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USYNT analysis

Thoughts: 10-man U.S. U-20 team falls to Mexico 2-0 in CONCACAF Final

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down the U.S. U-20 team after its 2-0 loss to Mexico in the final to mark a disappointing end to a successful tournament
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 10, 2026
5:00 AM

THE UNITED STATES lost to Mexico 2-0 in the final of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The U.S. team was forced to play with 10-men after starting central defender and captain Chris Applewhite was sent off late in the first half for a foul as the last defender. Despite the result, both the U.S. and Mexico achieved their goals in the tournament after qualifying for the 2027 U-20 World Cup, the 2027 Pan-Am games, and Mexico also qualifying for the Olympics.

The U.S. team fell behind in the 28th minute when Cristian Inda sent a free kick into the box for Carlos Hernandez who then sent it to Cristobal Alfaro who muddled it towards goal. At first, it appeared as if U.S. midfielder Colin Guske and goalkeeper Kayne Rizvanovich kept the ball out but VAR ruled that it crossed the line.

Playing down a man, the U.S. generated a few decent chances in the second half but fell two goals behind in the 69th minute when Inda sent in a corner kick that again found Alfaro in the box.

Here are some thoughts on the tournament for the U.S. team.

 

Solid effort from the U.S. team

 

Mexico had a stronger roster for this tournament than the U.S. team, which struggled mightily for players to be released by their clubs for this tournament. After five games in front of sparse crowds and low-quality opposition, the U.S. team had to then shift gears to play against a good team, in front of a large crowd, at one of the world’s most famous soccer stadiums. They also hand to manage without starting forward Nimfasha Berchimas, who broke his foot against El Salvador, and Christopher Cupps, who was recalled by his club the Chicago Fire.

The U.S. team came to play, and the young players did not look lost in the moment.

In the end, the team was let down by a questionable red card decision and set-piece defending. If not for the red card, it was easy to see a situation where the U.S. team would have been able to get back into the game.

Even when playing down a man, the U.S. team was in the game until the second goal. In the 58th minute, Jaidyn Contreras won a one-on-one battle and sent in a ball that forced a scrambling clearance by the Mexican defense. In the 62nd minute, Ruben Ramos won a duel in the attacking third and then set up Din Kaplija for a shot that went just above the crossbar.

Still, it was a disappointing game in that it left fans and players wondering “what-if.” What would have happened if the U.S. team didn’t have a red card, or if a few more top players were made available?

But entering this tournament, with roster that did not have a lot of experience together, the entire objective was simply to make it to the U-20 World Cup. This team easily achieved that, winning its first five games while outscoring opponents 16-1. Prior to Mexico, the team had one bad hand (the first half against Guatemala) but otherwise played well.

Despite the disappointing end, the U.S. team grew together over the past two weeks, played well for long stretches, qualified for the World Cup, and played hard in a loss to Mexico at the Azteca where the players should still have their heads held high.

 

Building for the World Cup

 

After this tournament, the U.S. U-20 team will look to build towards the 2027 U-20 World Cup which will be co-hosted Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Presumably, the U.S. U-20 team will hold camps during the international fall international windows and maybe in December/January as well. Then next year, there will also be the March international window.

When discussing whether head coach Gonzalo Segares will be able to get his best players released for the tournament, it is important to note that as of now, we still do not know the dates of the U-20 World Cup. Last cycle, the 2025 U-20 World Cup changed its dates in October 2024 from the summer to a start in late September. That made it very difficult on clubs.

We do know that 2027 is going to be a very unusual year in MLS with a “sprint season” followed by the start of the first Fall to Spring season. It is a complete unknown whether clubs will be more willing to release players during a “sprint season” or whether the clubs will see it as a priority to keep players.

It should be stressed that MLS teams were extremely cooperative in 2025 for the U-20 World Cup despite the tournament taking place during the playoff-push. Then head coach Marko Mitrovic was able to secure 100% of the players he wanted from MLS, with several players (such as Brooklyn Raines and Zavier Gozo) being allowed to play who were starters for teams that were in playoff races.

 

Roster competition

 

It is likely that well over half of the players on this U.S. roster the CONCACAF U-20 tournament will not make the final World Cup roster should Segares be able to get his best players.

Even assuming that top age-eligible players Gozo and Peyton Miller will not take part after playing for the 2025 U-20 World Cup team, the list is long of key players who were not here.

The biggest names include Orlando City forward Justin Ellis, New York Red Bull forward and midfielder Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti, Philadelphia Union central defender Neil Pierre and attacking midfielder Cavan Sullivan, LA Galaxy winger/right back Harbor Miller, Seattle Sounders defensive midfielder Snyder Brunell, New York City defensive midfielder Jonny Shore, Real Salt Lake attacker Aidan Hezarkhani, Los Angeles FC midfielder Jude Terry, Eintracht Frankfurt winger Marvin Dills, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mathis Albert, Brentford B goalkeeper Aidan Stokes (on loan from the New York Red Bulls), and AS Roma goalkeeper Giorgio de Marzi.

There are others in the mix as well but just listed above is 14 players with a good shot of being first-choice selections in the 21-man World Cup roster. There will also be more players who raise their game to enter the mix.

For the players on this team for CONCACAF, several players made positive impressions to be in consideration. The biggest winners from this tournament were

  • Jaidyn Contreras: the winger was arguably the team’s best player in CONCACAF
  • Kayne Rizvanovich: the goalkeeper made several important saves in key moments
  • Joshua Torquato: the left back was effective in getting forward.
  • Rubén Ramos: was hot/cold, but still came through in important moments.
  • Xantiago Oyharçabal: The Bilbao playmaker continues grow nicely into the U.S program
  • Christopher Cupps:Although he did not play the last two game, Cupps brings needed quality to the backline

Segares is likely encouraged from this tournament because it gave him a solid baseline of talent to assume he can probably get released for the World Cup. From there, he can likely continue to push for the top players who were not here this tournament.

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