May 10, 2007 Canada vs Argentina U-20s pregame (from Globe and Mail)
POSTED ON: 10/05/07
Argentina will be difficult test for Canadians
PETER MALLETT
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Argentina may be lighter in the superstar department, but the five-time world under-20 soccer champion should still pose plenty of problems for Canada in an exhibition match at BMO Field in Toronto Friday night.
As Canadian coach Dale Mitchell ran his team through practice Thursday, he was well aware that Argentina relied on tough, gritty, defensive play in January during South American zone qualifying for the under-20 World Cup in the summer. Usually, the Argentines play a high-flying offensive game.
"I thought they were a very aggressive team during qualifying," Mitchell said, "but I wouldn't say they are an overly physical team, and certainly if you look at size, we will match up well.
"But the other part of Argentina's game which is pretty important is their skill. Even though they may focus more on defending now, you don't get to be five-time world champions unless you have skill to go with it."
Although Canada lost in the first round at the last under-20 World Cup, it has had some success at past tournaments, including a quarter-final finish in 2003 in which it took finalist Spain to extra time before losing 2-1.
Canada also has had good exhibition wins recently, including 2-1 over Brazil in Edmonton last May, 3-1 over Scotland last month in Burnaby, B.C., and 2-1 over the Czech Republic in Prague last October. Canada has also lost against the same three countries by wider margins and has an overall record of three wins, four ties and six losses since January of 2006.
The 24-country, 52-match under-20 World Cup will run from June 30 to July 22 in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Victoria and Burnaby. Canada qualified as the host.
Canada will face Chile in its opening Group A match on July 1 in Toronto.
Some of Mitchell's keys to success will include the performance of six alumni from the 2005 team, including Newcastle defender David Edgar of Kitchener, Ont., and Jaime Peters of Toronto.
"We will need to be incredibly disciplined against a team like Argentina," Peters said. "Anyone playing on their team is already out to impress their coach for future selection. They might have more of the ball possession, so we will need to keep this in mind and keep our shape on the field and make the best of the chances that we get."
During Argentina's FIFA U20 World Cup victory in Holland two summers ago it was the offensive flare of strikers Sergio Aguero of Atletico Madrid and young Barcelona star Lionel Messi who led them to a fifth tournament trophy.
Messi walked away with the tournament scoring crown, bagging six goals in seven matches, and the most valuable player award along the way to Argentina's win over Nigeria's Super Eagles.
But neither Messi or Aguero are expected to figure in coach Hugo Tocalli's lineup for Argentina's opening Group E match against Czech Republic at Ottawa's Frank Clair stadium on June 30, as the pair have moved on to the senior team and are expected to be part of Argentina's senior side when it opens its Copa America campaign in Venezuela this summer.
Only five players from Tocalli's 20-man squad who finished runners-up to Brazil in January's qualifying tournament will make the trip to Canada, largely because of club commitments.
Goalkeeper Sergio Romero, a recent signing by Dutch first division club AZ Alkmaar, allowed just five goals in qualifying and standout defensive midfielder Ever Banega of Boca Juniors are tipped as the team's two true stars but will not make the trip to Canada.
The five regulars include: backup goalkeeper Emiliano Centeno of San Lorenzo, defender Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Matias Sanchez, who both play with first division side Racing Club, as well as midfielders Leandro Morales of Estudiantes and Alejandro Gomez of Argentina first division side Arsenal.
Friday's game is sold out. The only notable scratches from Mitchell's roster are goalkeeper Asmir Begovic of Edmonton, who plays for the English Premiership side Portsmouth and is recovering from a knee injury, and forward Will Johnson of Toronto, who has club commitments with Dutch First Division side Heerenveen.
Canada will also play exhibition matches on June 3 in Ottawa and June 6 in Kingston against the United States and on June 18 in Edmonton against the Czech Republic.
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