Hoffman’s team looks ahead to Sydney 2000
The U.S. under-20 national team’s dream of matching the performances of the last two U.S. teams that played in the World Youth Championship ended when Uruguay dispatched of the United States 3-0 in the second round June 25 in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Shah Alam. The ’89 U.S. team, led by Kasey Keller, finished fourth. The ’93 U.S. team, which had opened the tournament with a shocking 6-0 win over European champion Turkey, reached the quarterfinals. Just 2,500 fans were on hand in the 70,000-seat Shah Alam Stadium, built at a cost of $240 million in 1994, to watch Uruguay quickly dispose of the United States, which closed out its campaign with three straight losses. Marcelo Zalayeta had numerous chances early in the first half before he easily beat U.S. goalie Andy Kirk from the top of the penalty area in the 22nd minute after Cesar Pellegrin stole the ball off a short goal kick. Zalayeta added a second goal 10 minutes later from close range following a free kick by Pellegrin. Pellegrin set up Nicolas Olivera for the third goal in the 41st minute. “I thought Uruguay was very good, especially in the first half,” said U.S. coach Jay Hoffman. “They capitalized on the opportunities we gave them. I didn’t think our first half was very good and perhaps we gave them too much respect.” Like the ’89 and ’93 U-20 teams, this year’s U.S. team will form the nucleus of the next Olympic team. The age cutoff for the Olympic soccer competition in Australia in 2000 will be the same as that for the U-20 World Cup. Already, half of the U.S. players have turned pro. Three have played in Major League Soccer ù Ramiro Corrales (San Jose), Carlos Parra (MetroStars) and Jorge Flores (Dallas) ù and two others have just signed with MLS clubs as part of the Project-40 program ù Joey DiGiamarino (Colorado) and Brian Dunseth (New England). DiGiamarino had to leave the Uruguay game in the 73rd minute with a broken cheekbone. A small consolation for the United States was that the three teams that beat it all advanced to the semifinals. Ghana, which beat the United States 1-0 in group play, needed a golden goal from striker Peter Ofori-Quaye six minutes into overtime to see off the challenge of Asia’s last remaining representative, Japan. The two teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes. Ghana will face Uruguay, which ousted European champion France in a shootout, after their game ended 1-1. Ireland, which beat the United States 2-1 in the first round, edged Spain 1-0. The fourth semifinalist is defending champion Argentina, which beat Brazil 2-0 to end Brazil’s stunning run in the tournament, which had seen it score 25 goals in its previous four games. Brazilian coach Antonio Barroso said his team failed to make the most of its chances. “In soccer, there is no fairness but only a winner and a loser,” said Barroso. “Brazil came here to show why we are four-time [World Cup] champions. We did that, and we won the love of the people of Kuching.” The Brazil-Argentina game drew almost 35,000 fans at Kuching’s Sarawak State Stadium. Brazil had won its last two games, 10-3 over South Korea and 10-0 over Belgium. The Argentine win was not a complete shock. Argentina had also beaten Brazil 2-0 in the South American qualifying tournament.
