U-17 US Men continue to roll

Italy looked to be the better team during the first few minutes, but soon enough the U-17 men gained their composure and dominated the Italians. This was a much better outing then their game on Saturday against North Korea, but the red, white and blue still need some help in goal. Just like in their first match, young goaltender Bryant Rueckner let an easy free kick get passed him. This allowed the Italians, who were down by two, to sneak back into it with 15 minutes left. However, the US would not let all their hard work slip away and Ryan Soroka got a third for his side in the 90th.

During the 90 minutes, the US kept their cool and frustrated the Italians. This resulted in some foolish play. Salvatore Foti was sent off at the hour make for an off the ball incident involving the US goalie. His coach got to see the showers early too when he was ejected in the 83rd. All and all, the Italians racked up eight cards (two being red) to the US's one.

This is sort of pay back for the U-20s who were tossed from their tournament in the Netherlands by Italy.

Here is the current Group C Standings

Team (GD) Points
USA (+3) 6
North Korea (+2) 3
Italy (-1) 3
Ivory Coast (-4) 0

Friday's matches see the US take on the Ivory Coast and North Korea battle Italy for the second playoff position. Both matches start at 4:30pm EST. The US match will air live on Fox Soccer Channel.