The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team takes on Mexico today in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Final in Puebla, Mexico (7pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
Both teams have already qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey this summer, but bragging rights are on the line today as the Americans look to build on their unbeaten run through the tournament. Mexico also enters unbeaten and will have the home-field advantage behind them.
If you will be watching today’s CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Final, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
Aaargghhh!!!
Hang in there!!
awful defending
am I to assumed we are down 0-1
Gonna be a LONG night for Cropper!
Ahhhh!!!
Too bad both teams can’t lose
impressive opening 10 minutes even before the PK equalizer
GO USA!!!
pk!
Wow! That was POWER!! Go USMNT!
1-1 after 10 and a bunch of chances in between. This is a hell of a game!
USA USA USA
Wow. This is wide open. 2 goals, a great Cropper save to deny Mexico’s 2nd, Mexico clearing one off the line on their end.
5-4 final?
not sure about the penalty call. Mexican defender did go down early, then the ball ricochets off his torso and bobbles off arms. Guess he shouldn’t have lied down so prematurely.
USA ties it up, which is cool with me.
What was Ramos so pissed off about- offsides non-call?
It’s gotta slow down now.
I wish I knew what was written on his shirt after that goal celebration for USA!
Te amo mamá
Since most of our starters are Latino and many are likely Mexican-American, how many could make Chivas Jr.’s game day roster? I think Joya, Cuevas, and Villereal could make the bench.
Villareal may just start for the Galaxy when he returns after this game
Although Magee got a hat trick today. Good day in L.A.
good point!!!
I’m a big fan of Mexico’s all black uniforms. It’s very meaningful with black appearing no where on their flag and no previous successful Mexico teams wearing it.
It makes them look like thugs; which is ironic since this is probably the least thug-like Mexico team I’ve ever seen.
Their Olympic team wore them.
Nope, Olympic team wore White and Green, by a different clothing co.
Red too.
They wore them in one of the qualifiers leading up to the Olympics.
such an aggressive game played at an exhilarating pace. Great attacking, great energy.
Or poor defending?
well, sure. Still fun to watch. : )
Cropper!!
slide from behind should have been a red for me on the Mexican [captain?]. Didn’t follow through overly aggressively, but it was a slide from behind. Mexican gets a yellow and everybody gets in everybody’s face for a bit.
There’s nothing in the Laws about harsher punishments for a challenge from behind, those days are…behind us
Damn ref, that was a PK in favor of the US
that’s a PK…Briseno again too
attack him!!!
Horrible tackle from behind. Typical dirty tactics by Mexico against us. Looks like a little Marquez in the making, and now a non-penalty call.
The US was dirty too.
That was a pretty clear-cut penalty.
Someone needs to tell our boys that they are supposed to be intimidated playing Mexico in Mexico.
These no calls are not cool.
I absolutely love seeing us push the attack and pressure high defensively…rare to see such a wide open game…really like Joya in the middle…quick insightful ball movement and solid defending.
Why did Gil have to leave the squad? Please don’t tell me RSL called him back, that would be ridiculous.Mexico have won this tourney 12 times and we have not one win.Thats a big WOW from me.
Would have been cool to see both teams a full strength, but I guess playing 1st division football is better.
The team has already qualified for the World Cup in Turkey in June….so him returning to RSL was the right move….as he will be gone for about 3 weeks in June for the competition….
Several other players also returned to their club sides…
True, being seeded at a world cup is overrated…
Seeding for World Cup Round I is based on ranking, which is determined by previous World Cup results…
Not for u20 WC, which is what this thread is about…
That is incorrect…what I wrote is correct…
Read about it here:
link to wiki.hattrick.org
Read about here, from FIFA.
“The other five FIFA continental champions go into Pot 1″
link to fifa.com
could also argue that playing a final vs. Mexico in Mexico has plenty of value for the maturation of the young player for the club, but I’m not disagreeing.
They will get plenty of that aginst the likes of Germany, Englad etc in Turkey in June…
Briseno = Rafa Marquez jr. Red Card ASAP
Honestly.
I love that the us team is diverse. That’s why we will always be number 1:)
I really like Ramos. Can we make him National team coach? I know it would be to expensive too buy out Klinnsmann. So maybe USSF can keep him on as yoga coach.
Can we just force JK to take Ramos as his bench coach/tactician? Please?
great test here after getting straight up jobbed twice
I like his team’s grit, belief, toughness along with the tactics so far 65th minute
What’s the score?
1-1
1-1
W.T.F.
2 stone cold penalties turned down…
USA with another PK denied by the ref…wow….even the announcers are talking about it….
what a joke…and we worked them so good on that
our region is gutless and afraid to call it right, again.
Ref was thinking I’m not going to give 2 pens against Mexico in Mexico.I might not make it out of Puebla.
How true
2nd pk not called. Welcome to CONCACAF boys.
Horrible officiating blunder.
Is Mexico starting to fall apart here?
Yeah the ref was bad I agree, Mexico should’ve ended with 4 goals but 1 was taken away on a bs call.
Dear god you’re a fool.
Sure buddy.
Dirty”!!!!!!!!
More dirtiness
I think it might be Cuevas time.
Kyle McCarthy reports he has an ankle knock.
But he’s on the bench right?
Yep.
elbow to the face…gutless refs allowing gutless plays
cheap, sad, expected unfortunately
How bout one more roll escabosa?
Take that joto. At least he didn’t give that obvious yellow to Joya.
ha! Mexico launching long balls from the back four from the pressure…interesting, 70th minute
Cropper again!!!
can the Americans continue with the energy for the final 15 minutes? If they can they have a great chance. ref owes as well so next time if it comes should get the whistle
These American kids are good on the ball.
they sure are
Wow what a miss.
What a cross! It was right thereee
Both American goalkeepers are playing awesome tonight!
HA!, reading the comments on an internet feed they’re about the same but reversed, Mexico vs Mexico B
If that’s what they think then “Mexico B” has played them pretty well…
Given how play has gone they’re referring to themselves as Mexico B, right?
This ref is calling everything for Mexico and nada for the USA…blatent….
When the Mexican announcers are calling out the Mexican players for flopping you know it’s bad.
Piss off!
The US dived plenty of times, and not just in this game but throughout the tourney, a lot of people that aren’t wearing fanboy goggles noticed it.
Cropper yells at his backline like Howard does LOL!
C’mon guys…2 minutes!
I wish Gil was still with the team! Wow! Great game so far!
Chris Sullivan stop pronouncing Javan Torre’s name in Spanish.Hes black not Latino.
You can be black and Latino.
Sorry, African American.
Score?
1-1, full 90. Awaiting overtime. This US team is fearless and aggressive. Playing beautiful attacking football. It is a joy to watch.
Kid falling asleep. Will be back to tv son
. Thanks
Awesommmmmme!!! This US team kicks a**.
Did ramos use any subs?
No. Only 16 dressed for game.
think I heard Sullivan say 33 of thos were GKs
make that 3 GKs
Not yet
Damn good game
No way to stop that! Oh well…
So sad that the US players didn’t get their just win in regulation with BOTH stonecold penalties not given to them.
Welcome to the rigged world of CONCACAF kids!
Refs in Mexico are renowned for their home cooking. You see it all the time in Champions League.
True, but this ref isn’t from Mexico. Not sure how you come to that conclusion.
I said “refs in Mexico”. Last I checked, this game was in Mexico. Wake up, bro. And I came to the conclusion after watching MANY games played in Mexico by US teams.
Maybe they will learn to not leave things to the refs next time.
by running thru take downs in the area because they won’t be called??? unfortunately there was no running thru either of those, they were take downs. zebra didn’t miss this one on us tho did he
This. +1
I’ll tip my hat on Mexico’s second goal.
This ref has been atrocious though.
Word.
I would say Mexico has had the better of the play overall by a slight margin, but the US absolutely could have won this in regulation. Even if the US can’t come back, this was a really impressive performance in Mexico with a short bench/missing starters.
I really don’t want to see Mexico lift that trophy.
Mark it, dude. Their gonna lift it. Courtesy of the ref.
They’re gonna lift it, I meant…
They lifted it!
Even at the u-20′s, it’s amusing to see the rehearsed feigned broken ankles and legs that magically occur with a lead/minutes left in a match and magically heal only seconds later.
It’s disgusting.
I have alaways hated the mexican bunch of expletives
Team*
The announcers in English lose whatever shred of credibility they had by stating “the ref has missed a couple for both sides”.
Sorry. No.
The ref missed one that might have been tough to see in the first half, and missed a clear PK in the second half. I haven’t seen anything close to a PK for Mexico called or not.
Tru dat.
Spot on. I was thinking the same thing when they said that. We could have had 4 penalties. The only penalty that could have been called on us was. So no, it was not even.
That sucked, esp. when we did not get the penalty and/or red card earlier!
Hmm. Looks like the ref suddenly remembered what a penalty looks like. Douchebag…
Unf*($#king believable from the commentators AND the referee.
Gloves off–you’re all ch&#$&#ting b*$#$ards.
Anyone have a link? Firstrow doesn’t seem to be working atm.
link to zonasports.me
thanks. looks like I’m a bit late to the party
Game’s over, dude.
3-1 Refs+Mex over the US
Don’t rely on the ref to save you.
I’m a Mexican NT fan but I gotta say I’m impressed with the US U-20. If they continue to develop the US will have more players unafraid to play Mexico in Mexico.
And the rivalry just gets better. These teams are going to have bad blood for awhile after this match….all the better for a great continuity of one of the best rivalries in sports.
***mexico+refs in Mexico. If we’d just played against Mexico, game would’ve ended in penalties at worst. Haha but thanks for the sentiments and agree, this bunch looks good
The US is not afraid to play Mexico in Mexico.
For one thing, a number of them now play in Mexico.
The USMNT may lose in Azteca but they certainly won’t be afraid.
Certainly not afraid to ‘miss kick’ a pass into a mexican player in coed soccer and make sure it hits hard.
Everyone who has played soccer at the highest level knows that by the middle of the second half, your legs feels like lead. You’d have to look to other means to motivate your team. That is why you are allowed 3 changes…to add some pep to your offence and to inject some energy into the team and perhaps bring in a new play. Having these young men play over 100 mins of play is unbelievable. I have no idea what Ramos was thinking.
No healthy subs.
He only had 2 field players to sub in and one of them was a defenseman. Only 16 dressed (3 were gk and Cuevas was hurt).
We didn’t have subs. 5 subs. 2 goalies. Cuevas injured. A center back and Allen who came on for a defender. What else could we have done?
robert,
You got one thing right. You have no idea.
How is it that guys like you always assume you are smarter than a guy like Ramos?
It’s an overtime game. And a FINAL. No reason to save players. If Ramos didn’t sub enough there was probably an excellent reason.
well they really had to get some help tonight did Mexico. that free kick the USA executed and fooled the crap out of Mexico was a thing of beauty ended with a buther’s play and a yellow zebra
it’s cowardly, but that’s our region. lots of bravado and chest thumping, and always the help from the officials to support it
+1. Proud of our fight, deserved much better but unfortunately you come to expect it
This ref is terrible, clear goal called offsides.
at least the game had already been ‘decided’ by then…hahaha!
LOL at the ref receiving a medal
It’s a shame this tournament was won by refs.
The USA is the true champion. They showed heart and skill.
The Mexicans… well, they showed they can pay off the ref.
Mexico is the champion, sorry.
Wow you couldn’t be any more wrong. Mexico finished with all wins, outscoring opponents 13-1, so how was USA the champion? because they had 1 inspired game?
This US U-20 team player their heart out, they will be fun to watch at the World Cup at full strenght, I hope they meet Mexico at the World Cup and avenge this atrocity. Go USA.
+10,000 I would give anything to get revenge in the knockout round. With Cuevas, Gil, etc back in the lineup, and more importantly with even refereeing, we will beat Mexico
You can’t say that for sure, anything can happen.
Thank you Ellie Goulding
2 penalties not given in regulation and goal not given in extra time.
F%$*%$* the Mexicans.
Watch the CCL refs when we are playing the Mexican teams in Mexico, that is clown refereeing at its best. That said at least we accomplished the main goal. Qualifying for the U-20 World Cup.
F*** you, the first penalty wasn’t even a penalty, and the US dived a lot. Mexico deserved winners.
Right. And the Mexicans weren’t diving?
Maybe, I didn’t see it but the US divers were clear as day.
Right. Again not being honest with yourself.
I watched it and did not notice any diving from Mexicans. A USA player dived in the box and got penalized for it I believe.
I don’t know why you guys are crying, the first PK was total b.s.. Taking that into account Mexico still would have won. If the U.S. was so much better tonight they should have scored the goals
F”! Mexico, always cheating and the referees helping them, Mexico wouldn´t have won, a penalty changes things, a goal for the USA and the are done, always the same crap against the US.
Don’t rely on pk calls from the refs.
We lost. Played well but Mexico is a lot better. A lot. Blaming the refs is pathetic
I don’t know about a lot. The game was pretty even. Should have been a red. But yes when you are playing a team that is short many players they can be ‘a lot’ better’.
Except that’s not true.
Even without our best players we were the better team. They should have had a player ejected and we did what he had to to earn two penalties in the first that were inexplicably not given to us.
We also had a completely legitimate goal taken away and they were gifted an OT penalty. We dominated them, and it isn’t blaming the ref when the ref doesn’t do his job.
We won in OT. The ref decided otherwise.
RT*
This is CONCACAF. If you want to insure winning, make it so the ref is not relevant.
Otherwise, stop crying and STFU. That is the lesson for the Under 20s. They will see worse before they are done if they keep playing international ball.
Read my name.
Mexico got a goal called back, you should’ve lost 4-1 loser.
A lot better? A lot? What game did you watch. It can be argued that the US played better.
There was a great deal of exciting soccer in this game. The US U20s played with style and passion and made some good chances. As has been previously mentioned, this looks good for our future!
Why do you think Mexico Used all 3 changes? I’m not sure of what Dellacamera meant when he kept going on about the players not tired and a change not necessary in his commentary, that was hogwash. They players were tired and disillusioned! Ramos keeps the players on the field too long.
I’ll agree with that, Mario Rodriguez needed to be subbed off, he was a deer on ice the whole game.
JP Dellacamera, however you spell his name, is a garbage soccer announcer and should go back to Hockey.
I’ve been saying this for years, when he was on ESPN.
What did you all expect? We had 3 clear penalties, but this is Mexico at home, there is always guaranteed funny business.
A red, two uncalled penaltes, Mexico is not a lot better, they are just lucky, I wish we could witness a freaking change at the referees in the region!!!
We are beating them at the Azteca!!1
Cry more.
You know what’s salty? My balls. Lick them.
You licked mine after last night’s game.
It´s funny how the mexicans rely on referees to win, one of thos two penalties called and it´s a very different story, but whatever, that´s how they win in everything they do, by cheating
What’s funny is how usmnt fans pile on the excuses. This was Mexico U20′s worst performance I’ve seen from them, and they still beat your team which you claim played so great.
Art, are u a freaking idiot?, watch the game again!!
You won’t see a team work that hard for a long time. They must have been absolutely exhausted but didn’t let it show. They just kept running and runnin and running. I’m proud of them especially since we didn’t have nearly a full squad. They’re gunna be a group to watch come the the World Cup in Turkey. Joya was my man of the match. USA!
Why is no one complaining about the first pk? ahh i see when the ref makes a mistake in our favor he’s a good ref? Game over, we lost. Mex was better.
You’re not one of us.
Lmao seriously? God forbid someone isn’t a blind US fanboy.
Yo mama.
Mexico won, you’re correct. However, “…but Mexico is a lot better.” as you said earlier. You’re incredibly incorrect.
Just saying that every call can be questioned. At the end of the day mex didnt lose a game scored 13 goals and was scored against once. But lets be realistic. Mex was better the whole tournament. A lot better.
Yo grandmama.
nope. the region jobs the US always, and in Mexico the worst. it’s not complaining or blaming, it’s recognizing reality Art
the task has ALWAYS been to overcome it anyway, known by any team USA follower
except when they play Canada
Being a casual observer of the American team, I have to admit that the game was pretty balance when it came to the ref’s decisions. However, with the start of the second half alot of fouling of the U.S. players in and around the penalty box.
I agree, we should have scored regardless of penalties. And that penalty in OT was merited, if our defense wasn’t so flat footed that wouldn’t have happened.
Finally someone makes sense, if the US was so superior like many people on here claim they would’ve scored legit goals and put the Mexicans away in 90 without relying on pk calls from the ref.
One cannot score a goal when one is about to shoot and is fouled and taken down from behind the moment a goal is inevitable.
See PK no call on our beautifully taken set piece- the US player had just started his shooting motion and certainly would have scored (he was only a few yards from goal, perfect chance, just him and the keeper) when the Mexican player trips him. That directly took a goal off the scoreboard for us, and we got no PK to show for it.
Regardless of what players got fouled and where, the US did have some good chances, should’ve taken them instead of hoping to get pks called.
So we qualify, but it really sucks we can’t bea a third world country in this sport.
Are soccer development is still in its infancy compared to other nations, that said other nations wouldn’t have much to play for if we were also a strong soccer playing nation.
*Our
True, we should be able to walk over third world countries like Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, with our economic POWER.
That’s the second time you have tried to put words into somebody’s mouth. Take your agenda elsewhere. We are discussing soccer here.
Yo mama
Look forward to seeing what this team can do this summer when the refs aren’t paid off.
Oh, they’ll be paid off. It’s FIFA after all.
However, it probably won’t so greatly benefit our immediate neighbors to the south.
First u.s pk was mot a penalty, second was and third was not.
Brisueno should have gotten a red.
Joya should have gotten a yellow.
The fourth Mexico goal was not off sides.
Intense match and concaf will be very well represented
Uhm both of the latter two non PK calls were clear cut PK’s.
Very even game. Ref not as bad as some say. I give more credit to the US for playing Mexico at their home making it a very even match.
We could have had 4 penalties though I know that’s a bit of a stretch. The most obvious one not getting called, was inexcusable not to call. We won that game.
You lost.
Not in anyone’s eyes who watched objectively. The final score say otherwise, but if you don’t think that ref game Mexico that game, then you aren’t being honest with yourself.
Don’t rely on the refs to serve you goals on a plate.
If the Mexicans weren’t fouling in the box then we don’t have to rely on the refs.
There WERE times where the Mexican defense was legitimately beaten, should’ve taken your chances.
I liked this team spirit, but they play some dirty football I’ve never seen from the US before. The elbow to the face O’Neill threw to the Mex player, and the tackle by Cropper on the Mex after he scored. Who does he think he is, Oswaldo Sanchez?
Honestly from my point of view it looked as if Cropper was already on the ground and the Mex player didn’t see him and tripped over him, no malice intended. But it was quick and I wasn’t paying that much attention, so I could be wrong. But gotta love the way the US played this tourney, gives me hope.
Could not be more proud of the kids from USA!!! Absolutely fantastic game by everyone. My kids (4 and 6) love playing soccer but before this game they were not really interested in watching it. It was really fun to see them screaming for the USA. Kudos to the team and Tab Ramos. I need to rest my voice . . .
Congrats to Mexico for barely beating oh wait for it a depleted US team that was without most of their best players due to injury, players leaving, and players that weren’t released.
This US team will be something to watch at the WC when they have their best players.
And yes the ref was poo, but we all should know that refs from CONCACAF are crap.
+1,000,000^100
They were without some of their better players too.Relax! We played well. It’s not a big deal…
Mexico was also missing several players.
Stay salty loser.
Wow this team had heart, They ripped mexico to shreds in the first
35 minutes. we shoulda had 2 clear penalties and a red card in the first half, but thats what happens when the mexicans pay the ref. And benji joya is just the man, what a player, what personality, he gave everthing he had out on the field today. Really look forward to him being a future u.s. senior team player
It will def be interesting to see if guys like JAB and Henley accept a call up to the world cup squad.Henley esp since it supposedly cap ties him to the US.
Tough result as the US dictated more of the game than Mexico. The inexperienced defense unfortunately cost us. Would have been nice to have Gil & Cuevas for the final, but it’s not worth arguing since Trapp and Lopez really picked it up.
What finally separated the teams was finishing, and a little bit of gamesmanship. When you’re bossing a game, you can’t bring in subs to change the tempo. Mexico, however, was able to get back in by doing that.
As much as we’d like to talk about missed calls, we have to realize that the ref wasn’t that bad. Sometimes you miss calls. It’s part of the game for as long as there’s no instant replay (which will be forever). Consider this… the guy awarded the US a PK in Mexico. Period. You would never have seen that a decade ago. And they called back a potentially onside goal for Mexico.
Considering…
-US started the tourney poorly
-Several definite starters didn’t even come to the tourney (Brooks, Packwood, Pelosi)
-The refs finally called a USA-Mexico match in Mexico both ways
-There are some definite prospects in the B+ U20 team (Joya, Cuevas, Gil, Villareal, and after tonight I might even add Trapp)
…I’m not crying too bad. I’ll sleep easy with the belief that the U.S. takes this match if it were played at a neutral site.
lol that salty guy has no life haha
Why is that maykol, is it because you don’t like what I have to say?I give the US some credit, they weren’t as bad as I thought they would be and put up a fight. There were moments where I thought the game could have gone either way.
lol, thanks for proving my point buddy, you, according to control+F, have written 20 plus comments on an article about the team that you hate, lol cause you have nothing better todo, haha do you even play soccer? but you gave me a couple chuckles ill give you that
Your butthurt is getting ridiculous now.
It was never my intention to come here and pick fights with people, I just wanted to see what you guys thought of the game, I’ve done it before. A lot of the comments are fair.
But when I see people making excuses and accusing refs of being paid off etc. (as if Mexico hasn’t gotten bad calls against them this tournament) I will call them out on it. I appreciate anyone who can accept the defeat, congratulate Mexico and be on their way.
I give your team credit and you still attack me, grow up…
lol whatever you say boss, and thanks for the paragraphs, lol
Yep whatever I say, thanks, and you’re welcome.
great game…I blame the loss on the US soccer federation and MLS mentality. We get to a championship game and they send people home before the game. Isn’t klinsmann all about game time experience? What better way to have game time experience than at the final of a game. We played an excellent game and we had no real subs. That is ridiculous. Are you trying to tell me that the US only has those players? Poor planning poor priorities and lots of hypocricy. Are you trying to tell me that missing one MLS game is something that ruins an MLS team? Were the players that went home really needed or were they bench players? When club soccer is more important to the mentalities of MLS owners, coaches or players than USA pride then there is a great problem. Klinsmann has always said that we don’t play to tie. We play to win. Well how can you expect to win if you don’t have the available subs. Kudos to the excellent play from the U-20 but someone needs to be fired for not providing the team with the ability to finish the job. We play to win so we can learn to be consistent and mentally prepared. Now these players that were cheated will not know how it feels to win when we could have all thanks to the dumb mentality of ” we made it to the World Cup” and “it is not that important to support the team fully, we got our goal done.” That is why we will not win in the future. Our kids are not really supported whatsoever. Mexico has built a tradition of winning and going all out with its best players, the US needs to learn from that. WE take the best and support without thought of consequences.
You nailed it.
If this game was that important Gil and the others would have stayed.
But the US had already qualified and winning or losing this game was not likely to have much effect on the tournament in Turkey. So it was just for bragging rights and on that score was quite successful.
International soccer is far more “pragmatic” than the average USMNT fan cares for. The fact that Mexico won this game will mean nothing to the US when they are in Turkey.
They will have other things to think about then and if they can’t forget, then they will deserve whatever happens to them.
Dear all,
The reason I maintain that there is a gap of about 10 years is simple, that is the time it took Mexico to rebuild the soocer among the young ones and that happened because USA was doing better than Mexico at the national team level.
Today Mexico has probably the best system for the youth world wide and is supported by all those recent sub17,sub 20,olympic games championships which no other country can match today.
Mexico is one of the main favorites to take it all again at the world championship this coming summer, USA will benefit of the fact that Mexico has risen the bar and adjust consequetly
If football was so easy to predict…. How many years was Spain considered “favorites” until they won a major tournament…
About ten….so Mexico will have to wait…