U-20 World Cup starts today

Kicks-off with Poland-Brazil at 19:15 on Eurosport 2. Renato Augusto, Jô and Alexandre Pato should be starting for Brazil.

All 52 matches will be streamed live on FIFA.com at 400kbps with English commentary.

Perennial favourites Brazil and their star man Alexandre Pato will attempt to tame dark horses Poland in their Group D opener on Saturday. For the Selecao - winners of this tournament back at UAE 2003 - nothing less than three points will do.

The game
Poland v Brazil, Montreal, 30 June, 14:15 (local time)

The stakes
Little is known about Poland at this level, but qualifying through Europe is no mean feat. Nevertheless, in their first match the Poles will face an Auriverde team inspired by the likes of Alexandre Pato and Marcelo, and so will need their wits about them. With the USA favourites in the day's other group game, Brazil will be hoping for a big win to send a message.

The players
Brazil captain and recent Liverpool signing, Lucas, is expected to be out of action for three weeks, but the side can count on the fine overall play of Pato and Marcelo. Poland, for their part, will be counting the man they call 'the new Boniek,' Dawid Janczyk in attack.

The past
Poland have never played Brazil at youth level. The eastern Europeans return to the tournament after a 24-year absence, having last participated in 1983 in Mexico, where they secured third place.

The birthday
Poland player Pawel Adamiec will celebrate his 20th birthday out on the Montreal pitch on 30 June.

The words
"When my team goes out onto the pitch, it goes out to win. But then again, the same is true for national teams all over the world. We take it for granted that Brazil are always the favourite, but that means we have to put in twice as much effort." Brazil coach Nelson Rodrigues.

"There are no leaders in this team. What leads us is our togetherness. For sure, we'll miss our captain Lucas, but his replacement will be just as effective. It's the team that counts." Brazil goalkeeper Felipe.

Argentina-Czech Republic follows at 00:15 on Sunday morning. Looks like a strong squad for the the Albicelestes with the likes of Kun Agüero, Ever Banega, Maxi Moralez, Damián Escudero and Mauro Zárate all set to feature.

In the second Group E match of the day from Ottowa, Hugo Tocalli's Argentina will put their status as one of the championship favourites to the test in an interesting duel with a promising Czech Republic side.

The game
Argentina v Czech Republic, 30 June, 19.15 (local time)

The stakes
In the day's main attraction, Atletico Madrid's Sergio Kun Aguero will lead five-time champions Argentina out against UEFA European U-19 semi-finalists Czech Republic, a side with the ability to pull off a surprise result. With Panama taking on Korea DPR in the other group game on Saturday, three points from the favourites Argentina is well expected from pundits and fans alike.

The players
Argentina and Czech Republic are at full strength for their fascinating clash, with no players suspended from the qualifying stages.

The past
Argentina and the Czechs have never faced each other before in the finals, although the South Americans did beat the former Czechoslovakia at Mexico 1983 with a side containing Jorge Theiler, now one of Tocalli's assistant coaches.

The words
"We've got a number of objectives at this tournament, but the main one is to play seven games. That's what we're here for and we're hopeful of achieving just that." Sergio Romero, Argentina goalkeeper.

"Argentina are the favourites, but we've got to go and play our game. This match will show us exactly where we are, and I honestly think we can spring a surprise." Tomas Pekhart, Czech Republic

That's good news that the games are on FIFA.com, though I've learned to expect streaming broadcasts to be Mac-unfriendly.

you might see me at the Burnaby games - i'll be at them all.

Originally Posted by Grimson

That's good news that the games are on FIFA.com, though I've learned to expect streaming broadcasts to be Mac-unfriendly.

It's supposed to be covered on ESPNU and Telelatino in the US. Do you get either one?

Originally Posted by Serenity Now

It's supposed to be covered on ESPNU and Telelatino in the US. Do you get either one?

Result! The games are on Fox Sports Espanol, who are probably getting their feed from Telelatino.

Wikipedia seems to be the best reference for this tournament.

Mexico look like a team worth watching. Both Gio Dos Santos and Carlos Vela should be playing for them.

Piqué is in the Spain squad.

*EDIT* Just remembered that Alexis Sánchez is in the Chile squad. He belongs to Udinese but has been on loan at Colo-Colo. 18 years old and very highly rated in Chile. Managed a hat-trick against Caracas in the Libertadores a couple of months back. A lot of people expected him to go with the senior squad to the Copa America.

I seem to recall there was another one who nearly made Chile's Copa America squad. Can't remember who it was though

Interesting results on the Wiki pages. Looking at recent past tournaments, the question must be asked - what is wrong with the English football hierarchy? Not qualified for this year, not qualified a few other times, and eliminated after the first round without scoring a single goal TWICE in the last decade.

Originally Posted by Serenity Now

Mexico look like a team worth watching. Both Gio Dos Santos and Carlos Vela should be playing for them.

Piqué is in the Spain squad.

Three Football Manager legends, right there- I might have to check them out....

This is probably Adu's last chance- if he doesn't do anything in this tournament he may be finished as a top prospect.....

[YOUTUBE]980WkeVvVek[/YOUTUBE]

Sanchez is suspended for the Canada game, isn't he?

Originally Posted by Grimson

Sanchez is suspended for the Canada game, isn't he?

He is.

This Chile side is very highly rated, so it'll be interesting to see if they can match the hype.

Alright, had a look at the squad list for Uruguay and there a couple of players I've seen or heard good things about.

Edinson Cavani is a striker. Was the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQPFEO_wmDo

in Sudamericano Sub-20 tournament. Signed for Palermo in the January transfer window and had an instant impact, scoring a fantastic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMZUHfL2HQE

on his debut.

Martín Cáceres of Defensor is rated as one of the best young centre-backs in South America. 19 years old. Signing for Villareal this summer.

Since Tabárez took over as manager Uruguay have been playing the same system as the senior side at all levels, so it'll be a 4-3-3 for them.

Spain are also ones to watch there first game is v uraguay which could be interesting.

Anyone watching this? Poland leading 1-0 after a great free-kick from someone whose name I can't spell. Cassio should have done better with it though.

The Poles are commiting a lot of fouls, knocking the Brazilians off their rhythm.

Pato and Jô have both been disappointing up front. Service hasn't been great though, a lot of long balls from the defence.

Been quite impressed with Leandro Lima, thus far he's looked the most skillful player out there.

Just having a look now, the Poles seem to be more than holding their own...

Not enough width for the Brazilian midfield, they all want to play down the middle. The fullbacks are the only ones willing to stay wide at the moment.

If they want to press the man advantage they need to stretch the pitch more effectively.

Originally Posted by Rex7

This is probably Adu's last chance- if he doesn't do anything in this tournament he may be finished as a top prospect.....

Altidore is a much better prospect
Patos been crap tbh, but Leandro Lima FM legend has done well

Also, why the £#%&! did Zarate go to Qatar?

Fair play to Poland.. down to 10 men and still hung on... they wont be samba-ing in Sao Paolo tonight...