102015_isi_adamstyler_intlml0722151315 Mike Lawrence/isiphotos.com
U-17 World Cup

U.S. U-17s Need a Result Today in World Cup Clash

Richie Williams’ U-17 side lost its World Cup opener to Nigeria and may turn to some fresh faces—like Luca de la Torre and Tyler Adams—in today’s crucial game against Croatia.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
October 20, 2015
9:40 AM

THE UNITED STATES U-17 NATIONAL TEAM hopes to get its World Cup campaign back on track on Tuesday, when it takes on Croatia (4pm ET, Fox Sports 2) in a game that pretty much demands a result. Following Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Nigeria, head coach Richie Williams will likely make several changes to his starting lineup.

Two fresh names to expect are Tyler Adams and Luca de la Torre, both of whom are among the fastest risers on this roster in 2015.

De la Torre, 17, has developed into a top prospect at English Championship side Fulham, where he has made the transition from the club’s U-18 team to the U-21s. In August, aided by his Spanish passport, he signed a professional contract there. The San Diego native plays in central midfield, where he likes to get involved in the attack and use his creativity in the final third.

On Tuesday, de la Torre is likely to start in an attacking midfield formation alongside Christian Pulisic against a strong Croatian team that tied host Chile in the opening match.

“I think we have a very attack-minded group of players, and we're unique because a lot of these attackers can play many different positions,” de la Torre told American Soccer Now from Chile. “So there is a lot of interchanging going forward, and I think it is going to cause a lot of trouble. We have a very deep squad, and we can throw out a lot of different players each game.

“It gives the coaching staff a lot of options for each opponent.”

De La Torre is ambitious for both club and country, with twin goals of helping the U.S. advance to the knockout stage and to make his first-team debut with Fulham at some point this season. In both cases, it helps that he plays up an age group at the U-21 level—and also spends time training with the senior team each week.

“I've been through a lot playing in an older age group, playing against players who are bigger and stronger than me,” de la Torre said. “It helps my speed of play and decision-making. It's just another step in the process.”

“He's such a creative player,” Adams said of de la Torre. “He can do all sorts of tricks with the ball that a lot of players can't do. His creativity, his dribbling, and basically his IQ of the game is so high that it really helps the team in the attack.”

Adams, 16, is looking to make his own impact on the team despite being one of the youngest players on the roster. The Red Bulls product is very versatile, capable of playing either fullback spot, central defense, and in the midfield. He initially wasn’t sure what his role would be in this tournament but the likelihood now is that he slots in at right back.

Hailing from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., Adams signed with Red Bulls II in the USL earlier this year. Like de la Torre at Fulham, however, he has trained with the first team on a regular basis. At midseason, in fact, he made his first-team debut in a friendly against Chelsea, scoring in a 4-2 win over the defending Premier League champions

All signs point to Adams being a cog for the Red Bulls—he certainly has a long track record with the club despite his youth. Adams began his affiliation with the Red Bulls at the U-13 level and  worked his way up to the U-14s, the U-16s, and all the way through to the new USL side. A homegrown contract looks to be the next step.

“I think having your second team training next to your first team, like how we do it with the Red Bulls, is great,” Adams said. “In the USL, the speed of play and the physicality and all those small things have helped me so much to prepare to play for the first team. That's a big factor in having the USL as a resource—you can produce players faster as well.

“I just have to keep working hard.”

While both Adams and de la Torre have made steady progress with their clubs, the most important international game so far in their young careers will come Tuesday. Nigeria exposed some serious flaws in the U.S. side, and it’s essential now that Williams and his players respond with a strong performance.

The young Yanks struggled in World Cup qualifying earlier in the year before finally qualifying via a shootout win over Jamaica. The team was uneven at best in that tournament, but de la Torre said he’s confident that he and his teammates have learned from the experience.

“We're more resilient,” de la Torre said. “We've had better responses since going down a goal as a group than we showed in qualifying. That is definitely a big improvement because we might not always be leading during the World Cup. We'll be ready if we're not.”

Adams echoed this sentiment.

“Qualifying was tough, but even when it got tough, we stuck through it. My expectations for myself are obviously to play well and help the team in any role I can. I think more than anything we're an attacking team, and you can see that with how many goals we've scored. In the past two years we've scored around 170 goals.

“But a lot of our guys also do a lot work on the defensive side—guys like Hugo Arellano, Matt Olosunde, Johnny Nelson. They do a lot of dirty work that sometimes people leave out.”

Post a comment

AmericanSoccerNow.