U-20 drew Czech Republic

Despite nearly 60% possession and numerous attempts of organized assaults, the defenders of Fifa U-20 World Cup title weren't able to gain victory over Czech Republic.

The Argentine youngsters rushed forward at the sound of the whistle and fought a 90 minute offensive battle. Mauro Zárate, Serigo Agüero, Maximiliano Moralez and Ever Banega were all very active through out the game, showing high degrees of experience and professionalism. They created numerous scoring chances, but the boxy midfield of Czech republic was able to maintain good control over the spaces, and didn't allow much chances from the good positions on top of their box. Instead, it was the Argentines that let lose some freekicks, luckily Federico Fazio was there to defend, and none of them went into back of the net. Fazio also showed his remarkable ability in the air, perhaps something our senior side lacks and could take advantage of in near future.

For match highlights, click on this link.

The field used was of synthetic grass, and Boca's Ever Banega might of been the only Argentine on the pitch with experience on such surface. So it came at no surprise that Banega was the only player looked very comfortable on this field. Never the less, Czech had to pull out a 7 men defense towards the end to preserve their 1 point. Our players did well on an uncomfortable pitch, and not getting a win had a lot to do with the conditions of this match.

However, in the past 5 world youth championships where Argentina reached final, they won each of their respective opening matches. So something is different this time around. Perhaps a hint that this journey won't be as smooth as in the previous years.

Also noticeable was the beautiful positioning of the Czech keeper Petr Radek (yet another Petr from Czech). He made the stops look easy, while some of the Argentine shots on goal were genuine chances.

Well, it was a good game. I only wished our boys would of loosen up a little. After all, they should have the skill advantage over most of their opponents. Next game would be against Panama in the eve before 4th July. With all 4 teams going into 2nd match holding just 1 point, it's a fresh start, and a new chance for the U-20 Albicelestes. After the remaining group matches, they will move to a different stadium for knockout stages. This awful synthetic surface shouldn't remain a problem for much longer.