Looking to get it going down in Argentina.
The U.S. Men’s U-20s begin their quest to win an U-20 World Cup when they take on Ecuador this afternoon in their first group game. The U-20s have reached the quarter-finals in each of the 3 previous U-20 World Cups, and this team has visions of going much further this year.
The tournament takes place in Argentina after being moved there from Indonesia just a few months ago. The change in venue has not affected the USMNT U-20s, the Concacaf U-20 champions, who still believe they have what it takes to compete for a world title.
Their first test is against Ecuador, who arrived at the U-20 World Cup by finishing 4th in CONMEBOL qualifying. Despite qualifying with just 1 win and 1 draw in the final round of qualifying, Ecuador is a team that could cause problems for the USA. Still, the USMNT U-20s have a strong squad with 6 players earning senior national team caps. If they lock in, they have the opportunity to send a statement to the rest of the tournament field this afternoon.
Roster
MILK CAPS (3): 21-Alex Borto (Fulham FC), 12-Antonio Carrera (FC Dallas), 1-Gaga Slonina (Chelsea FC)
DEFENDERS (7): 17-Justin Che (Hoffenheim), 5-Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union), 14-Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy), 13-Jonathan Gomez (Real Sociedad), 2-Michael Halliday (Orlando City)*, 3-Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United), 4-Joshua Wynder (Louisville City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls), 10-Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), 8-Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union), 20-Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split), 15-Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes), 18-Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC), 16-Owen Wolff (Austin FC)
FORWARD (4): 9-Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), 11-Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), 7-Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), 19-Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids)
SUPPLEMENTARY (3): Moses Nyeman (Midfield – Real Salt Lake), Korede Osundina (Forward – Orange County SC), Thomas Williams (Defense – Orlando City SC)
*replaced LA Galaxy’s Mauricio Cuevas on roster (injury)
That’s how you see
Announced kick-off time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific
Meeting point: Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina
Available TV: Fox Soccer Plus (English); Telemundo (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports (English), Telemundo (Spanish), FuboTV (Free Trial)
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