US making final preparations for U20 World Cup

With the US U20 Mens National Team holding a training camp here as the final approach to the FIFA U20 World Cup, to be held in Canada beginning June 30, head coach Thomas Rongen is sorting out the final and fine details. Rongen has the team training in hot conditions and on field turf at the Players Development Academy facility here, with a friendly match in Giants Stadium scheduled for this Saturday against fellow World Cup participant Chile, and a closed-door encounter with New Zealand next Monday also on the agenda.

Rongen said the tentative starting lineup for the Chile match is meant to track with the expected 1st team for the World Cup opener against South Korea. Using the 4-3-3 formation that served the team so well in CONCACAF Qualifying, goalkeeper Chris Seitz will be fronted by the defensive line of Anthony Beltran, Julian Valentin, Nathan Sturgis and Tim Ward, with midfielders Danny Szetela, Dax McCarty and Freddy Adu providing service to the forward trio of Johann Smith, Josmer Altidore and Robbie Rogers.

Rongen emphasized that there is still time for change in this 11 as players compete in training and other team changes transpire.

"There's still competition for some positions. Michael Bradley will join us (from full national team duty at the Gold Cup) and I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out that he's going to fit in somewhere as a starter. I think Andre Akpan and Gabe Ferrari continue to show that they belong and Sal Zizzo on both flanks has looked very good, plus players like Ofori Sarkodie and Anthony Wallace continue to make great strides," Rongen said. "It's very good that nobody can get comfortable or feel like they don't have to work. Those who aren't starting have pushed the starting 11 and vis versa. Managing 12-21 players is always a challenge but it's been a great group of guys who are great teammates and respecting the decisions we need to make, and I'm proud of that because that's an area that can really hurt a team if players want to cause a problem."

Rongen said lineup selection will be based primarily on his own team's strengths rather than the nuances of specific opponents.

"You try to find a way to get your best players on the pitch," he said. "You look at opponents as well but I look at opponents more for how do we break them down and stay away from our potential weaknesses. We would probably not adjust our style of play or whether we play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. I think our intent is still to play aggressive, attacking football because the makeup of this team is fairly technical. We need to do a good job of collective defending as well, and if we don't do that we could be in trouble."

Rongen admitted that unique mix of college, domestic pro and international pro players makes it a challenge for the squad to prepare for the event.

"One of the thing with this age group versus other countries is we can't get the players together very frequently, between overseas, MLS and college, the calendar is crowded and it gives us less than 2 weeks to get everyone on the same page," Rongen said. "We had our qualifying games (in January) and I wouldn't say within our region they are easy games but it's not at a World Cup level. We try to expose them to the Argentinas of the world, but not as much as I would like.

"Still, we are doing a lot of work in training and with video and playing these 2 games," he continued. "Sometimes when you get there you get on a roll like we did in 2003. We can only control so much as coaches and so we're addressing some tactical and team-building issues without overloading them in the short period of time. The games give us a chance to tell where we are exactly with this group, which is still a little bit of a question mark.

"The first game of a tournament is obviously so important so our focus right now is on Korea," he added. "We're using video clips for our practice sessions to make sure that the things we need to do to be successful, that we execute them.

Rongen said the team's dedication to preparation is solid. "The guys are very focused. There are some characters in this group which is always welcome, but we work hard. There are some close personal relationships (among the team's core group) but not so close that they can't push each other on the field to keep sharp. This is probably the best team I've had from the standpoint of self-starters and being competitive in a way that raises the bar."

Altidore gives team the green light
Standout forward Josmer Altidore said the team is looking forward to the opening of the event, and that spirits are high in the camp as they look toward the opener against Korea.

"It’s more of a challenge to show the world what we can do. It’s the 2nd biggest tournament after the Men’s World Cup and we have a group of guys here who can do something special," he said. "We know we can go against anyone. We jel together pretty fast. We know Korea is a good squad, we played them last year and they ran us into the ground, but we have enough time to prepare mentally and physically and I think we’ll be fine.