Part of what makes these last few years so disappointing for Mexico fans is that the under-17 team looked so good in winning the World Cup in 2005. I mean, Giovanni, Vela, Villaluz, and co. absolutely stomped Brazil and Holland in the semis and finals, and everyone here thought that Mexico was ready to make the leap into the stratum inhabited by Brazil, Argentina, Spain, et cetera. It hasn't quite turned out that way. Vela has yet to make a huge impact at Arsenal, Gio has looked totally lost both in England and with the national team (recent signs of life notwithstanding), and none of the other youngsters seem to have international star written all over them. In any event, in 2018 all of those guys will be pushing 30, so a 2018 run will depend a great deal on the present U-17 group, which we'll have a chance to see this fall in Nigeria.
Making matters worse is the fact the US has firmly established itself as Concacaf's best team. In fact, we're five slots ahead of Portugal in the new Fifa rankings. Of course, this says more about the reliability of the rankings than anything, but it's still a nice feather.
No comments:
Post a Comment