[Frank Cunha]

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"He's a Houdini-type player. That's the best way to describe him."
-- U.S. U-17 forward Jamie Watson on his striking partner Freddy Adu.

"I said, 'There's no way, this is just hype.' I saw this little kid
walking up. After the first practice, I left with my jaw hanging. Now
I joke about it at practice: 'Do something I've never seen before,'
and he does something physically impossible."
-- Watson on Adu.

"After I graduate, I want to go pro as soon as I can. Graduating high
school is very important to me. My mom wouldn't let me go anywhere
until I finish high school. I think it's a good decision. Whatever my
mom says is right. I had already skipped a couple grades before I
went to Bradenton, and we take an accelerated school program in
Bradenton, so I'll graduate in late May."
-- Freddy Adu, who has scored four goals for the USA at the U-17
World Cup, in which the Americans face Brazil in the quarterfinals on
Sunday.

"Heading into the tournament there was a general sense that we'll let
the process take its time and sit back and maybe a month after the
tournament we'll start to listen to some things. That has absolutely
changed. It's a question of weeks now, not months."
-- Adu's agent Richard Motzkin on entertaining pro club offers for
the 14-year-old. (Washington Post)



1. U-17 WORLD CUP: USA faces Brazil in quarterfinals on Sunday

The United States faces Brazil Sunday in the quarterfinals of the
U-17 World Cup aiming to become the second U.S. squad in the
tournament's history to reach the semifinals.

(TV: Sunday, Aug. 24, delayed on Galavision, East Feed 11 am ET/West
Feed, cable only, 11 am PT. West Coast small-dish subscribers receive
East Feed, 8 am PT).

The United States, the only nation to play in all 10 U-17 World Cups,
reached the semifinals in 1999, when Landon Donovan and DaMarcus
Beasley won the Golden Ball and Silver Ball, respectively. Australia
beat the Americans on penalty kicks in the semi and they lost to
Ghana in the third-place game.

The Americans reached the second round on two other occasions, losing
in the quarterfinals in 1991 and 1993.

Coach John Ellinger, who was also in charge in 1999 and 2001, was
asked to compare this year's team with his previous squads:

"It's not an easy question. There has been some great individual
talent on all three teams. If you look at the roster in 1999, almost
all of the starters are playing professionally, with the exception of
one or two players.

"With the second group, you have seven players who, within a couple
of months after the event was over, were all playing professionally
-- guys like Eddie Johnson and Santino Quaranta, even one of the
reserves, David Johnson, who is playing for Willem II in Holland.

"Even on this team, we have three players who have signed pro
contracts, and I suspect one more pretty soon. Talent-wise, I think
the players always get better. Tactically we need to get sharper, but
I think the rest of the world is moving along at the same pace.

"Technically, every group has been better than the one before it. I'm
just extremely excited because in all my years as a coach, I have
never been able to get to the second round after two games."

The United States has faced Brazil twice at a U-17 World Cup. In
1989, the Americans notched a historic 1-0 win over the Brazilians on
a goal by Imad Baba. The team included current U.S. national team
captain Claudio Reyna.

In 1997, the Brazilians defeated the United States, 3-0, in first-round play.

In the first round of this year's tournament, Brazil tied Cameroon,
1-1, beat Portugal, 5-0, and beat Yemen, 3-0.

"I know nothing about Brazil right now," said U.S. forward Freddy
Adu, who has notched four goals at this year's U-17 World Cup. "We've
seen a couple of their games on TV. You can't really judge the way
they play based on what you see on TV, because in Guatemala [during
qualifying] we saw a couple teams on TV that to us didn't look very
good, but we when we got out on the field, they were a lot better
than we thought. It's Brazil. We know they are going to be very
skillful, and we just have to be prepared for it."

For more from Ellinger and forwards Freddy Adu and Jamie Watson, go to:
http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562133690

2. U-17 WORLD CUP: Schedule

QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, Aug. 23: Colombia-Costa Rica (25)
Saturday, Aug. 23: Argentina-Mexico (26)
Sunday, Aug. 24: Brazil-USA (27)
Sunday, Aug. 24: Spain-Portugal (28)

SEMIFINALS
Wednesday, Aug. 27: Winner 25-Winner 27 (29)
Wednesday, Aug. 27: Winner 26-Winner 28 (29)

THIRD-PLACE
Saturday, Aug. 30: Loser 29-Loser 30

FINAL