6115_isi_tallmaki_usmntu20dr053015129 David Rowland/photosport.co.nz/isiphotos.com
U-20 World Cup Preview

Despite Losing Maki Tall, U.S. Should Beat All Whites

Playing the host nation in a World Cup is never easy, but the U.S. under-20 men's national team should have the upper hand against New Zealand in Tuesday's late-night/early-morning clash.
BY Josh Deaver Posted
June 01, 2015
7:30 PM

AS HOST NATION, there was no road to the men's under-20 World Cup for New Zealand. Awarded the tournament in 2011, the All Whites simply had to show up.

In a way, it’s quite similar to Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) qualifying, where New Zealand has won the 2007, 2011, and 2013 qualifying tournaments with goal differentials of +17, +21 and +11 respectively. Sounds impressive until you check the stats for OFC’s other heavyweights: Vanuatu, Fiji, Tahiti, American Samoa, and New Caledonia—not exactly the vanguard of international football.

That said, you only play who you can, and since Australia switched to the Asian Football Confederation after the 2005 tournament, New Zealand has become a big fish in a very, very, very small pond. In only its fourth trip to the FIFA under-20 World Cup, the All Whites have never progressed past the group stage, nor registered a victory—scoring only four goals in nine matches.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Despite automatic qualification, the run-up to the tournament hasn’t exactly filled head coach Darren Bazeley’s side with confidence. Posting a 2-11-2 record over the past two years, New Zealand has defeated only Morocco (September 2014) and Panama (May 2015) while drawing Brazil and, most recently, Ukraine on Match Day 1.

The squad is drawn primarily from New Zealand club teams, with Wanderers SC (a club comprised of mostly U-20 players who also play together in the New Zealand Football Championship) and Wellington Phoenix (Australian A-League) accounting for 14 of the 21 players on the roster. The remainder of the squad is comprised from those playing in American universities and lower divisions in England and Spain.

The star of the squad is former Los Angeles Galaxy academy resident and team captain Bill Tuiloma, who currently features for Olympique de Marseilles in the French top flight. Tuiloma is very much the on-field leader for this team, and an off-field representation for a hopeful future in New Zealand football.

It’s not often that the All Whites see many, if any, minutes for first-division European clubs. Tuiloma became the latest name on a very short list when he made his debut for the Marseilles first team in February. With nine caps for the U-20s, Tuiloma typically lines up in central midfield—if only because coach Bazeley can’t play him in every position.

ASN recently spoke to Tuiloma, who spoke on his team’s chances. “Having home advantage is huge, yes it gives us a bit of pressure, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance of having the second-biggest football tournament in our country,” he commented. "So we will be ready and take on the challenge.”

Scouting this team? Well, that’s a little tricky. Unlike Myanmar, where I had 20-plus hours of game footage at my disposal, I currently have more footage of the New Zealand under-20 hockey team (yes, they do the Haka on skates) than I do from their footy-playing compatriots. Best I could do is extended highlights, shot from the stands, of their World Cup opener against Ukraine.

First off, the team is not as technical as Myanmar. Given their athleticism, New Zealand has a tendency to lump it forward in order to spark their offensive movement. Deployed in a 4-2-3-1 formation, New Zealand's primary scoring threats are both midfielders, Clayton Lewis and Alex Rufer, although Rufer started up top against Ukraine.

The duo has combined for five of the teams eight goals in 2015. Their scoring spark will be needed as none of New Zealand’s forward selections have scored in 16 combined appearances.

New Zealand will have a couple of important advantages in their World Cup run. Home-field advantage will obviously help give the All White’s a physiological edge but, similar to Myanmar, New Zealand’s squad has a remarkable familiarity. Nine of the 21 players feature together on the same club team in New Zealand, including three of the four starting defenders. By selecting the squad he did, coach Bazeley has kept a relatively consistent squad throughout the run-up to the tournament

Against Ukraine, there wasn’t much to write home about. Very few chances were created, with the best of the opportunities coming in the second half after a nervy opening period. Despite the draw, the All White’s looked competent to handle Ukraine, which boasts professional players from accomplished domestic clubs like Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.

After the match, New Zealand’s small cadre of professional players applauded the effort via social media. Bazeley was happy as well.

“It wasn’t a game where we sat back and defended for a draw," he said. "We tried to win the game and the two or three chances that we created were very close and we kept a clean sheet which was great for us.

 “What we’ve got to remember is that we’ve played today against a team full of professional footballers and that’s not something we have. But when you’re watching the game you wouldn’t have said there was a big difference between the two teams. We showed a lot of heart and we showed we can compete against this level of players.”

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE U.S.

The match against Myanmar was not the walkover it was predicted to be. Utilizing a combination of high pressure, technical play, and a “nobody believes in us” fighting spirit, the Burmese players took the Americans to the limit and very easily could’ve equalized in the dying minutes of the opening group match.

The All Whites, utilizing a more athletic and physical type of game, do not have the same kind of opposing qualities that gave the U.S. so many problems on Saturday. In a like-for-like scenario, the Americans should be easily favored.

It’s not every tournament where you go up against minnows from both the OFC and the AFC, and Tab Ramos’ squad, with the nerves hopefully flushed away after game one, should be looking to come out hard against the hosts.

Ramos will necessarily tweak his roster. Striker Maki Tall—perhaps the best player on the field against Myanmar—will be forced to miss the remainder of the tournament with a broken toe. Rubio Rubin and Bradford Jamieson are going to have to pick up the slack for Tall, who has netted five goals in six appearances with the U-20s.

After nearly breaking the internet with his arrival, Gedion Zelalem is seemingly penciled in to everyone’s starting lineups now—including my own. Despites some shaky moments, he is exceedingly calm on the ball and looked a class above in only a few simple touches. There are no brakes on this hype train.

On the other side, midfielder Marky Delgado and defender Shaq Moore seemed to struggle the most against the pace of play and could see themselves replaced for Tuesday’s match.

PROJECTED STARTING XI

Steffen; Requejo, Miazga, Carter-Vickers, Payne; Acosta, Hyndman, Zelalem, Thompson; Jamieson, Rubin.

ASN Contributing Editor Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter. 

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