US coach Wilmer Cabrera has shed some light on the roster he will be taking to Nigeria for this month's FIFA Under-17 World Cup, and the coach says some of the biggest names in the group will be absent.
The former Colombian international revealed that he will choose his team from the 26 players currently in camp when he releases the roster, most likely on Monday. The team has a final scrimmage match against USL team Crystal Palace Baltimore this weekend, after which Cabrera will finalize the squad that will travel Tuesday for Africa.
"We have 26 players competing for 21 spots," Cabrera said. "One hundred percent of the group is here and 90 percent is going to go."
That means that a few high profile players that helped the US dominate its group in CONCACAF qualifying, and who American fans have been anxious to see compete for the Stars and Stripes, will not be on the roster for Nigeria.
The coach confirmed that, at this point, recent West Ham signing Sebastian Lletget, as well as former Bradenton residents Charles Renken and Joseph Gyau, who have reportedly been lured to TSG Hoffenheim in Germany, are not to be included on the final roster.
Cabrera explained that in some of the cases, the players made the choice not to come into camp with the team.
"If someone is not here, it is not because we don't want them," said Cabrera. "It's because they didn't make it, or they got injured, or they don't want to be here. I'd rather have a less skillful player but more committed than a skillful player that is not committed with this. But we've got the players that we've got and we are ready and we can't look back."
Cabrera will still have a potent arsenal to choose from, including emerging star forwards Jack McInerney and Stefan Jerome, and midfielder Marlon Duran.
"The national team is on top of any individual player," the coach explained. "A national team is not one player, or based on one player. A national team is based on the best players in the country. And we are working with that philosophy. We don't organize the team around one player. We organize the team because al the players are good enough."
One foreign legionnaire is still in the battle for the final roster. William Packwood of the Premier League's Birmingham City reserves is in camp and battling for a final roster spot.
"He's trying out and fighting for a spot with us," Cabrera said. "He's the only one. The rest of the players, if they're not here it's because some of them didn't want to come and some of them didn't make it, it's one or the other one."
The US plays its first group match against defending U-17 runners-up Spain on October 26th. Yanks-abroad will be in Nigeria with the team beginning next week, offering constant updates and insight from Africa. |
Sunday October 18, 2009
8:24 pm |
Well reguardless of which players are selected to go, I'm very curious to see just how Cabrera has this team play... as to having to be in the final camp right before the team departs for the World Cup, well I certainly would cut the coach some slack here, this is where the final decisions about who will be doing what under certain conditions is being made and explained and any coach at this level would demand this of his players. Now if this was a full National Team match with a World Cup qualifier to play and a important Pro player couldn't make a camp, well that might be a different story...but usually the club team would be forced to release the player.
By this time the coach has to be in controll of his squad and they must be playing as a unit not as a bunch of individuals... whether Cabrera has managed to do this is yet to be demonstrated, but I tend to think that he's more likely to do this than most of our other coaches and I certainly wish him the best of luck. To be calling for his dismissal and openly wishing his team fails is just plain strange and certainly premature. Now if you want to talk about changing coaches because of how their teams have played, well... just take a look at the u-20 and full National teams and take your best shot, at least it might be for cause... Cabrera has yet to have done anything that really deserves much criticism.
— Robert Kiernan
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Sunday October 18, 2009
12:50 pm |
Some times this kids don't have choice but follow the team oreders they do wants to play for the USA but is there future too,, just tell me what can they expect in MLS 25,000 a year ,,why they bring veterans from others country and pay them millions with nothing to teach to our kids ,, how much they pay to beck ,,Cuactemo ,,Ruiz ,etc ,,
and they expect our kids to live with 25,000 a year not even the worts player in baseball make that and went they want to go to europe they put all the obstacle to them Cabrera should pick the best ,, no team going to let the players go for so long and he knows that, the question is,,,,,,,what would you do?
— Jose
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Saturday October 17, 2009
10:33 pm |
What some people here dont understand is that you should try to win every fifa tornament.
Do you guys really think Brazil, Netherlands, and other soccer powerhouses dont care about winning every tornament.
And here you are saying this tornament is not important its only to find talent in your conutry. THis losing mentality is what is holding IS soccer back.
You guys do realize that cabrera is doing what other us youth coaches have done? A lot of Eurobased players have been snuffed because their temas dont let the players go train for their national teams1 or 2 months before fifa tornaments.
— Ricky
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Saturday October 17, 2009
8:00 pm |
I hope cabrera fails terribly so he gets fired. Common now, these kids have their dreams of playing in europe, that only helps national team. They made it to europe because they are good enough and trained hard to get there. CABRERA WANTS THEM TO STAY 100% loyal to the u-17 team and snub offers from euro teams so they can play college soccer. Fire him!!!
— kerlon
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Friday October 16, 2009
6:02 pm |
They were not snubbed Ricky, read the article. The want to progress with their clubs so they stayed with them. The only one we seriously have to worry about jumping ship is Lletget because he has no sense of national pride and would rather play for a country he has no real association with because he perceives them as better. With a mentality like that I say fine let him go he won't give it his all.
As for Renken and Gyau, I somehow doubt Renken would choose Zambia over the USA given a choice. If he's good enough he will continue to play for us because there is no upside at all to playing for Zambia. Gyau could choose Ghana, but it's unlikely. There is just more in playing for the US than the African nations and he is a third generation American anyway, it's not like he has true links.
— Jonesta
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Friday October 16, 2009
4:01 pm |
You geniuses realise that they have dual citicenship and can jump ship to another team. They will probably say screw USSF they didnt want me in the u17, IM going with the country were I was born.
— Ricky
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Friday October 16, 2009
1:43 pm |
Probably the most important function of these youth tournaments is to identify talent, and give young players international tournament experience as well as exposure that can lead to contracts with top clubs/academies.
Getting the best available players to play their best as a team and winning matches at such tournaments is always good and important in its own right, but not as important as these goals.
Many men's World Cup winning teams have not necessarily been the winning nation's "All star" team comprised or consisting of all the individually best players from that nation. Such teams often have one, or several gritty, tough, relatively unrecognized, unsung individuals who blend and add overall cohesion and chemistry to the overall team effort.
Such individuals often make the sum greater than the total of the parts.
— Tiger
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Friday October 16, 2009
1:19 pm |
People, this is a youth tournament that happens to have the name World Cup tacked onto it. It's not really about going out there and winning. If you look at the teams that win youth World Cups it doesn't usually translate over to their full teams. Ghana is in the final of the U-20's for God's sake. These tournaments are all about getting the young talent to the next level so they can get better training and find minutes with bigger clubs. Three players happen to feel that they will be better off with their clubs for their future than with the U-17's. You are acting like this is Neven Subotic choosing to play for Serbia instead of the USA, but that simply isn't the case. These guys are hoping to make an impact abroad and merit calls to the full team one day. They, nor Wilmer Cabrera can be faulted for them not being in camp or the cup.
— Jonesta
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Friday October 16, 2009
12:09 pm |
Wow, this is a FIFA World Cup Tournament, pick your best squad Cabrera, your job is on the line. He's leaving some difference makers at home to prove a point. If this squad doesn't perform Cabrera could find himself out of a job, I guess that's a chance he's willing to take.
— brandon
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Friday October 16, 2009
9:00 am |
I don't think Cabrera would expect players playing abroad to be in EVERY camp, but this is the one right before the tournament -- when he is fine-tuning the team and working on tactics and cohesion.
I tihnk Cabrera's stance for THIS camp IS warranted. Those players that just signed abroad could have insisted on being released for the tournament as a condition of their signing -- and it would have been granted. That was their decision and the team has moved on. So be it.
So ... let's go with the team we have -- which has a LOT of talent ... GOOD LUCK USA!!
— Captain10
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