Riding high after Monday's 2-1 win over Bolivia in Buenos Aires, the U.S. under-17 boys national team was brought back down to terra firma with a tough 5-1 loss to a supremely talented Argentina team in which the Americans "struggled to come up with answers to the Latin Americans' trickery and all too often landed themselves in trouble with careless play," according to Goal.com's Tim Sturtridge.

"We were too naive in our decisions and the way we played today. When you play against Argentina you cannot be soft." said U.S. head coach Wilmer Cabrera in a dose of harsh reality. But looking at the big picture, Cabrera counseled his young team by saying "I know how much it hurts right now, but in order to learn from an experience like this you have to feel it."

The USA will get a chance at redemption on Friday when it meets Uruguay and tries to build on 2009 results that also include wins over South American teams Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela and an international record of 5-2-2. The U-17s are preparing for the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Tijuana, Mexico in April when they'll be looking to qualify for a record 13th consecutive FIFA U-17 World Cup.

 

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