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| European Under-21 Championships | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 19 2009, 09:07 AM (722 Views) | |
| Simon | Jun 29 2009, 09:37 AM Post #16 |
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So it's the final tonight, England v Germany. It should be pretty tight, but many commentators are slightly favouring Germany due to England's two suspended strikers and suspended goalkeeper. It leaves England short of options up front against a team that have built their campaign on a defence that has only conceded once (in the 1-1 draw with England). It seems likely that Theo Walcott will be pressed into service as a lone front-runner, possibly with James Milner and Adam Johnson alongside him in a 4-3-3. The role is unfamiliar to Walcott, but then he has already scored a hat-trick in a crunch game for the seniors away at Croatia. If he can reproduce that form England could be on to a winner, but he's blown hot and cold so far this tournament. The tournament has certainly shown Stuart Pearce in a good light. We've already mentioned how his meticulous preparations for a possible penalty shoot-out paid off after England's 3-3 draw with Sweden, and now he has a choice between two reserve goalkeepers, Joe Lewis of Peterborough and Scott Loach of Watford. Fortunately both have already played 45 mins in this tournament, and against Germany of all teams. Germany have striker Ashkan Dejagah suspended, to be replaced by Sandro Wagner. Captain Sami Khedira should return but Marko Marin is a doubt with an ankle injury. Full preview: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/f.../report=pr.html |
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| Simon | Jun 29 2009, 01:24 PM Post #17 |
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Hmmph, I was right about favouring Germany, but it looks like I was wrong about it being tight! Germany led 1-0 through a Castro goal on 23 minutes, scored a second through the highly-rated Mesut Ozil straight after half-time and then added late goals from Wagner to give the scoreline an emphatic 4-0 slant. At this stage all I know of the game is the scoreline and scorers so I can't comment on whether the scoreline was flattering or whether the young Germans deserved such a big win, and I can only guess as to how the England sub keeper did on the 4 goals. Still, losing a final like that is a blow at any level, and potentially damaging to the confidence of some of the young England players. The Under-21 trophy isn't that vital in its own right, more as an indication of what kind of talent a country has and as experience of tournament play for the young players. Nor does it necessarily lead to success in senior football (Germany are a case in point - they'd never previously won this tournament and yet they tend to do okay at senior level!) as many of the players who've won this in the past haven't even been capped in full internationals. As such, it's hard to gauge the fallout. I imagine that from a confidence point of view there will be various England players who may reflect on how it would have been preferable to lose the pens in the semi than to reach the final and lose 4-0! It's Stuart Pearce's job to ensure that his players take the right lessons from this as several of them will now be bequethed to Fabio Capello for full internationals (Milner, Agbonlahor etc) Likewise, the full German side have looked pretty workmanlike and in need of new blood for a few years now (with the partial exception of a wind-assisted run at home in 2006) and it looks like they have some quality young talent for Low to integrate into his side. I wonder how many of these young German players might get a chance at next year's World Cup? |
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| Mr. Pither | Jun 29 2009, 03:58 PM Post #18 |
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I saw the match and Germany were fully deserving the win. England had no answer for Mesut Ozil who had a splendid match. It was his swerving free kick which Loach misjudged for the 2nd goal but Ozil's passing and running set up the first German goal and Wagner's later goal, the third on the evening. I could not help but think Peter Bonetti and his ill fated performance in the 1970 World Cup when he came on for the injured Gordon Banks as Watford's Scott Loach was hardly a capable stand in for the suspended Joe Hart. But Loach was not why England lost. Germany were the better team. Solid defending, good goalkeeping, industrious midfield work and in Ozil they had their creative genius. Germany are now the European champions at the U-17, U-19 and U-21 levels. Perhaps a good sign for the future? As for which players can make the jump up to Joachim Low's senior team, as I discussed before, Manuel Neuer has a good chance to become Germany's goalkeeper as soon as this fall, Ozil is a real talent but still floats in and out of games. With Diego leaving Werder Bremen, Ozil will now have the opportunity to be Werder's chief playmaker and that should make him into a valuable player for Low's Mannschaft. I think Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck is a candidate at right back while the two central defenders Howedes and Jerome Boateng also might be able to make the jump up. In midfield Patrick Ebert who missed this final and Sami Khedira are also options in midfield. Marko Marin has also played for the full team a few times and is an exciting talent at winger but I thought he had a poor tournament. So Simon, what do you think of England's players making the move up? Micah Richards already is a full international even if Capello doesn't seem to favour him. James Milner is a possibility but right now England has better options in midfield than he. I thought Bolton's Fabrice Muamba had a good tournament and may become an option at defensive midfield. Walcott of course is a dynamic right wing but was forced here to play out of position at forward but he'll be called up by Capello this fall to play his rightful position. As for Agbonlahor, he has incredible speed (wouldn't a sprint between Walcott and Agbonlahor be interesting?) and I think Capello may eventually find a role for him but for now Defoe is a better option. |
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P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD | |
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| Simon | Jun 30 2009, 01:48 PM Post #19 |
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I've seen the goals and a bunch of chances that England went close with at 2-0, but that's all. That second goal was dreadful, and it's easy to see it as a game-breaker right after half time. But it's disappointing all round - remember in the group stage that England fielded their reserves against Germany's full team in a game Germany needed something out of, and it finished 1-1. That suggests something went badly wrong for England last night. Maybe the effects of the epic semi with Sweden? Well, the post-mortem will continue but as for the more important issue of who will make the grade at full international level, England are really badly off for goalkeepers right now so Joe Hart must have a chance especially as he's on loan at Birmingham for the coming season and so will be getting regular top flight football. Left-back Kieran Gibbs was excellent for Arsenal in the second half of the season. City defender Nedum Onuoha is really highly-rated but must surely get regular football for City before he can play for England. Micah Richards' early impact seems to have declined amid dark mutterings about his poor attitude. He needs to realise that he hasn't 'made it' yet. He has lost the RB slot in the full team to Glen Johnson, especially now Johnson's gone to Liverpool for £18m. Middlesbrough's Adam Johnson and Andrew Taylor are both good young talents (Johnson is a tricky left-winger and that has been a problem position for England, but now Ashley Young is on the scene!) but their club's relegation will hurt their chances. Lee Cattermole and Fabrice Muamba played virtually every game for Wigan and Bolton respectively this season so they have 'experience' on their side, but as you say England are not short of quality centre-mids. I reckon Muamba would have the better chance but he hasn't yet lived up to the early 'English Vieira' hype. The more I see of Everton's Jack Rodwell the more impressed I am, although he's only 18 and is another centre-mid. Watch out for Mark Noble, who is already pretty much the fulcrum of Zola's midfield at West Ham. Milner is a really gifted player but he can be inconsistent. Him and Rooney were greeted with almost equal excitement six years ago. Maybe the comparison is unfair, but look at the career paths of those two since 2003. Milner's status as the record cap holder for the Under-21 team is a double-edged sword if ever there was one! Agbonlahor should really now be a fixture in the full squad, he is a brilliant player. Theo Walcott is already an important cog in the full team (he needs to improve his consistency though). Fraizer Campbell will be released by United this summer. Good player, but I kind of doubt he'll make the full international grade. Hull looks a likely destination. Meanwhile 18 year-old Danny Welbeck will stay at United (he and 17 year-old Macheda make up half United's strike force at the moment, along with Rooney and Berbatov!). Ferguson raised eyebrows in a recent interview when he said Welbeck will be in the England squad for the World Cup. I think that's premature - he's scored a couple of outstanding goals for United but he still looks gangly and very raw. We'll see how he develops in this coming season. |
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| Manzanares | Jun 30 2009, 02:10 PM Post #20 |
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Interesting to read about the prospects from Germany, England and Italy here. I'll comment on a few of Spain's hoepfuls. Spain underacheved in this tournament by not getting out of it's group but since the two finlaists were also in there, maybe that should not be too much of a surprise. After years of excellent coaching from Inaki Saez and Santiesteban at this level, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro was coaching Spain in this competition and he as never been a coach who has inspired much confidence in me. As for top prospects from this team, well the three best in this age group were, as Merengue wrote before in this thread, with Spain's senior team at the Confederations Cup-Pique, Mata and Busquets. Bojan krkic is a player with a lot of potential and should eventually force his way onto del Bosque's senior team. Actually with Iniesta and Silva injured in South Africa, Bojan may have been able to help Spain's wing play. Two other wingers also deserve mention, Diego Capel of Sevilla on the left and Pedro Leon of Valladolid on the right. Capel had a great debut season 2 years ago but this last season he was inconsistent. But he runs all game long, is a good dribbler and if he stabilizes his club position, he can get into the senior team picture. leon is a big guy for a winegr but is quick and has a pretty good shot, there is plenty of competition for a place, but he can if he continues to improve make a case for himself. In midfield, the competition is of course fierce on the senior team. Nevertheless, Atletico's Raul Garcia and Athletic Bilbao's Javier martinez, particularly Martinez are players who can challeneg for a position especially with marcos Senna getting up in age. Defensively, Cesar Azpilicueta of Osasuna and Espanyol's Sergio Sanchez are two players I think del Bosque should look at this fall as he is looking for a backup to Sergio Ramos. Another Osasuna defender, left back Nacho Monreal may also be a future national team candidate. Meanwhile in goal Valladolid's Sergio Asenjo, rumoured off this smmer to Atletico Madrid, is Spain's goalkeeper of the future. But with casillas, Reina, Lopez, Palop and Valdes all ahead of him, it may take eyars before Asenjo gets an opportunity. |
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| Yogi | Jul 1 2009, 11:22 AM Post #21 |
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I would include Atalanta's midfielder Luca Cigarini in a list of Italy's players likely to soon make the move up to the senior national team. With Pirlo getting older, I think Cigarini and Udinese's Gaetano D'Agostino will be fighting post 2010 to take over his playmaker role. In the meantime both have I think an opportunity to make the Azzurri's 2010 team as Pirlo's reserve. Ozil is a great talent but as discussed he does drift in and out of games. The oportunity he will now have with Diego leaving Bremen should help make Ozil a more complete and consistent player. If so then he can be the player Germany needs to upgrade it's midfield. |
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