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The United States men’s U-17s are back in action this morning, taking on Ghana in their second of three group stage games. Ghana also has three points, having beaten Colombia 1-0 in their first game. A win likely puts the United States through, while a draw keeps everything going; a loss throws the whole group into chaos. John Hackworth is likely to use his front-line starters again in this game, and wait to see what he needs to do in the third game.
Key player: Chris Durkin
We are a D.C. United site, so I am fine with listing Durkin again and again. And that’s before the fact that it actually makes sense. Josh Sargent and Andrew Carleton are the big names on this team, and John Hackworth found a way to get both of them, Ayo Akindola, and Timothy Weah, son of former world player of the year George Weah, all on the field at the same time. It only worked because Chris Durkin locked down central defense; James Sands, his partner from NYCFC, played well, but Durkin was clearly the better of the two. If he can have a similar game in central defense against Ghana, the USA should be well on their way to getting to the knockout round.
Location: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (New Delhi)
Kickoff time: 7:30AM Eastern
Projected [our team] starting 11: 4-3-3: Justin Garces; Jaylin Lindsey, James Sands, Chris Durkin, Chris Gloster; Chris Goslin, Blane Ferri, Andrew Carleton; Timothy Weah, Josh Sargent, Ayo Akinola
Available TV: Fox Sports 2, NBC Universo
Available streaming: Fox Sports Go, Universo Online
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.
What are you drinking?: At 7:30AM I probably won’t have even made my tea yet. I’ll grab some of the fridge coffee leftovers that we keep from each pot of french press that we ake.
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