U-20 World Cup: USA vs. Austria (Running Commentary)

Hey folks. Sorry I'm late (had to do the groceries).

The game is close to getting under way and the US team appears to have all its key players. Jozy Altidore and Chris Seitz are in the lineup, as is Sal Zizzo. No excuses. The Americans are the favorites and need to deliver.

Let's get it rolling. Let me know if you're here.

Here we go:

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Thanks for taking part in the running commentary. Disappointing finish but a dramatic and entertaining game. See you all at the next one.

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FINAL- Austria 2, USA 1. The Austrians played well and benefited greatly from some tide-turning rain and a sloppy second half from the Americans. Disappointing stuff because I really feel that if these teams played 10 times in normal conditions the Americans win seven or eight. Doesn't really matter. Austria is through and the US team goes home. STill a great tournament and some brave performances from the youngsters. Nothing to be ashamed of here.

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120th+ minute- Last gasp for the Americans. This one is basically over.

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120th minute- Last minute here and Austria looks like they'll hold on.

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119th minute- Adu had a chance in the area but goes for a hard sharp-angled shot. Should he have passed? We'll never know. Time is running out here and the Americans look spent.

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117th minute- ALTIDORE shot is saved from a sharp angle. USA corner kick.

Austria with a two on zero breakaway and the shot hits the post and goes out. USA still alive here.

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115th minute- Not to spoil the party here but even if the Americans find an equalizer does anyone think Seitz can save a penalty kick in his condition?

Adu free kick

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113th minute- A dangerous Austria free kick is headed out .

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112th minute- Seitz is moving around like 2006 Tony Meola. Can the Americans muster one more good attack?

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11th minute- Nine minutes left. Does the US team have anything left?

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110th minute- Great Adu cross and Ferrari plows a free header into the ground and out wide.

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110th minute- Ferrari's touch has been a bit sloppy so far. Here comes an Adu free kick

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109th minute- Seitz is laboring around like a wounded moose.

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108th minute- Seitz with a good save on a header. Here comes the USA and there goes the ball out for a goal kick.

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106th minute- Ward turns it over and here comes Austria, US gets it back. This is going to be an ugly 15 minutes.

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OVERTIME BREAK- The US team will put in Ferrari for Zizzo. Not a bad move. Can Ferrari do something in 15 minutes?

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106th minute- Another ugly scrum and another bad goal allowed by the Americans just before the end of the first overtime session.

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105th minute- GOAL AUSTRIA!! Erwin Hoffer taps home a loose ball.

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104th minute- WALLACE RED CARD. A second yellow and Wallace is gone. The US team is down to 10 men. Fair decision, Wallace chopped the Austrian winger down.

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103rd minute- Another kick blocked by the wall. Seitz lumbers to get the rebound, and yes, he's lumbering.

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103rd minute- Another Austria free kick, this time from closer.

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102nd minute- Austria free kick from range. Blocked off the US wall.

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101st minute- Bradley is everywhere. "No nepotism there. He's just a very, very good player," says the ESPNU announcer. Nice.

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100th minute- Adu breaks in on goal but his touch past the keeper is heavy and he can't get a good shot on frame. Nice pass by McCarty though. The American midfield is starting to break down Austria's defense.

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99th minute- Adu matches Ward's bad cross with his own. Austria has stopped pressuring as much so there is room for the Americans to operate. They just need to be sharper.

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98th minute- Altidore with a chance but he sends a long-range shot wide.

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97th minute- A nice passing sequence is ruined by a Ward shank of a cross out of bounds. Who taught him that one, Frankie Hejduk?

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95th minute- "A panicky bit of defending from Ward." There's a phrase I bet you didn't think you'd hear.

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94th minute- Does Adu have any more magic left in his bag? If he doesn't I'm not sure who will for the US. Rogers sends a shot into row Z.

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93rd minute- I have a feeling Rongen won't be using that sub until the second half of overtime.

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91st minute- ARGH- Rogers with a great run then cross to a wide-open Zizzo, who sends a header into the mixer instead of taking a shot a goal on goal.

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91st minute- We're underway in overtime.

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PRE-OVERTIME- The US has just one sub left yet Zizzo and Seitz look hurt and McCarty might as well have an Austria jersey on. What will Rongen do with that last sub?

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END of REGULATION- The final US possession consisted of McCarty to Ward. Do I have to tell you what happened next? Nothing. USA 1, Austria 1. We're headed to overtime.

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91st minute- Some scrambling by the US but they can't hold on to the ball. The US team looks tired. More than Austria anyway.

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90th minute- Who will score first, Okotie for Austria or Altidore for USA?

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88th minute- Michael Bradley has his Superman cape on right now. Watching him play is a joy. He's everywhere. He has to be considering how badly McCarty is playing.

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87th minute- Austria gets a good chances but the shot goes wide right. Bad shot by Hackmaier.

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85th minute- McCarty is having a nightmare. He's had more turnovers than a point guard with no hands.

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84th minute- Interesting to see Austria actually applying heavy defensive pressure now after giving so much room in the first half. This team is pretty fit.

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83rd minute- Austria corner kick.

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80th minute- McCarty is losing balls like a juggler with hiccups. And Tim Ward is coming in for Tony Beltran. Nobody jump out a window.

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78th minute- Seitz with some heroic saves. Dives to his right to save it and then saves the rebound off to the right post. WOW. Austria is putting heavy pressure on here. Seitz is still down but he's not going anywhere.

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78th minute- Some shaky calls here. Friedel should have stuck to goalkeeping.

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76th minute- Bradley with a great run and shot but Austria's keeper does well to save it. Bradley is pouring it on right now.

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75th minute- Bradley sends a shot wide. They showed a replay of Sturgis' yellow. Very weak. If this ref keeps it up he is going to wind up getting a job offer from MLS.

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74th minute- Adu earns a free kick on the right edge of the penalty area. Nice run by Adu and dangerous kick.

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73rd minute- Sturgis gets the latest yellow. Man, this game has gotten so ugly.

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71st minute- "That would certainly put the cat among the pigeons." You don't hear that phrase every day. I like it.

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70th minute- Another yellow for Austria after a foul on Adu.

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69th minute- GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE by Sturgis after Okotie dribbles past everyone and gets a shot past Seitz. Sturgis saves the day.

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67th minute- STill waiting for the US attack to show up here.

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65th minute- The Austrian goalkeeper gives away a terrible corner kick for the US after fumbling a ball he didn't need to touch. The corner is cleared out, luckily for the Austria keeper.

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62nd minute- Dax McCarty coming in for Danny Szetela. Szetela playing with a yellow isn't a good thing so Rongen's sub isn't terrible, even though I'm not a big McCarty fan.

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59th minute- Even Adu is struggling, having just sent a corner kick way out. Not sure why but the Americans have come out in the second half in sleep mode. Austria could steal this one.

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57th minute- Bradley with a yellow card and will now miss the semifinal. This is a sloppy game and now the cards are flying.

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56th minute- An Austrian player missed a bicycle kick and the ESPNU announcer called it a fresh air shot. Nice.

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55th minute- The referee, who looks like he's Brad Friedel's brother, is calling everything now. An Austria free kick is looming.

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54th minute- Szetela did catch Madl's calf as he brought his foot down. Eh.

Valentin nearly gifts Austria a goal but Seitz intercepts. Some shaky moments for the US team right now.

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52nd minute- Szetela gets a yellow for a high boot, not sure about that one.

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50th minute- Wallace with the yellow and will now miss the semifinal if the US team advances.

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49th minute- The game has gotten a bit sloppy here with neither team doing much.

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46th minute- We're under way, Austria on the attack

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HALFTIME- We're almost ready to start the second half. I haven't heard of any subs yet.

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HALFTIME- If I have to watch this Beckham-Bush commercial one more time I'm going to puke.

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HALFTIME- With the weather the way it is Rongen needs to tell his team to take long-range shots. They have tried in the first half but Austria has done well to block them.

Austria has the edge in possession and shots on goal but most of that possession has been in their own half and most of the shots have been speculative shots from long range. The Americans are creating more and need to do a better job of getting shots on Austria's goalkeeper, who hasn't shown me much yet.

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45th minute- Rogers with a yellow card for impeding a free kick. We can't have much more time left.

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44th minute- Again, Seitz can't be completely blamed for spilling the shot becuse it is pouring rain out. Not to nitpick but Sturgis could have done better to guard the nearpost.

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43rd minute- GOAL AUSTRIA. Okotie. Seitz spills another rebound and this time they pay the price. Starts with a long range shot that forces Seitz with a save. No US defender could get the rebound away from No. 19.

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40th minute- Austria just can't get anything going offensively and has been reduced to booting long balls from the back.

US with a nice sequence but shots by Adu and Szetela were blocked. Austria has been on the back foot most of the first half.

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38th minute- Seitz makes a good save but spills the rebound, then recovers to stop the follow up shot from point-blank range. I'm sure the heavy rain didn't help him on the first shot. Seitz saved the second shot with his face and is feeling it.

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37th minute- An Austrian sub already. No. 7 coming in for Austria, Martin Harnik. He is actually the only player on the Austrian roster who isn't based in Austria. He plays for Werder Bremen (though I may be using the word play loosely).

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35th minute- Bad clash between Valentin and Austria's big forward, Rubin Okotie. Those of you who were hoping Valentin stayed down should be ashamed of yourselves.

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34th minute- Michael Bradley, king of the professional foul.

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33rd minute- Zizzo with a bit of possession. He looks just a touch slow and could be nursing a knock.

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31st minute- The ESPNU announcer points out that some Austrian player played in the UEFA Cup. Someone should tell him that Michael Bradley also played in the UEFA Cup.

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29th minute- Some of the Austrian players play for a club whose name is actually bet-at-home.com. I don't know what's more unbelievable, that such a club name exists or that I wasn't already a member of that website.

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28th minute- There was Zizzo, whose first touch was about as soft as sandpaper.

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26th minute- Adu and Altidore are working extremely well together. Maybe Bruce Arena should get on the horn with Real Salt Lake.

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25th minute- I was right about Austria's back four being slow footed. It's only a matter of time before the U.S. gets another quality chance. Austria is fully aware of the US team's speed and is giving the Americans too much space. Austria's midfield did finally put some passes together for a good sequence.

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23rd minute- I'm not saying Sal Zizzo has been invisible but there are police on the field with dogs and pictures of Zizzo.

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22nd minute- The US team needs to stop giving up these free kicks. This is the only way I see Austria scoring because their midfield can't beat the US midfield, not consistently anyway.

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21st minute- Lost a few posts in the past five minutes. Thanks for the detail on the goal from the posters.

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15th minute- GOAL USA. JOZY ALTIDORE SCORES. Adu with the great cross and Altidore with the perfect header finish.

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15th minute- The US central midfield is controlling the game, or at least forcing Austria to play wide.

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14th minute- I'm going with the ESPNU broadcast. There's something better about hearing just one voice.

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12th minute- WOW, Austria comes close with a header off a corner but it goes wide.

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11th minute- Kind of interesting that Red Bull Salzburg has no starters on Austria and only one player on the Austria roster. Where's the youth development Mateschitz?

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9th minute- It's starting to rain in Toronto, not sure how that will affect the game. It probably helps Austria a bit since the US team has the speed advantage.

Austria nearly puts a ball in its own net on a US break. US corner kick.

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7th minute- Just as I type that Adu shakes two Austrian defenders to earn a free kick. Szetela's kick is blocked and cleared out.
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6th minute- Austria movfes the ball well but the US defense is staying compact. Early observation: The Austrian defense is slow and could get caught out by the speed of Zizzo, Adu and ALtidore.

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4th minute- Now I'm torn. The Telefutura team isn't half bad but the ESPNU team is good too. Hmm.

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2nd minute- Austria is HUGE. Do they have the skill though?

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1st minute- And we're off

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PRE-GAME- Look for Zizzo to have a solid game. After coming out early against Uruguay he should be rested.

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PRE-GAME- We're close to kickoff and Austria is sporting the red Puma unis (apparently this is a requirement of all U.S. opponents.

Comments

[Braden]

I'll be following along!

[Jasen]

my biggest concern is guys playing timidly because they're carrying one of the yellows from our last game (a couple of which were BS)

regardless, i'm still feeling more confident ahead of this game than i did before Uruguay.

[Sean]

Let's Go USA!!!!

[Derek]

I'm here Ives. Like I said last time, I'll settle for a result but I'm hoping for some beautiful soccer.

[vreleven]

Watching on Telefutura, lets go USA.

[Steve]

Joamiq, due to the fact that I am borderline technology illiterate, how do I get this TvAnts to get the game? I downloaded it and have it running but I don't know what to search for or whatever to find the game. Appreciate the help

[nev]

I'll be at a wedding during the match and can't watch the match. I'm depending on this blogto tell me what's going on.

[Dro Scott]

Im here for the whole game

[Jasen]

can't believe it's 70 up in Toronto right now...much Adu even rockin the long sleeves.

[Dominghosa]

I'll be in and out, mostly out. Lets go boys!

[patrick c]

i have to leave for work at halftime, which i resent, but for the first 45, I'M HERE! GOOOO TEAM.

[Joamiq]

I hope Jozy actually has recovered and isn't trying to play through something.

[Steve]

Sorry to keep asking, but anyone for how I find this game on the tvants program?

[Nic]

Altidore and Seitz in the game! Let's hope Jozy's near 100%

[jig]

There has to be a better option that beltran. he's tragic.

[Joamiq]

If you already have TV Ants, click on the Super England TV Ants link on this page: http://85.92.128.155/~myp2p/Matches/Match4.htm

[Jasen]

i was under the impression that Zizzo was banged up, i don't think he came off to get rest...hopefully he's 100% now.

[AlexS]

Is Seitz ok? He isn't taking the goal kicks again... and that pass looked kinda weak...

[Joamiq]

Nutmeg for Freddy!

[Dominghosa]

NUTNEG! No he didnt.

[Dominghosa]

nutmeg

[Braden]

I didn't think Zizzo came off because of injury. I think he was just exhausted, which you can understand given his work rate.

[Dan]

Adu looked like he was 13 when he was running at the defenders to earn that free kick

[Steve]

Thanks again Joamiq, got it now, beats watching nothing!

[Jasen]

i agree Beltran doesn't inspire a ton of confidence defensively, but it's awesome to watch him run from 18 to 18 all game long