HERRIMAN, Utah (Monday, May 29, 2023) - The United States U-20 Men’s Youth National Team is set to face New Zealand in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, May 30 at 11:30 a.m. MT in Mendoza, Argentina after topping Group B with three shutout victories.
The United States is looking to extend their winning streak at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, having advanced to the Quarterfinal stage in each of the last three tournaments.
The United States defeated Slovakia 2-0 this past Friday, taking all nine possible points from the group stage. Young Real Salt Lake midfielder **Diego Luna** featured in the starting XI for the second time and was impactful in the American attack, linking up with teammates and exploiting gaps in the Slovakian defense, narrowly missing on a few scoring opportunities before being subbed off in the 73rd minute.
Luna was monumental in the 3-0 win against Fiji three days earlier, opening the scoring for the Americans in the 66th minute, his fifth goal for the Stars and Stripes and the Northern Californian’s first-ever at a World Cup. Dribbling from the left side of the 18-yard-box, Luna played a centering pass to Cade Cowell, who took one touch and was brought down from behind, the ball trickling away from his feet. Aware of the no-call, Luna pounced on the rolling ball and curled a shot to the far post, beating the outstretched Fijian ‘keeper to put the Red, White and Blue in front. Luna also assisted Cowell on the second goal in the 88th minute to cement the win.
The United States opened the tournament last Saturday, May 20 with a 1-0 win against Ecuador, thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Jonathan Gómez. Luna had a solid 89-minute performance in the victory, flashing his dribbling abilities and showing off his creativity in the final third, narrowly missing an open net from distance with an audacious outside-of-the-right-boot effort after dispossessing the ‘keeper.
New Zealand comes into the match Tuesday having finished third in Group A behind hosts Argentina and second-place Uzbekistan, squeaking through to the knockout stages as one of four third-place finishers. The young Kiwis finished on four points, falling to Argentina 5-0 but defeating Guatemala 1-0 and splitting the points with Uzbekistan 2-2, trailing them with a negative goal differential at the end of group play.
The Junior All Whites, as they are known in New Zealand, have advanced to the Round of 16 in the last three installments of the U-20 World Cup, but have never advanced to the Quarterfinals in their existence. The two countries have faced each other twice before in the tournament. In 2017 New Zealand lost in the Round of 16 to the United States 6-0, with RSL Homegrown **Justen Glad** scoring the fourth goal in the blowout. They also faced each other in the group stages in the 2015 U-20 World Cup, where the Americans took a 4-0 victory and RSL striker **Rubio Rubín** scored the fourth and final goal of that dominant victory for the United States.
The game will be available to watch on FS2 (see USSoccer.com for more details).
Should the U.S. advance Tuesday, the Quarterfinal stage will take place on the weekend of June 3-4. The FIFA U-20 World Cup Semifinals will be played on Thursday, June 8, with the Final on Sunday, June 11 at La Plata Stadium. The United States entered the tournament as favorites to get out of the group stage, failing to advance past the final eight in the last three U-20 World Cups. The U-20 U.S. MYNT won the 2022 CONCACAF Championship en route to qualification, defeating the Dominican Republic 6-0 in the final.
