THE UNITED STATES U-20 women’s national team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup in Moncton, Canada, on Tuesday afternoon with a 3-0 win over China in the final game of group play.

The win marked the second victory in a row for the U.S. after it opened the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Germany. The team will now go on to play the winner of Group A in Toronto on Saturday (5p.m. ET; ESPNU and ESPN3).

Here are three things we learned from the U.S.’s match against China.

This Team Has Talent

When the U.S. opened up the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Germany, not only did the squad look disorganized and overmatched, but it also put itself in a big hole with Brazil and China still waiting in group play.

However, the Americans recovered nicely, coming back from the loss with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brazil on Friday night followed up by the win over China four days later. Now the question is, how far can the U.S. go?

The U.S. defense is in a much better place than it was one week ago and, on the offensive end of things, the U.S. is full of firepower. The U.S.’s two best players against China, Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle, accounted for all three of the team’s goals and connected in a beautiful sequence together on the third tally.

Horan was the first American woman to skip college and go straight to the professional ranks. Lavelle is less well-known, but has shown that she is a major prospect in the U.S. player pool. The University of Wisconsin midfielder was the Big 10’s Freshmen of the Year in 2013 and has been nothing short of spectacular thus far in the tournament.

Lavelle’s skill on the ball is something to be admired, as is her comfort level playing in traffic and with her back to pressure. Her pinpoint passes have been key to the U.S. attack all tournament long and her flair—evidenced against China by a gorgeous heel pass, a Maradona in the attacking third, and a perfect finish on her goal—is something not often seen in American players, male or female.

Horan and Lavelle are surrounded by a number of other talented attacking personalities, including Margaret Purce, Makenzy Doniak, Summer Green, Savannah Jordan, and Mallory Pugh—who recovered from a horror tackle in the match against Brazil to start against China.

#USWNT U-20s Mallory Pugh is day-to-day w/ sprained right ankle after this tackle vs. Brazil: http://t.co/2toubqoiYD (h/t @rjcurren)

— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) August 9, 2014

With the talent the team has on board, a deep run in the knockout round should be in the cards.

The Defense Stood Up

Watching China’s listless attack on Tuesday may have given the impression that it is not a formidable team. Not true. China’s women’s program may not be up to the standards of its glory days in the 1990s, but its U-20 team scored five goals against Germany just four days ago—a defense that the U.S.’s powerful attack was unable to crack.

Part of the U.S.’s strong defensive play against China was due to better pressure higher up the field, but there’s also no doubt the American back line has improved over the course of group play. Center backs Cari Roccaro and Katie Naughton struggled against Germany in the opener but rebounded to help the Yanks to shutouts against Brazil and China.

Goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland delivered a rollercoaster performance against Germany, but was much more consistent against Brazil and China. And the same applies for left-back Christina Gibbons (who replaced Brittany Basinger after the Germany game) and right-back Stephanie Amack.

Still a Few Questions

Heading into the quarterfinals, the U.S. still has a number of questions to answer.

One will be whether or not head coach Michelle French is ready to step up on the big stage. In past years the U.S. was coached in youth tournaments by some of the most prominent names in U.S. Soccer. For example, the 2008 and 2012 U-20 teams were coached by U.S. legend Tony Diccio and University of Virginia head coach Steve Swanson, and both teams won world championships. (The 2010 team, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals, was led by current senior team head coach Jill Ellis).

French, however, was hired by U.S. Soccer as a full-time youth coach and, in contrast to her predecessors, has limited experience as a head coach.

So far she has made some questionable decisions in the tournament, something that continued against China. With the team up 3-0, French didn’t sub out Horan or Lavelle, who will both be needed by the U.S. in the quarterfinals and who were both on yellow cards. If either had been hurt, or received a second group-stage caution, it could have proved to be a devastating blow.

French also didn’t start Summer Green against China after Green proved to be the team’s most effective player against Brazil.

Still, the team made it out of a difficult group. French also fixed the problem with the team’s attacking corner kicks—putting a player on the opposing goalkeeper—a change which resulted in a goal and a header off the crossbar in the game against China. Her decision to move Horan to the withdrawn striker role against China also paid dividends.

It’s also worth asking if Taylor Racioppi will get another turn in the U.S.’s midfield. Andi Sullivan started for the U.S. at center midfield in all three group-stage games, but has struggled in possession—especially when put under pressure. When the U.S. is in the knockout rounds, it can’t afford cheap giveaways in transition, or the defensive third.

John D. Halloran is an American Soccer Now columnist. Follow him on Twitter.