im pretty sure everyone that plays sports wants to win.

Other nations such France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands view qualifying for the Under 17 and Under 19 European Championships as a must. This is because qualification means you are one of the 7 best teams in Europe for that age level in that year.

Spain have made 7 of the last 7 Under 19 European Championships which includes winning 4 of the 7 tournaments
France have made 7 of the last 10 Under 19 European Championships and made the Semi Final or better in all 7 of those

Have a look at the last 10 Under 17 European Champions (as we are currently talking about this level). The 4 most consistent/ successful nations have been the top European nations in recent years. Now if they were performing poorly at Youth level and still producing great senior squads then I would agree that getting results at youth level means little. 1-2 of these Under 17 players normally go on to play for the Senior team, however it adds up over time.
Netherlands Winners (x2), Runners Up (x3) Semi Finals (x1)
Spain Winners (x2), Runners Up (x2), Semi Finals (x1)
Germany Winners (x1), Runners Up (x3), Semi Finals (x1)
France - Winners (x1) Runners Up (x1), Semi Finals (x3)
Russia - Winners (x2), Semi Finals (x1)
England - Winners (x1), Runners Up (x1)
Turkey - Winners (x1), Semi Finals (x2)

Of course I do but don't you think for these young kids, having a winning mentality is a bit of a dictatorship. I'm not sure at all of how the North Koreans play, but surely from a young age they are told that winning is everything. Maybe its paying off for them maybe not. But what happens when they lose?
For Australians on the other hand at a youth tournament that's going a bit far, drilling into them to have a winning mentality. I'm also sure that most of these kids are playing because they love the sport not because they want to win every game they play. But yes I do agree with you.:-k

A winning mentality is built up over a period of time. It’s not a case of being born with a good attitude and work ethic. You have to develop and nurture a winning mentality in young players, these are just as important as the technical skill a player develops.The game is meant to be won.Winning happens with experience, knowledge and an understanding of the game. A combination of technical skill, tactical knowledge, psychological strength and physical capability make up a quality football player. The stronger these skills, the more likely they become winners.

Any team can have a winning mentality if they are playing superior football to their opposition.

If a team constantly nicks results, like Greece did in Euro 2004, usually there is only disappointment that follows down the track.

Edited by Decentric: 9/8/2015 12:54:40 PM

Good to see we are in agreement, obviously we have to be careful to not go over the top with it, footballers must still express themselves. It is not a win at all costs type mentality, but learning to get through adversity, struggles such as "Humidity, cold, poor pitches, teams that stop you playing your game" scenarios. This allows the players to learn and still achieve your primary goal which is to win the game. Too many times I have seen our teams at youth level pretty much throw in the towel when things are not going their way or simply appear to not want to fight for the extra yard against a lesser opponent. Sometimes they have looked lost and panic when playing out from the back is not working, instead of finding ways to make their game work. Watching the recent Under 19 and Under 17 European Championships opened my eyes to how far behind we are. Although some of the blame I do think is due to poor coaching from some of the youth team managers.

In terms of numbers, again Alistair Edwards suggests that only 24 teams make the world underage championships.

If one progresses past the group stage he proffers that it is attaining one of the top 16 ranked football nations in the world.

Edited by Decentric: 9/8/2015 01:53:54 PM

That is pretty condemning.

One would almost have to be at pitchside to make that appraisal.

True, True, True but the only thing I'm unsure of is with this winning mentality, we want the sport to grow in Australia? yes, because atm AFL is boring af and is losing supporters very quickly . When kids come to play they need to know that they will be guided in the right direction to get to the highest level possible, and I don't think that drilling a winning mentality into the sport would be good for our current stance in the sport. So it needs to be a gradual process as the kids progress through the U20's to the U23's and into the senior sides. No parent wants their kid to be one way thinkers and not know how to lose. No one wants to be around those kids.

Looking at this data, is interesting.

Again thanks for your research, Jono.

It would appear than France are doing better at youth level than their senior level ATM.

Having travelled extensively, in Europe and Asia, I would also advance a case that playing away from home in Europe is relatively homogeneous compared to the heterogeneity of conditions manifest in Asia. Teams often have to travel a long way to play in unfamiliar conditions, particularly us.

This was a factor in an overconfident senior Socceroo team, who had recently reached the last 16 of Germany 2006, struggling in the 2007 Asian Cup.

I think a cogent argument could be advanced that many of the top European underage teams, like France, Holland, Germany and Spain, could also struggle in the Asian conditions experienced by Australia. How many times have these teams played 5 matches in 10 days in tropical heat and humidity?

Of course it would dal so be very difficult for teams to play 5 matches in 10 days in a Greek Southern Turkish summer too. Has this ever happened though?

Overall, as long as Australia qualifies for tournaments , it makes them a much more match hardened team by having to overcome adversity in the Asian conditions.






Edited by Decentric: 9/8/2015 01:54:43 PM

Thanks for the responses, but all I have seen for ten years are excuses - at every level. Now I know winning every game isn't a priority, but getting done easily by Vietnam, El Salvador and Thailand is worrying.

Does anyone really believe our youth players look better than they used to? Many cannot hold the ball or even have a decent touch.

There is just as much, if not more chance that in ten years we will still be saying exactly the same thing, with the same results.

Yes France are performing better at youth level (especially as of late), however QF at 2014WC and QF at 2012 Euros where they lost to the eventual champions in both tournaments is probably not that bad. Although they should be doing better.

With regards to playing in Greece. The Under 19 European Championships (1-Spain 2-Russia 3-France) was contested in Greece although not the southern part. Some of the matches were played at 30 degrees. However not as severe as the conditions we see in Asia. I'm sure the Euro sides would struggle to play in some of the conditions we see in Asia however, given what I have seen of these sides I think they would still win most of these tournaments. Especially as we haven't seen Asian teams do well at the Under 20 and 17 World Cups. Semi's or better in the last 25 years for Asian teams at these tournaments.
Japan 1999 Under 20 Runners Up - this squad actually made up the future bulk of the 2002 , 2006 World Cup squads and 2004 Asian Cup winning squads
Iraq 2013 Under 20 4th Place
Saudi Arabia 1989 Under 17 World Champions - 6 of these players represented Saudi Arabia at the 1994 (Round of 16) and 1998 World Cup

Question. ..Is the NC played exactly the same at u14 and u15s in every state?

did you watch the first few games?

full replays are available
they are a pretty huge step up in quality

unfortunately our technique deteriorated in each game (a game every 2 days is tough)

eventually our technique was only mildly better than our opponents

Keep in mind that these boys have only come together for the first time. Have been asked to play a different style of the 433 for most. Have come to a place where it's hot humid and food is a problem. 10 of the 23 flew straight from the UK where they played 6 games in a week and have been away from home for a month.
So I for one I'm a bit reluctant to judge just yet and I've been here for 12 days and seen it first hand. No one here will make any excuses as excuses are for the weak but understand why and how is the key. The boys will be off to Vietnam in 5 weeks from now. Let's see how this experience affects them, good or bad?

Hopefully it goes well for the lads and they take this experience on board and learn from it. Some of the boys are very crafty on the ball. Thailand's second goal was great however, quick 1 2 counter attack followed by a great shot. I am actually quiet optimistic about our U16 team, even though I am disappointed they did not reach the final here. Fingers crossed results start showing how good they actually are in the near future.

It should be.

I understand that climatic conditions were an issue, but we can not accept this as an excuse. Thailand played in exactly the same conditions/days etc Surely we are aware of the weather before we arrive to these tournaments. The coaching staff should factor this into their training regime and I understand this is a challenge as they only come together days before a tour. So perhaps the preparations for these conditions need to be addressed whilst boys are in their state/clubs .And guess what?, we are part of the Asian Federation and extreme weather is something our squads will be facing on a regular basis.
My take on the games, I loved our attacking style of play earlier in the tournament and it was impressive to see how they moved the ball. I do believe there were issues defensively. On many occasions our GKs passed the ball well but were caught out in no mans land on more than the odd occasion. Against better oppositions the score against us would have been more.

Edited by koro44: 9/8/2015 05:55:46 PM

Good post Koro.

The FFA have a lot to think about. We conceded far too many goals in this tournement.

Yep spot on Koro. I hate to lay it all at the feet of the management, but is there really any other option in this instance? I love the style that we are playing but the organisation behind everything seems lacklustre to say the most.

Edited by Draupnir: 9/8/2015 06:07:15 PM

It seems that most people agree that what really cost us was that the boys got tired because of the tight schedule (double for the NSW boys who went to the UK), otherwise we would have won? Correct me if I'm wrong.

If that is the case, I don't really see this as a problem at all. These kids should be focusing on their technique for the next couple of years, not trying to build endurance. I think it would be a waste of their training to increase the focus on the physical side of things at the expense of technique, movement, etc. From what I understand even Barcelona, who most would agree are the best academy in the world, have very little focus on physical development until 16 years old. Happy to be corrected by the more knowledgeable people in this thread but being beaten by tiredness at this age doesn't have me hitting the panic button.

Could be also a result of the playing style too? It does take a lot energy to play pro-actively with high levels of pressing and a up tempo passing.

Try to do that for 5 games in 8 days can be a bit taxing you think not?

Anyway im very exciting by the talent coming through at under 15 level.

Scored already against Laos.

2-0 now, much more like it.

Thumbs Up

Wait what??? Werent we knocked out?

3rd place match

Ahh cool.
Who made the final to play Thailand?

Stream dead lol

Glad it's not just mine lol