United States 4, New Zealand 0 | U-20 World Cup Match Recap
(mlssoccer.com)The United States U-20 national team booked their place in the knockout rounds of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup with a game to spare, thrashing hosts New Zealand 4-0 in Auckland early Tuesday morning via goals from Emerson Hyndman, Paul Arriola and a brace from Rubio Rubin.
The US (2-0-0; 6 points) can now clinch first place in Group A with a win or tie vs. Ukraine in their final group match on Friday (3 am ET; Fox Sports 1, NBC Universo). Ukraine (1-0-1; 4 points) defeated Myanmar 6-0 on Monday, after a scoreless draw with New Zealand in their opening game on May 30.
In contrast to their wobbly opening match vs. Myanmar, coach Tab Ramos’ side seized an early lead vs. the All Whites and did not waver, as Rubin tallied in the wake of a corner kick just six minutes in. The chance was made when Cameron Carter-Vickers thumped a towering header off the woodwork and LA Galaxy Homegrown Bradford Jamieson IV settled the rebound and shot to the far post, where Rubin nipped in for a goal-line tap-in.
Captain Emerson Hyndman – who delivered the corner on the opener – doubled the lead in the 33rd minute, clinically finishing a loose ball from the top of the 18-yard box after Rubin and Jamieson had carved open New Zealand’s back line.
Arriola ran the score to 3-0 after halftime with a razor-sharp strike off the base of the left post following a savvy feed by Gedion Zelalem, who started and played the full 90 minutes for the first time in his fledgling US career.
Rubin grabbed his second in the 83rd minute after a passing combination between substitute Tommy Thompson and Desevio Payne, the latter of whom found Rubin at the far post for another close-range finish. That capped a dominating performance in which the hosts were outshot 30-11.
The victory marked the first clean sheet for the US in a U-20 World Cup match since June 18, 2005, a 1-0 win over Egypt in the Netherlands at what was then known as the World Youth Championship. It’s also the first time in U-20 World Cup history that the US have won their first two matches.
FIFA U-20 World Cup: We need to keep believing - Bazeley
Michael Burgess (The New Zealand Herald)Darren Bazeley is keeping the faith. The Junior All Whites coach remains positive his team can qualify for the knock-out stages of the Under-20 World Cup, despite last night's 4-0 hammering at the hands of the USA.
There wasn't much to like about the New Zealand effort on Tuesday. They gave up some extremely poor goals, lacked the spirit they had displayed against Ukraine and didn't produce much in possession.
It was New Zealand's worst defeat in Under-20 World Cup history, going back to the 2007 tournament in Canada and a significant step back from the opening game. And perhaps most disappointing of all - the home side couldn't lift for a vocal 15,000 strong crowd at Albany Stadium.
Now the Junior All Whites face a must win match against Myanmar on Friday to have any hope of progressing to the last sixteen. They can't finish in the top two places in Group A, but four points should be enough to qualify as one of the best third placed teams.
"I'd love to be on more [points], said Bazeley. "But what we have done with that one point is given ourselves a chance until the 90th minute against Myanmar to get the four points and go through.
"We need to address what happened [against USA] and then move forward. If we put that opportunity in front of the players - win on Friday and then we will do what we said we would - the players can move forward."
However, Myanmar won't be a cakewalk. Despite their heavy 6-0 loss to the Ukraine on Tuesday, they have shown enough in periods of both their matches to be a significant threat. They have pace across the field and have shown some neat touches in possession.
In contrast, New Zealand have struggled to keep the ball for significant periods, especially in the opposition half. Too often a movement breaks down with a poor pass, not helped by the lack of options for the player in possession.
"We work very hard off the ball," said Bazeley. "I think players need to work as hard when we have got possession, especially the players off the ball."
Meanwhile, Bazeley was lamenting their costly - and basic - errors on Tuesday night.
"For us to compete at this level we need to go through games [basically] mistake free," said Bazeley On Saturday we didn't make any mistakes defensively and we came out of it with a clean sheet. [On Tuesday] it hasn't been quite as mistake free as it was and we have been punished."
Match Highlights
