@ClubOranje
Grow up.
@Ranix
Please don't assume everyone who goes to academies is rich. It's very far from the truth. For three years we paid more for our daughter to play college netball, train twice a week and be coached by a parent than we did for our son to be at Ole training five times a week with professional coaches. We aren't rich, we make what we consider the necessary sacrifices for him to try to achieve his goal of being a professional footballer and have a two hour round trip to every session.
@Marley
The photo shows eight players who were all part of Western Suburbs Central League winning team and are all eligable for this world cup. They are not winners of some tin-pot NAGT U17 tournament. Only three of them are in Brazil, the others couldn't buy a ticket to an ID camp. There are another 3/4 in the Western Suburbs Cap Prem team who fit the same criteria.
If you were to add Matt Garbett to those eight and two fullbacks from the Cap Prem team I'd put money on them beating the NZU17's.
Just my opinion.
@reubee
You raise a valid point re positions. The 5-3-2 we're playing does not put the players in their best positions and is a formation I've never seen at either WPA or Ole. I've also never seen Campbell playing on the left of a back three and the three in midfield didn't seem to know who is to be the 6 and who are the 8's. If they even are supposed to be 6 and 8's.
All this means is we have the vast majority of the team behind the ball when/if we do turn it over in midfield with little to no options to make forward passes or even attacking runs if there is no support.
The coaching staff talked about wanting the team to be more attacking and braver than they were against Angola. Well that starts from the top by not using a defensive formation in the first place and selecting players to play in their preferred positions.
Too many square pegs in round holes for my liking.
@Waterside For Ever
Couldn't agrere more.
@Niko S
Well said Nik, good luck to Marko this afternoon.
--
Lets be honest, although the Angola game finished 2-1, it could have been 2-2 had Jesse nabbed his chance at the end but it could so easily have been 5 or 6-1 and we could have had no complaints.
I don't want to go to World Cups at age grade level to just get out of the group. We should be aiming to qualify for the knockout stages on our own merit and then to make it past the first knockout round.
Anyway, I should be watching the next game.