Josh Sargent celebrating his third goal of the 2017 under-20 World Cup (photo credit: US Soccer)
Sometimes it is nice to just have an effective 1-0 win. After a wild 3-3 draw against Ecuador in their first match of the 2017 under-20 World Cup, the United States under-20 Men’s National Team decided to take things a bit easier on their supporters. Thanks to a goal from Josh Sargent and a stout defensive effort the USMNT (1-1-0, 4 points) defeated Senegal (1-0-1, 3 points) 1-0 on Thursday at the Incheon Stadium in Incheon, South Korea.
A spot in the knockout round is still not assured for the USMNT. With Saudi Arabia’s (1-0-1, 3 points) 2-0 win over Ecuador (0-1-1, 1 point) all four sides still have a chance at either earning one of the two automatic spots or a chance among the top third place sides. Sunday’s match against Saudi Arabia (4:50am EST, FS1)will be another big test for Tab Ramos’ side. While through the first two matches have proven this side can rise to the occasion their is still more to be done.
1.) A healthy Cameron Carter-Vickers makes for a stronger US defense.
Without Carter-Vickers on Monday the U.S. defense was toothless, looking like a side that might be making a quick exit from this year’s tournament. But the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy product was back for match-day two against Senegal and paid immediate dividends. Against a very difficult Senegal side the USMNT held them to just shots. Considering in their first match against Saudi Arabia Senegal had 21 shots that is quite a shift from two matches.
What is interesting is that as opposed to keeping Tommy Redding in the starting eleven Ramos trusted his faith in Aaron Herrera. That faith paid off with a much improved performance from the University of New Mexico alum. Herrera and Carter-Vickers did a superb job at limiting Senegal’s ability to create chances off of set pieces and crosses into the box. If they can pull off a similar effort against Saudi Arabia they will have a good chance at winning the group and setting themselves up for a deep run.
2.) Brooks Lennon is very comfortable leading the counter-attack.
The Real Salt Lake/Liverpool midfielder helped set up Sargent’s goal in the first half and was very effective at pushing Senegal back on their heels. He seemed to take a page from Ramos and his club coach Mike Petke’s playing style offering a unique blend of technical passing and fearlessness. One of the chief criticisms of the USMNT through the past few years has been a lack of confidence, particularly in creating counter-attacking chances. With Lennon and Sargent Ramos seems to have found 1-2 combination completely willing to throw caution into the wind.
3.) Luca De La Torre=Energizer Bunny
De La Torre, the unsung hero of the Ecuador match, stepped into the spotlight against Senegal and did not disappoint. Whether it was the final pass into Sargent, a deft clear from right inside of the U.S. eighteen yard box, or springing the counter-attack De La Torre was there doing all of the little things. Especially late in the match with Senegal pressing, De La Torre’s work with Erik Palmer-Brown gave the U.S. defense some respite.
The work of a center mid can often be a bit overlooked. Unless they are creating goal-scoring opportunities they can get lost in the shuffle of the match. But quality center-mids find themselves involved in almost every play, even if their names aren’t called during the match. De La Torre’s workmanlike effort gave Senegal fits and was one of the key factors to the U.S. pulling out the three points.
USMNT
FIFA
