New Caledonia showed their superiority over American Samoa with a comfortable 7-0 win on the final day of group B of the U17 Oceania Championship. New Caledonia displayed a very attacking formation knowing their opponents’ weaknesses, using a 3-4-3 system in defence and 3-2-5 in the attack. They unlocked the game after only 4 minutes and finished it off in the second half when the physical difference was noticeable in addition to their quality. With these three points, after having lost 2-3 to New Zealand, they made it through to the quarter-finals in second place.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Anthony Levy
Player profile:
- Nationality: New Caledonia
- Age: 16
- Date of birth: 23/10/2006
- Club: AS Mont-Dore
- Career: AS Mont-Dore (Y)
- Position: Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Left
Anthony Levy played as a central midfielder, moving all over the left side in attack and sometimes even positioning himself as a left-winger. In a performance worthy of being named man of the match, Levy demonstrated a technical quality superior to that of his opponents and also to that of his teammates. Able to combine with one touch using both legs, although the left is his main one, he ruled the game when the ball was on the ground, with almost all the dangerous plays (and there were many of them) coming from his boots. His passing style was always low and short, as opposed to the long balls sent by the central defenders. He was able to read the game perfectly and knew when to change his position to find spaces between the opposition’s defence: this is how the fourth goal was produced, with him starting from the inside to the left, overlapping the full-back and receiving the ball on the wing with space to cross back. Although he had some excellent opportunities to shoot on the edge of the area, he always preferred to link up with a team-mate.
Defensively he was hardly in demand, but he did commit some fouls which were unnecessary due to the low probability of danger from the opposing team. However, despite playing against stronger players than him, he did not suffer in the duels on the ground. He did falter in those aerial ones, as his height is no more than 170 centimetres. He showed stamina, enduring the 90 minutes at a high level of intensity and being able to pressure at all times. On the mental side, it is worth mentioning the apparent leadership he has in the squad, even being the one to take the penalty that made it 2-0 when it can be deduced from his kick that he is not a specialist.
Rating – B1
Levy was undoubtedly the most outstanding player in his team and one of the few who did something to catch the eye at first glance. Considering the opponents, expectations are lowered, but there is no doubt that we will have to follow his progress in the tournament itself as well as afterwards. If he maintains this level in the coming years and against more difficult teams, we could be talking about a player capable of making a difference on the Oceanic continent and who knows if he could make the leap to the lower divisions of France, as Gope-Fenepej did in his day or Abiezer Jeno more recently.