U-20 into 1/4 Final

U-20 Albicelestes defeated Poland 3-1 today with a 4-2-3-1.

Poland started a 4-4-2 which was really a 4-5-1 with #11 Janczyk being the target person. And their offensive focus had been on the wings ever since the start of the match. By 5th minute it was very clear Poland wanted to get the ball to Janczyk with through passes, and use his physical statue and mobility to get their goal.

Mini Argentino warmed up slowly, allowed a dangerous chance on the first Poland counter attack. Our CBs (I liked how Fazio performed later on though) continued making coordination errors. Shortly after 30th minute, a brilliant diagonal cross from Malecki (forward playing CAM) reached Janczyk. Our offside trap failed, left Janczyk 1 on 1 with Romero and the pollard put it away. Argentina down 0-1.

That was the first goal we conceded in this tournament. And it was a questionable non-offside. I don't think Argentina fans were really worried. Our boys had dominated the midfield through out the first half. Yacob and Banega shutting down the mid route, while the combination plays between Moralez, Di Maria, Piatti and Aguero were unstoppable up front. It was only a matter of time before Bialkowski would let one in.

Polish players, as expected, played a very physical game. I wouldn't call them dirty, but they certainly deserved more cards in first half than the single yellow given to Marciniak at 26th minute. Danch for example, displayed poor tackling techniques on several occasions. Starosta only received a caution for pulling down Moralez in their box?! If the El Salvador ref wasn't biased, then he clearly had a soft hand.

Polish midfielders also lacked composure. Perhaps the absence of their captain Fojut (Bolton?) had a significant negative effect. Poland didn't seemed to know how to initiate attack once they gained possession in center midfield, and ended up often losing possession at dangerous places. The center played a very disciplined game in first half, but lacked creativity and looked slow.

Finally, at 40th minute, Moralez gained possession in our rear. He dribbled it all the way into the left wing getting through 3 Polish players, played a one-two with Aguero, then low crossed it to Di Maria for the equalizer.

If Aguero didn't make himself visible in first half, he certainly chose a different face after the break. He got to the ball inside Poland box on our first possession after the restart, lifted it above his head and went around the Polish defender, then knocked it far post and send it home. He finished the chance so elegantly with such maturity, that IMO had secured the starting position in Atletico. Then he did it again! At 86th minute, he got to the ball again on the left of the Polish goal. This time Aguero was ahead of his marker, so he simply dashed a bit, went around the keeper, and tipped the ball into back of the net...

YouTube Match Highlights

The 2nd half wasn't nearly as coordinated as the first. The Poles really should of received more cards. Few of their players including Cywka and Janczyk clearly turned to frustration after our second goal and Janczyk was finally thrown out at 90th minute... He should of been red carded long before that! If I was Hugo Tocalli I would of been throwing all kinds of shit at the ref. Part of the ref's job was to protect our players! I know the Poles played a successful 9 men defense to preserve their lead against Brazil. But it certainly wasn't the case today. They were down a goal and unable to comeback, then they just wanted to hurt our players!

Also, our players were again showing signs of over relaxation in the second half. Selfish plays and long shots... I hope the mini Argentinos realized that their real journey had just began. They'll face Mexico (2-0 Congo) next, and then possibly the African king Nigeria in Semi-Final. On top of that, the teams on the other side of the bracket are looking increasingly dangerous.

Courtesy of xtratime.org