Who is waiting for the wards of Petrakov: we represent the opponents of the national team of Ukraine for the 2019 World Cup (U-20)

26.02.2019 15:10

The Polish city of Gdynia took place on 24 February 2019 World Cup draw in the U-20 age category, which will be held in Poland in late May and early June. The national team of Ukraine got into the same group with representatives of other confederations, with whom we will introduce you.

USA

Our first opponent in Poland is a regular participant in the U-20 World Cup. Of the 22 tournaments since 1977 (the same time when gold medals were won by the USSR team, half made up of Ukrainians, and Volodymyr Bezsonov won the Golden Ball), the US team played for 15. This is the 16th. The teams of Argentina and Mexico have the same statistics - this is the best indicator among the participants of the 2019 World Cup. Only Brazil (18) played more often in the final tournaments, but this time it did not qualify. By the way, it included Marquinhos Cipriano from Shakhtar and a potential newcomer for the Tete miners.

But, despite stable participation in the World Cup (U-20), the Americans only once (1989) advanced to the quarterfinals. This has been the case in the last two tournaments. And in 2017, the team included goalkeeper Brady Scott, midfielder Tyler Adams and forward Josh Sargent (scored four goals and received a "Silver Boot"), who are older than the current team. But Adams and Sargent are already players in the US national team. The first (he currently represents RB Leipzig) has nine matches and one goal for the main team, the second (Werder Bremen) has six and two respectively.

It is unknown whether they will come to Poland or not. But even without them, coach Taba Ramos has a very strong team - the 2018 CONCACAF champion. Initially, the star-striped team won five matches out of five in the first group stage with a total score of 39: 2. Then in the second group stage they added two more victories - over Costa Rica (4: 0) and Honduras (1: 0), after which in the final match they put Mexico on the shoulders - 2: 0. As a result - 100% of victories in eight matches, the total score - 46: 2.

The best player of the tournament was Alex Mendes (scored eight goals - the second result), the best goalkeeper - the same Brady Scott, who went to the 2017 World Cup. And the symbolic team of the tournament included eight Americans and three Mexicans. Our opponent includes goalkeeper Brady Scott, defenders Sergino Dest, Chris Gloucester, Mark Mackenzie, midfielders Alex Mendes (the same best player) and Brandon Cervania, forwards Aio Aquinola and Ulysses Llanes. The last two scored seven goals each.

Most of the players in the championship are US clubs, but there are also "Europeans". Goalkeeper Scott plays for Cologne, defender Gloucester for Hannover, midfielder Mendes for Freiburg, and another midfielder Juan Pablo Torres for Lokeren.

Another member of European football, the son of the famous George Weah, Timothy, who plays for Celtic on loan from PSG, could be the decoration of this team, but the 19-year-old forward, like Adams and Sargent, played eight matches (one goal) for the US national team. Transfermarkt estimates Wea even higher than Sargent (personal account - 5: 3 million euros). He did not perform at the 2018 CONCACAF Championship.

Match - May 24 (Bielsko-Biala).

Qatar

The national team of Qatar U-20, as well as the team of Ukraine, will play in the world championship of this age category for the fourth time. And in the very distant 1981, this team, having the title of vice-champion of Asia, reached the final, where they lost to Germany. After that, the Qataris did not leave the group (1995, 2015). And this time we are dealing with the semifinalist of the Asian Championship 2018 (recall that the wards of Alexander Petrakov in 2018 at the European Championship also reached the semifinals).

Immediately, two Qatari players entered the top three scorers of the Asian Championship - Abdulrashid Umaru (seven goals, best result) and Hashim Ali (five, shared second or third place with the Korean sniper).

And this team should be treated with respect, because in preparation for the 2022 World Cup, the leadership of the Qatari Football Association, without a shortage of funds (we remember how Neymar moved from "Barcelona" to "PSG"), created the largest and the richest sports academy Aspire.

The academy, in turn, has signed contracts with several European clubs to provide the best young students with playing practice at a qualitatively different level. These are the Leones Cultural (Spain), LASK (Austria) and Eupen (Belgium).

As part of the team that played in the Asian Championship (U-19) in 2018 under the leadership of the Portuguese Bruno Pineira, four performers represented "Eupen" (including - the best scorer of Umar), five - "Cultural Leones" (in including - Ali's second scorer). What proportion of players from local and European clubs will be in the team at the 2019 World Cup is still unknown. But they are expected in Qatar, because at the time of the 2022 World Cup, our opponents will be 22-23 years old.

Match - May 27 (Quiet).

Nіgerіya

In terms of the number of appearances at the U-20 World Cups, Nigerians are the best in Africa and are in the top 10 on the planet. This is their 12th tournament. The team won medals three times (1985 - bronze, 1989, 2005 - silver), but recently it has not had much success. At the African Cup of Nations, which recently ended in Niger, Nigeria took fourth place (in the small final in a penalty shootout lost to the team of South Africa), having only four players from Europe (more precisely - Scandinavia). These are defender Ihoh Ogbu (Rosenborg), midfielder Aremu Afiz (Start), forwards Nazifi Yahaya (Sonderyskie) and Pascal Durugbor (Vekshe United). There are no top stars among them.

However, Nigerians have stars from other clubs in Europe, which were not at AKN-2019 (U-20). For example, forward Samuel Chuquuese (Villarreal) and midfielder Kingsley Mikael (Perugia). The first has already made his debut in the national team, the second represents the youth.

It is difficult to call this team super-powerful. However, we all know that for the Nigerian footballers, the U-20 World Cup is the best opportunity to show off and move to Europe. Therefore, even little-known players can cause trouble.

Match - May 30 (Bielsko-Biala).