U.S. U-17 Top Performers v. Barbados

<p class="has-medium-font-size">There isn't a ton to take away from the United States 5-0 win in their first game of the Concacaf U-17 Championship against Barbados. The boys looked a little nervous, overconfident and sloppy for the majority of the first half, but settled themselves in the second half. Barbados is the weakest team in the group, so hopefully the first game tournament jitters are gone and the boys can settle in and play a more decisive and instinctive game going forward. Here are my three standouts from the game: </p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">AM, [player_tooltip player_id='7351' first='Cruz' last='Medina'], San Jose Earthquakes</p>   <p>Medina, one of the most acclaimed prospects in the United States, started the tournament off with a hat-trick. The first goal was fortunate. He had a penalty kick blocked, but his teammate Ezekiel Soto jumped on the rebound and calmly slid the ball across the face of goal to a waiting Medina who tapped it in. The second goal was much more impressive — a golazo from around 30 yards out that knuckled into the back of the net. The third was on a transition where left-winger [player_tooltip player_id='33269' first='David' last='Vazquez'] calmly picked the right pass that led to another Medina tap in. The goals were great, but I'd like to see Medina be tidier and more secure on the ball in the upcoming games against Trinidad & Tobago and Canada. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/USYNT/status/1624586807210803201?s=20u0026amp;t=BgJfeZNyKyUhTb3JwuiCpg </div></figure>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">RW, Brian Romero, Charlotte FC</p>   <p>Romero was one of the few poised and confident players from the start of the game. He was consistently available out on the right flanks and attacked Barbados consistently, delivering a mix of venomous crosses and feints that put the ball on his left foot where he was able to rip some quality shots. Romero had a very a nice assist on a well hit cross to Keyrol Figueroa. He also had the hockey assist on the final goal where he placed a perfectly weighted ball to the feet of [player_tooltip player_id='33269' first='David' last='Vazquez'] who slide it in for the finish. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/FOXSoccer/status/1624601579704791041?s=20u0026amp;t=BgJfeZNyKyUhTb3JwuiCpg </div></figure>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">LW, [player_tooltip player_id='33269' first='David' last='Vazquez'], Philadelphia Union Academy</p>   <p>Vazquez did not start the game but was subbed on early in the second half and provided width and crispness to the left side. Vazquez' best trait is his passing ability and that was on display often in the second half. He whipped in a fantastic early cross to Figueroa who couldn't quite get his foot on it and then assisted on Medina's final goal with a calm pull back, ground cross, with the perfect weight that allowed for an easy tap-in. Vazquez made a strong case to be the first choice left-wing in future games. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/usmntonly/status/1624603248945467392?s=20u0026amp;t=BgJfeZNyKyUhTb3JwuiCpg </div></figure>

There isn't a ton to take away from the United States 5-0 win in their first game of the Concacaf U-17 Championship against Barbados. The boys looked a little nervous, overconfident and sloppy for the majority of the first half, but settled themselves in the second half. Barbados is the weakest team in the group, so hopefully the first game tournament jitters are gone and the boys can settle in and play a more decisive and instinctive game going forward. Here are my three standouts from the game: