Episode 109: Netherlands 4, USA 0, and a U17 World Cup postmortem

The US U17s’ trip to Brazil was cut short on Saturday night with a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands. That’s it. We’re out, after a 4-1 loss to Senegal and a 0-0 draw with Japan. Scuffed regular Matt Hartman joins me to recap Saturday’s game and try to take something away from the tournament. - 0:30 opening thoughts and lineups - 6:15 scoring summary - 22:15 big picture takeaways The Earnie Stewart/Berhalter Brothers regime takes an L on this one Concacaf qualifying was not good enough preparation for the World Cup for this cycle. Our lack of dangerous wingers made us dull and predictable in the attack, even in transition. Central midfield softness was once again a problem. Getting MLS minutes doesn’t make you a difference maker at the U17 level. Argue about player selection all you want, the player pool wasn’t good enough to make noise in this World Cup group. Most American MLS academies aren’t doing enough to contribute to the youth national team player pool. Don’t give up on the players from this roster because of this tournament. Several talented players here despite the poor showing. Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus any bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show, plus all patrons get access to our private Discord server, live call-in shows, and the full catalog of historic recaps we've made: https://www.patreon.com/scuffed Also, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.com And check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedhq.com/store Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.