Adu debuts

U.S. falls to Germany 3-1 at U-20 championship

Germany goalkeeper Alexander Walke looks for help defending 14-year-old Freddy Adu. AP

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Germany scored three goals in a 17-minute span to defeat the United States 3-1 Tuesday in the first round of the FIFA World Youth Championship.

Freddy Adu, the 14-year phenom who signed with Major League Soccer last month, made his debut in the Under-20 tournament in the 73rd minute with the Americans trailing 3-0.

"I think I did all right," Adu said. "I didn't feel like I changed things to a point where we would be able to change the outcome of the game. I was able to get the foul that led to the goal, but we just came up short."

A foul on Adu led to the only American goal, with Zak Whitbread scoring off Bobby Convey's free kick in 77th minute. Adu's 10-yard shot in injury time was cleared off the goal line by Germany's Benjamin Wingerter.

"It was more exciting for me, because I love playing in games like this," Adu said. "I'm used to playing and having fun, so I couldn't wait to get my chance. I was excited waiting on the bench, and I was really happy when coach called my number."

The loss puts the U.S. at 1-1-0 with three points and an even goal differential as all four teams in Group F are now even with three points each, following Paraguay's 1-0 victory over South Korea. South Korea is first on goal difference, with United States second. (Standings)

U.S. coach Thomas Rongen was pleased with the play of Adu, who will be with D.C. United next season.

"I think it was kind of an ideal time to get a young player's feet wet," Rongen said. "When you're down by that margin, there's not as much pressure. It allowed him to come and be free, and I thought he played well. It was a good start for him."

American forward Eddie Johnson said the game opened up when Adu came in.

"A player like Freddy coming on scares defenders when he goes at them," Johnson said. "It kind of takes their focus off of me a little bit. He changed things when he came in. He showed he can play."

The U.S. will next face South Korea in their final group game on Friday at Al-Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The match will be televised tape delayed on Galavision at 1:30 p.m. ET and PT. The U.S. will know what result is needed in the match, as the game kicks off almost three hours after Paraguay-Germany.

The Americans opened Saturday with a 3-1 win over Paraguay.

Robert Huth put Germany ahead in the 47th minute with a goal that bounced off the crossbar and into the net. Piotr Trochowski scored in the 60th and Sebastian Kneissl connected off a pass from Matthias Lehman in the 63rd.

Christian Lell beat U.S. goalkeeper Steve Cronin in the 34th minute, but the apparent goal was disallowed because of an offsides call.

In other games Tuesday, Egypt beat England 1-0 and Colombia defeated Japan 4-1 in Group D; and Ireland tied Ivory Coast 2-2 and Mexico tied Saudi Arabia 1-1 in Group E.

Having lost the opening Group F match 2-0 to South Korea, the Germans needed a strong performance to reassert themselves as a major contender.

Adu, who recently signed a pro contract to play with D.C. United in U.S. Major League Soccer, was a late addition to the roster for injured San Jose Earthquake Arturo Alvarez.

"We were pleased with the 0-0 score at halftime, but I think we just let our guard down early in the second half," said Rongen. "You have to give Germany a lot of credit as they were in a big pressure game.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't come away with any points, but now we'll just look ahead to South Korea and do our best to advance to the second round."

SUMMARY

Scoring:

GER -- Robert Huth (Piotr Trochowski) 47th minute
GER -- Piotr Trochowski 60.
GER -- Sebastian Kneissl (Matthias Lehmann) 63.
USA -- Zak Whitbread (Bobby Convey) 77.

Lineups:

USA -- 1-Steve Cronin; 2-Zak Whitbread, 4-Chad Marshall, 5-Ryan Cochrane, 8-C.J. Klass (19-Ned Grabavoy, 65); 3-Justin Mapp, 10-Bobby Convey (Capt.), 11-Ricardo Clark, 9-Santino Quaranta (15-David Johnson, 87); 7-Ed Johnson, 13-Mike Magee (12-Freddy Adu, 73)

Subs not used: 6-Jordan Stone, 14-Clint Dempsey, 16-Drew Moor, 17-Knox Cameron, 18-Ford Williams, 20-Jordan Harvey.

GER -- 1-Alexander Walke; 2-Christian Lell (20-Alexander Ludwig, 46), 3-Alexander Meyer (18-Patrick Milchraum, 46), 4-Robert Huth, 5-Benjamin Wingerter, 14-Malik Fathi (6-Michael Rundio, 72); 7-Piort Trochowski, 8-Christian Schulz, 10-Ioannis Masmanidis, 16-Matthias Lehmann; 9-Sebastian Kneissl.

Subs not used: 12-Markus Gruenberger, 13-Christian Pander, 15-Sofian Chahed, 17-Dennis Buehrer, 19-Erdal Kilicaslan, Injured: 11-Denni Patschinsky

Misconduct Summary:

GER -- Ioannis Masmanidis (caution) 15th minute
USA -- Zak Whitbread (caution) 46.
USA -- Santino Quaranta (caution) 51.

Referees:

Referee: Wilson Souza (BRA)
Assistant Referee: Ednilson Corona (BRA)
Assistant Referee: Aristeu Tavares (BRA)
4th Official: Horacio Elizondo (ARG)

Paraguay defeats South Korea 1-0

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Gilberto Velazquez sliced a header off a long pass into the net Tuesday as Paraguay topped South Korea 1-0 at the World Youth Championship to keep Group F wide open.

All four teams have three points after two matches. Earlier Tuesday, Germany downed the United States 3-1.

Velazquez beat South Korea goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang in the 14th minute to give the South Americans the game-winner.

Paraguay came close to scoring twice in each half, but Kim made spectacular saves to hold onto a powerful 20-meter (yard) shot from Edgar Barreto and block Nelson Haedo Valdez's header from close range.

The South Koreans added a pair of attackers in the second half and raided the Paraguayan goal but failed to break the stubborn defense.

Paraguay also kept up the pressure with a few threatening counterattacks as the game ended.

"We played tactically better than the previous game and defended well against the speedy Koreans," Paraguay coach Rolando Chilavert said. "Our style is to always go for a win, but having scored a goal it was also important not to concede the advantage as we were in a precarious position."

The South Americans lost their group opener to the United States 3-1.

"They played with such emotions and that made all the difference," said South Korea coach Park Sung-wha, who was missing the injured Lee Ho-jin and Park Ju-sung.

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Lineups:

Paraguay: Anthony Silva, Gilberto Velazquez, Victor Mareco, Angel Martinez, Oscar Diaz, Blas Lopez, Edgar Barreto, Julio Dos Santos, Dante Lopez (Andres Perez Matto, 90th), Jorge Caceres (Cristian Andersen, 70th), Nelson Haedo Valdez (Erwin Meza, 75th).

South Korea: Kim Young-kwang, Oh Beom-seok, Kim Chi-woo, Kim Chi-gon, Kim Jin-kyu (Lee Ho, 46th), Yeo Hyo-jin, Lee Jong-min, Namkung Woong (Cho Won-hee, 76th), Kwon Jip, Jung Jo-gook (Choi Sung-kuk 46th) , Kim Dong-hun.