U-17 World Cup 2011, USA Vs. Germany: Germans Eliminate U.S., 4-0

Guess what? The country with arguably the best youth development system in the entire world is a lot better than the United States when it comes to kids playing soccer. We’re actually talking about kids here as Germany defeated the U.S., 4-0, in the round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The win moves Germany onto the quarterfinals where they will play England, who defeated Argentina on penalty kicks in their round of 16 match.

Things started brightly for the U.S., who had the first real chance of the match when they got a shot away that forced Odisseas Vlachodimos into a good save. Not long after that chance though, things turned distinctly in favor of Germany. They dominated possession and peppered Kendall McIntosh with shots. Against another keeper the Germans might have won by eight or nine, but McIntosh was tremendous.

If the United States had any hopes of upsetting favored Germany, those hopes have been long since extinguished. The Americans had a couple bright spots, but for the most part it has been all Germany and the scoreline shows a deserved 3-0 halftime lead for the favorites. It would have been much worse for the U.S. had it not been for a sensational Kendall McIntosh, who has made several fantastic saves to keep the German lead from growing.

It was actually the U.S. who had the first good chance of the game, firing a shot from 15 yards that forced Odisseas Vlachodimos into a good save. After that the Germans came storming back. Three times they forced McIntosh into good saves, but even the U.S. keeper couldn’t keep Germany from tallying in the 19th minute. Levent Aycicek cut in from the left and delivered a good ball from the center that towering centerback Koray Guentar, who was still up from a corner kick just moment earlier, nodding home for a 1-0 Germany lead.