U-17 World Cup 2011, USA Vs. Germany: Germans Dominant In 4-0 Victory

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.

As good as McIntosh was, he couldn’t stop everything and Germany finally got a goal in the 19th minute when Koray Guentar headed home a Levent Aycicek cross. After that, the Americans did a decent job of keeping things from getting out of hand with some possession and a couple chances, but by the 35th minute it was all Germany again. In the 39th minute Mitchell Weiser finished a Samed Yesil pass to make it 2-0 Germany, then just three minutes later Yesil tallied one of his own to put the match away.

The start of the second half went a lot like the first with Marvin Ducksch making it 4-0 in the 49th minute, but then Germany went to sleep. They were content with their four goal lead and a couple U.S. substitutes looked eager to prove themselves so the match turned for the U.S. It didn’t lead to any goals though and Germany skated away with a comfortable and much deserved win in a match that they were, without question, the better team in.