UKRAINE'S QUALIFYING RUN BEGAN more than 18 months ago, during which it was forced to contend with three very difficult UEFA competitions in order to secure a berth in the 2015 FIFA under-20 World Cup. Having previously qualified in 2001 and 2005, Friday morning's match against the United States (3am; Fox Sports 1) will be the war-torn nation's third appearance in the competition. 

Beginning with the buildup to the 2014 UEFA U-19 Championships, the Yellow-Blue posted wins against Estonia, Malta, Montenegro, and England to go with draws with Russia and Scotland to make it to the final round of U-20 qualifying. There, a win against Bulgaria, a draw with Serbia, and a loss to the mighty Germans was enough to book a trip to New Zealand in July 2014.

Nearly a year later that same age group is back together. Extremely lucky to eke out a scoreless draw with host-nation New Zelaand in a sloppily played and nervy World Cup opener, Ukraine delivered a merciless beatdown of Myanmar on Tuesday morning, scoring all six of its goals in the second half. Early Friday morning it will face the Americans—the first team in this competition to qualify for the knockout round. Unless New Zealand can make up a minus-10 goal differential, Ukraine will be moving on regardless of the result. Friday's game will be about building chemistry and confidence as well as jockeying for position in the next round.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM UKRAINE

Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Ukraine absolutely destroyed Myanmar on Monday night. And Ukraine should have scored at least two or three more goals—due in large part to a combination of poor defending and wreckless attacking by Myanmar as it fell behind. After giving up an easy set piece goal in the 51st minute, the swarming defensive tactics of the White Angels led to two Ukraine goals off the counterattack. At that point, the concentration and effort sluffed off significantly, allowing three more scores before the final whistle blew. It should have been more.

It would be easy to blame the scoreline on sub-standard opponents, but you have to give credit to the Ukrainians. They did not let up for a second and were able to score a couple of wonderfully worked goals, regardless of Myanmar’s questionable-at-best defensive strategy. Without the ball, the Americans must keep their composure and defensive shape to avoid the threat of Ukraine’s late-running midfielders, who accounted for four goals on Monday and kept countless attacks alive.

Despite all featuring for the domestic league, the Ukrainians boast a similar number of full-time professionals as the American team. Defender Mykta Burda and midfielders Yevhen Chumak and Ihor Kharatin each made their respective first-team debut for Dynamo Kyiv this season. Vicktor Kovalenko, who scored twice against Myanmar, plays for Champions League fixture Shakhtar Donetsk, while midfield starter Valderiy Luchkevych was an unused substitute for Dnipro in the recent Europa League final. Left back Eduard Sobol—who also scored on Monday—leads the team with 10 appearances throughout the cycle.

PERMUTATIONS

Depending on other results, the Group A winner will face a third-place team in Group C (Senegal or Qatar), D (Serbia, Mali, Uruguay or Mexico), or E (Hungary or Nigeria).

The Group A runner-up will face the runner-up of Group C (likely Portugal or Colombia).

Although the possibility to face Mexico remains on the table for the Round of 16, a win for the Americans offers a much clearer path to the later rounds. If Tab Ramos’ squad can manage a draw or win against Ukraine and—looking way too far ahead—win its opening knockout round match, it would face either the Group B or Group F runner-up in the quarter-finals—a group which could include Ghana, Austria, Argentina, Panama, Honduras, Uzbekistan and the menacing specter of Germany.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE U.S.

How about that Gedion Zelalem kid, huh? In a soccer culture where living up to the hype can be just as dangerous as failing to do so, the Arsenal midfielder—judging by Internet traffic alone—has undoubtedly whet the appetites of countless American supporters. They want more-more-more and they will certainly get it.

After struggling for the right midfield combination throughout World Cup qualification, Ramos has seemingly found the ideal partner for Emerson Hyndman—who himself is having an excellent tournament so far. Zelalem and Hyndman work well off each other, allowing Hyndman to sit a bit further back and cede the roving, playmaking duties to Zelalem (who thrives creating and using open space).

After the team's uneven showing against Myanmar, which saw the American midfield funnelled into oblivion in the middle of the pitch, the introduction of Zelalem and Paul Arriola against the Kiwis on Monday night allowed much more effective wide play, while allowing striker Rubio Rubin to do what he does best.

On the backline, the sqaud boasts the strongest group of youth defenders in several national team cycles. That said, Matt Miazga and Cameron Carter-Vickers have looked, perhaps, too dominant at times. The size and power of the central defedning tandem has already resulted in light whistles from referees who attempted to legistlate on behalf of physcially outmatched opponents. Against Ukraine, this shouldn’t be an issue: they’re big boys.

With five days between the final group match and the start of the knockout round, rest and recovery shouldn’t play a huge role in terms of strategy. It will be up to Ramos, but I’d expect to see a few top stars get a break in this match.

LIKELY STARTING XI

Steffen; Requejo, Palmer-Brown, Carter-Vickers, Payne; Donovan, Sonora, Zelalem; Jameison, Thompson, Arriola

FINAL SCORE: 2-2 draw

ASN Contributing Editor Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.