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Adu hits two U.S. youths pound Poland 5-0, finish second in KoreaPosted: Wednesday June 04, 2003 10:59 AMUpdated: Wednesday June 04, 2003 11:36 AM
ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Freddy Adu and Jamie Watson each notched two goals in the second half as the U.S. under-17 men's national team overpowered Poland 5-0 in their final match of the Busan International Youth Tournament on Wednesday at South Korea's Busan Asiad Main Stadium. Adu, who turned 14 on Monday, made headlines last week by signing an endorsement deal with Nike. He also had two assists against Poland. (Adu Q&A) With the win the U.S. finished in second place, behind tournament champions Argentina. The U.S. finished the tournament with a record of 1-1-1, good enough for four points. The offensive outburst against Poland catapulted the U.S. into second place with a better goal differential (+2) than South Korea (+1). Korea lost to Argentina in the last match of the tournament 2-0. The tournament served as preparation for the U.S. before it plays in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland this August 13-30, when both Korea and Argentina will also be competing. "We struggled in the first half, but then the guys started playing better and put together a number of excellent goals," U.S. head coach John Ellinger said. "The second half was the best we've played during all three games and it was a great way to finish off the tournament. "We've had an amazing time here in Korea. Besides the world championship, this was by far the best tournament we've competed in. From the games to the accommodations to the overall presentation, it has just been first class all the way."
The U.S. got off to a slow start but got a goal from left defender Steven Curfman in the 37th minute. Poland thought it had safely cleared a U.S. free kick to midfield, but Curfman ran onto the ball and blasted a 40-yard shot that swerved into the upper-right hand corner. It was the only shot the U.S. had on goal in the first half and was Curfman's first international goal. In the second half, the U.S. put away Poland with four goals after Ellinger made two changes, sending substitute Jacob Peterson up front and bringing Adu back into the midfield. The slight alteration worked wonders by eliminating Poland's ability to man-mark Adu and allowing him more freedom. Adu started the offensive explosion early, scoring in the first minute of the second half. After collecting the ball, Adu dribbled through four defenders near the top of the 18-yard box, defeating two with a spin move. About 10 yards from the goal, Adu beat his final defender, pulling the ball to his left and allowing him to knock the ball past the keeper with his left foot into the left side of the goal. In the 55th minute, Adu set up the next goal, curling in a through ball to Watson from midfield. Watson did well to hold off his defender, bring the ball down and bury it past the keeper for his first goal of the tournament.
Adu got his second goal 10 minutes later, after some great teamwork to give him a wide-open opportunity. Curfman curled in a cross from the left flank and Peterson ducked to let the ball go by him and find Adu at the top of the 18-yard box. With no one around him, Adu took one touch to trap the ball and then, with his left foot, coolly placed the ball past the keeper. Watson ended the rout in the 82nd minute to finish off of a give-and-go with Adu. Watson dropped the ball back to Adu in the midfield then made a run up field through the Poland defense. Adu chipped the ball ahead to Watson, who chested it down and slipped it into the net. The game almost started off horribly for the U.S., as Poland had a great opportunity in the 18th minute, getting a point-blank shot off a cross from the right flank. But goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi came up with a classy save to keep it out of the net. Midfielder Konrad Romanczyk pounced on the cross at the far post, striking it across towards the right side of the goal. Marfuggi reacted quickly, stretching out to knock the shot clear of the goal. Poland never really threatened in the second half, as the U.S. didn't allow a single shot on goal in the second half. The shutout was the sixth for Marfuggi in international matches this year. The Korean Football Association invited the U.S. to play in the tournament, which is in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. The KFA invited all three teams from Group D at the 2002 World Cup, which included Poland, Portugal and the U.S. Portugal was unable to participate, leaving Argentina to take their place as the fourth and final team. Notes: A crowd of at least 40,000 piled into Busan Asiad Main Stadium to watch the final game between Korea and Argentina ... Backup keeper Stephen Sandbo was the only player on the U.S. roster not to see action during the tournament... Thousands of Korean girls lined the streets outside the stadium after the game to wave goodbye to the U.S. players as they left in their bus back to the hotel. SummaryScoring: U.S. - Steven Curfman 37th minute
Lineups:
U.S. - 1-Phil Marfuggi; 14-Julian Valentin, 5-Brandon Owens (20-Jose Gomez, 84), 12-Steve Curfman; 4-Eddie Gaven, 8-John DiRaimondo, 15-Corey Ashe (2-Kyle Helton, 77), 7-Brian Grazier (23-Jacob Peterson, 46), 17-Danny Szetela; 11-Freddy Adu (16-Tim Ward, 84), 10-Guillermo Gonzalez (13-Jamie Watson, 28)
POL - 1-Piotr Dmuchowski (12-Tomasz Grabowski, 78), 2-Marcin Pietron, 4-Tomasz Kotwica, 6-Radoslaw Majewski, 7-Marcin Dopierala, 8-Daruisz Frankiewicz, 9-Konrad Romanczyk (13-Mariusz Pawelec, 69), 10-Lukasz Szary (3-Dariusz Zjawinski, 73), 11-Rafal Wawrzynczok, 16-Jakub Rzezniczak (14-Pawel Pytlarz, 40), 17-Witold Cichy. Misconduct:
USA - Brian Grazier (caution) 22nd minute
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