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U.S. Under-20 Team

Young Yanks Give Up Late Goal, Draw with Guatemala

The United States U-20 national team dominated play in the first round of the CONCACAF Championship in Jamaica, but a late strike by Jose Ruiz tied things up, and left the Yanks dumbstruck.
BY Josh Deaver Posted
January 09, 2015
8:57 PM
GUT. PUNCH. DELIVERED.

The Tab Ramos-led United States under-20 men’s national team were struck a significant blow on Friday, with the young Americans drawing 1-1 with Guatemala to open Group A play in the 2015 under-20 CONCACAF Championship. The Americans saw an early second half goal from Cameron Carter-Vickers cancelled out byan incredible 20-yard volley from FC Dallas academy product Jose Ruiz in the final minute of regulation.

As the Guatemalans celebrated in rapture, the young Yanks were lefts with hands on their heads. Under the flood lights at Independence Park in Kingston, the Americans had completely bossed possession throughout the match, keeping the Azul y Blanco on their heels for most of the night. Recent Freiburg SC signee, goalkeeper Zack Steffen, barely broke a sweat until Ruiz’s sumptuous volley skated just over his outstretched fingers.

While it was a jaw-dropping goal, the Guatemalans should feel fortunate for escaping with a decidedly unearned point.

With Ramos rolling out an attack-minded lineup, the Yanks controlled the tempo early, with all 10 field players frequently making their way into the Guatemalan half. Among the standouts of these early forays was San Jose Earthquakes homegrown forward Tommy Thompson, whose deft twists and turns on the right touchline opened space for the U.S. strike corps, leading to some early chances in the final third. Thompson himself produced the best scoring opportunity in the first half, latching on to a John Requejo cross (after a clever dummy by, who else, Thompson) only to have his shot saved inside the six-yard box and the rebound sky over the crossbar.

The best Guatemala could muster was a series of minimally threatening crosses at around the half-hour mark and a lot of rough challenges on the American attack. Guatemala ended the half with zero shots on goal and 10 fouls.

While the Americans generated a few half-chances and scuffed shots in the first 45 minutes, the best scoring chances did not come until after the break—specifically, with the entrance of Fulham midfielder Emerson Hyndman, the only European based professional in the American squad.

A late arrival to camp, Hyndman's presence immediately buttoned up the U.S. midfield which looked out-of-sorts positionally with the combination of FC Dallas’ Kelyn Acosta and Tijuana’s Paul Arriola, both of whom attempted to get forward with frequency—leaving the backline unprotected at times.

In the 58th minute Hyndman’s calming presence paid dividends, with the Texas native delivering a pinpoint corner to the head of Tottenham’s man-child defender, Cameron Carter-Vickers. Displaying a vertical leap that would make his NBA veteran father proud, Cameron rose up and looped the ball far post for the American goal.

The remainder of the match appeared to be a fait accompli for the Americans as the challengers could hardly get a good touch on the ball. Both Hyndman and Sunderland’s Lynden Gooch had good chances to double the advantage late in the second half but couldn’t find the target.

With late midfield substitutions, Ramos attempted to preserve the points, but the late corner—a sequence that started, coincidently, from referee interference—delivered the kind of heartbreak all too familiar for followers of the seemingly cursed U.S. youth national teams.

FINAL THOUGHTS

  • The Americans will feel hard done by the result due to its largely positive performance. The Americans had several chances to put the Guatemalans to bed, but just couldn’t find the target. While it starts the campaign on a sour note, the qualification process is much easier for the region’s heavyweights this time around. Sitting on one point in Group A, the Yanks would need to finish in the top three for a chance at the World Cup. With minnows like Aruba and Trinidad and Tobago, advancing shouldn’t be an issue.

  • Ramos looked to have midfield depth before the match, but the abundance of options caused some positional issues in the opening match. The choice to start Paul Arriola and Kelyn Acosta in front of the backline was a bit of head scratcher. Communication seemed frazzled and only calmed down with the entrance of Emerson Hyndman—who is very, very good by the way.

  • The U.S. backline is light years ahead of the 2013 iteration of the under-20’s and maybe the area that has seen the most improvement between cycles. Cameron Carter-Vickers is a freakish athlete at age 17. He looked strong against the seldom Guatemalan attacks, was good in the air, and scored his first international goal in the 1-1 draw.

  • The Americans await a matchup with Panama on Sunday—a club that easily dispatched Aruba, 4-0, earlier in the afternoon. This will be the toughest test of the group with the Yanks now desperately seeking a result.

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