The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team rolled to a second straight Group A victory at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, shutting out tournament host New Zealand 4-0 at North Harbor Stadium in Auckland.
The USA got on the board early in the first half with a goal from forward Rubio Rubin following a set-piece play. U.S. captain Emerson Hyndman followed with his second goal of the tournament in the first half to send the Red, White and Blue into the half with a 2-0 lead. Midfielder Paul Arriola added a third tally for the U.S. in the second half and Rubin scored his second a few minutes later, as the U.S. defense held firm to record its first shutout in a U-20 World Cup match since June 18, 2005, when it blanked Egypt, 1-0.
With the second consecutive victory, the USA (2-0-0; 6 points) is in first place in Group A ahead of its final group match with Ukraine on June 5.
Ukraine (1-0-1; 4 points) defeated Myanmar earlier in the day 6-0, after tying New Zealand in its opening game on May 30. The U.S. needs a tie or win against the Easter Europeans to finish first in the group. No matter the result however, the USA has secured advancement to the Round of 16 as even with a loss, they would still finish as one of the top two teams in Group A.
With his score, Hyndman tied Maki Tall with three goals for the USA in 2015, a leading mark among players on the U.S. World Cup roster; Rubin and Arriola each have two so far this year. The USA outshot New Zealand 30-11 in tonight’s match.
Next, the U.S. will conclude Group A play against Ukraine on June 5 at QBE Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Kickoff is set for 3 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go and NBC Universo.
Additional Notes:
- The game represented the first time in 14 U-20 World Cups/Youth Championships that the USA has won its first two matches of the tournament.
- After its first two matches of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the USA has now scored six goals, the second most goals scored after two games in U.S. U-20 World Cup history (seven in 2007, six in 1993).
- Midfielder Emerson Hyndman scored his second goal of the U-20 World Cup. He has scored in consecutive games, also scoring the game-winning goal against Myanmar on May 30. It was his third international goal with the U-20s, all coming in 2015.
- Hyndman is the first U.S. player to score in consecutive U-20 World Cup games since Jozy Altidore did it in 2007.
- Hyndman wore the captain’s armband for the third-straight time. He made his debut as captain against Australia during a friendly on May 19.
- Rubio Rubin and Hydman are the only two players on the roster to have been capped at the senior level under U.S. MNT head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. Hyndman made his debut during the second half of the U.S. MNT’s 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in September 2014, and Rubin started against then No. 3-ranked Colombia this past November.
- Goalkeeper Zack Steffen recorded his seventh career shutout with the U-20’s.
- Midfielder Gedion Zelalem made his third appearance for the USA and earned his first start. He provided an assist on Paul Arriola’s goal in the second half for his first point in a U.S. uniform.
- Paul Arriola, Desevio Payne, Zelalem and Bradford Jamieson IV were the four changes in Tab Ramos’ starting lineup from the USA-Myanmar matchup.
- The USA’s three substitutions of the game were: Tommy Thompson coming in for Jamieson IV, John Requejo for Rubin and Joel Soñora for Marky Delgado, all coming in the second half.
- Thompson’s appearance was his 19th for the U-20 MNT, which leads all U.S. players on the roster.
- The defense was anchored by Payne, Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kellyn Acosta. Miazga, Carter-Vickers and Acosta also started in the backline for the USA against Myanmar.
-U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team vs. New Zealand U-20 Men’s National Team
Date: June 2, 2015
Competition: 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup New Zealand
Venue: North Harbor Stadium; Auckland, New Zealand
Kickoff: 3:00 a.m. ET
Attendance: 15,678
Weather: 56 degrees; Rain
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 2 2 4
NZL 0 0 0
USA – Rubio Rubin (Bradford Jamieson IV) 6th minute
USA – Emerson Hyndman 33
USA – Paul Arriola (Gedion Zelalem) 58
USA – Rubio Rubin (Desevio Payne) 83
Lineups:
USA: 1-Zack Steffen; 17-Desevio Payne, 4-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 5-Matt Miazga; 6-Kellyn Acosta; 15-Marky Delgado (Joel Soñora, 87), 8-Emerson Hyndman (capt.), 19-Gedion Zelalem, 7-Paul Arriola; 9-Rubio Rubin (3-John Requejo, 84), 11-Bradford Jamieson IV (13-Tommy Thompson, 62)
Substitutions Not Used: 12-Thomas Olsen, 21-Jeff Caldwell, 2-Shaquell Moore, 16-Conor Donovan, 18-Erik Palmer-Brown, 20-Jordan Allen
Head coach: Tab Ramos
NZL: 1-Oliver Sail; 2-Jesse Edge, 3-Deklan Wynne, 4-Sam Brotherton, 5-Adam Mitchell; 6-Bill Tuiloma (capt.), 7-Joel Stevens (17-Andrew Blake, 62), 8-Moses Dyer, 10-Clayton Lewis; 11-Matthew Ridenton (15-Monty Patterson, 46), 20-Noah Billingsley (19-Stuart Holthusen, 82)
Substitutions Not Used: 12-Nikola Tzanev, 21-Damian Hirst, 9-Alex Rufer, 13-Brock Messenger, 14-Cory Brown, 16-Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, 18-Andre De Jong
Head coach: Darren Bazeley
Stats Summary: USA / NZL
Shots: 30 / 11
Shots on Goal: 11 / 2
Saves: 2 / 7
Corner Kicks: 5 / 9
Fouls: 9 / 10
Offside: 0 / 1