USA aiming for history at U-20 World Cup: ‘We all believe we can win it all’

Doug McIntyre

Soccer Journalist

The United States under-20 men’s national team snapped one long streak of futility last year, when they qualified the Americans for the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

On Sunday at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, this young USMNT has the chance to erase another dubious distinction: With a victory over Uruguay (5 p.m. ET, FS2), Mikey Varas’ squad can become the first U.S. entry to reach the semifinal of a men’s world championship in almost 23 years.

Based on the performances so far, there’s plenty reason to believe that these are the Americans to do it. The U.S. is a perfect 4-0 after routing New Zealand Tuesday to reach the last eight. They’ve scored 10 goals over those four games, while blue chip keeper Gaga Slonina has conceded none on the other end. And the U.S. has rolled without perhaps their attacking best player, Paxten Aaronson, who starred in last summer’s CONCACAF championship but is needed by Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of Saturday’s German Cup final.

Against Uruguay, the U.S. will also have two days of extra rest. The former has just 72 hours to recover from Thursday’s grueling 1-0 win over Gambia, one that saw starting forward Luciano Rodríguez red carded in the first half. (Rodríguez will be suspended for the semifinal.) Meanwhile, Varas’ players have more than five days between games.

“Longer rest, shorter rest, at the end of the day you have to be able to do short turnarounds at one point or another,” said Varas, who surely doesn’t want to give the Uruguayans any bulletin board material. “We’re just going to focus on making sure we travel well, recover our bodies and keep the boys fresh.”

And obviously, the ultimate goal isn’t merely to reach the final four.

“We want to get to the final, of course,” playmaker Diego Luna told FOX Sports earlier this week. “We all believe we can win it all,” said fellow midfielder Jack McGlynn a few days before that.

A U.S. men’s team has never hoisted a World Cup at any age level. But while the senior men still have a long way to go before becoming a genuine, consistent trophy threat, aspiring to world titles is a more realistic proposition for youth teams.

Mexico, the Americans biggest rival, has won two U17 World Cups and an Olympic gold medal with its under-23 side this century. Ukraine claimed the last U-20 World Cup. In 2015, the U.S. was eliminated by eventual champ Serbia.

That marked the first of four straight quarterfinal appearances for the U.S. at this event. All four ended in defeat. Just handful of U.S. teams have ever progressed further on the global stage. The senior team made the semis at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 but haven’t been back since. The U-20s reached the final four in 1989. At the 1999 U17 World Cup, Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley led the U.S. to a fourth-place finish. The U-23s (plus the three overage additions all participants are allowed) matched the feat at the 2000 Olympics.

That’s it.

Can this team go one better? It has played with joy and purpose so far. Even without Aaronson and a few other club regulars, they’re stacked with talent; Slonina is one of four members of the roster who’ve already been capped at the top international level. They’ve defended like madmen, both as a unit and in individual duels. They haven’t been flawless, but the optimism that they’re capable of something special isn’t unwarranted.

“If there’s something we can improve on, of course we want to be more efficient with the [scoring] chances that we get,” Varas said. “I know that efficiency will come.”

It might have to if the Americans are to progress. The youngsters currently competing in Argentina know what’s at stake against La Celeste. Despite their tender ages, they seem to understand how rarely opportunities like the one they’ve earned come along.

“Everything is focused on Sunday,” Luna said. “The group has put out amazing performances, not letting goals in and scoring goals.

“I think that’s how people win tournaments, right?”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.