an NBA game, the defense was so bad. Thank God Korea finished like our MNT.

[Derek]

We were lucky to get a point. The referee made some very puzzling decisions and treated Altidore like he was Gooch...Jozy didn't get a single call. By the end of the game I was expecting two South Koreans to just get it over and jump on his back.

That said, the US team looked slow and uncertain for the vast majority of the game. As I saw it, the only US player who stood out (in a good way) was Seitz. I can't believe how much the team speed suffered without Johann Smith. Every time Tim Ward had the ball I wanted to hide my eyes and even Nate Sturgis made some terrible decisions with the ball. Meanwhile the South Koreans were consistently jumping into passing lanes or darting into acres of space and creating dangerous situations. #18 should have scored three in the first half alone. We'll need to play better in the next 2 games to advance in what is now a wide open group.

[EssEff]

That referee made some really harsh decisions. The Koreans were diving with effectiveness...the only question is, why didn't our players after they saw the ref was buying it. With each game, Adu looks more and more disappointing. I don't expect him to live up to the hype (impossible), but just make a few good plays. Geesh.

[Anthony]

The team was poor. There was no connection between the players. The ball was lost too much. Bradley was invisible, szetela scored but didn't do much thereafter. Freddy had a nice dribble through the defense and a nice layoff but the forward couldn't finish the play...

[Tony M]

I disagree that Bradley was invisible. Unfortunately, he was reduced to playing on the backline most of the game, where he made some nice saves.

Only Sietz was good the whole game. Freddy was very good for a half. Josy got absolutely no help from the ref. Dax was okay in a defensive role, but he was horrible in the attack and maintaining possession. Ward had one nice cross, but (especially early) he was a nightmare.

There is talent on this team. We've all seen it before. Right now I'm going to have to point the finger at the coach. Korea did the same things all game long and there was no adjustment.

I want to see Ferrari in there.

[Scott]

Embarrassing. We will not win with that formation. Tim Ward is BAD. I have tickets to the next 2 games, anyone want them? I'm not sure I'll be able to stomach the matches.

[Lawrence Cherniglia]

Rongen needs to be fired. Simple as that. Altidore played like a man, but things really didn't go his way. Adu was a ghost. Zizzo's 1 trick (his speed) didn't work against this opponent. Rogers tried but made little impact. Bradley is continuing to show greatness then make 1-2 huge bad plays. Szetela is not playing up to his ability. McCarty worked his butt off, but doesn't have te skill to make the impact that was needed. Tim Ward needs to be the equiptment manager after this game. Seitz is amazing. First full game I've seen him play, and he impressed me a lot.

That formation is putrid. No wingers, 2 CMs, 3 fowards, a withdrawn foward, and 4 defenders, the 2 on the outside not capable of pushing up into the attack. It's like we couldn't have picked a worst formation to squander the talent we have. WTF?

[danny]

i was wondering throughout the game, if we were really that bad or if south korea was really that good. lets not forget that south korea whipped us 5-0 about a year ago. granted, it was not our best eleven on that day, but it is still an impressive scoreline.

rongen showed his limitations tonight. not only could he not figure out a solution to the game, but the one move he did make turned out to be a poor decision. dax is a great player, but this was not the game for him.

seitz, sturgis, bradley, and zizzo played well for us. adu, altidore, rogers, and ward were a disapointment. i think we got what we expected from beltran and valentin.

i'm curious to see how s. korea does in the rest of the tournament, because if they can make our team look like slow, unimaginative, amateurs, they could be one of the best teams in the tournament.

[tito]

S. Korea was obviously good, but I watched Argentina play the Czech shortly afterwards and they were yet another step up. S. Korea is certainly good but they're not world beaters. They were very unlucky not to get the win.

Any version of their national soccer team will beat any US version, though. They work harder, they actually have a passing game, and they don't rely on thuggish tackling to offset a lack of skills and positional sense.

[Du Pont Mike]

Tim Ward likes to compliment his mistakes with even bigger mistakes. Does the guy have a brain?