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U-20 USMNT kicks off Dallas Cup with pair of wins

Soccer - International Soccer - FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 - Group stage - Group A - Ghana v USA

By FRANCO PANIZO

The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team is off to a dream start at the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup.

A day after securing a 3-2 win over Argentine club River Plate, the U.S. blanked German side Eintracht Frankfurt, 3-0, on Monday. Real Salt Lake’s Benji Lopez, Philadelphia Union’s Zach Pfeffer and Lorient’s Romain Gall each found the back of the net in the triumph.

Lopez netted the winner near in the 43rd minute off a feed from Pfeffer, who added a goal of his own shortly after halftime. Gall added another goal three minutes before the final whistle to ensure the Americans would get the win and improve to 2-0.

A day earlier, the U.S. knocked off River Plate. Indy Eleven’s Ben Spencer scored a brace, which included the game-winning penalty kick, and Rubio Rubin had the other tally for Tab Ramos’ side.

Spencer scored the Americans’ first in the 15th minute off a feed from Jordan Allen, who also assisted on Rubin’s 74th-minute equalizer. Five minutes later, Spencer netted the go-ahead goal via a penalty kick that was earned by Kellyn Acosta.

The U.S. will attempt to stay perfect on Wednesday when they close out group play with a match against Tigres UANL.

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What do you think of the Americans’ start at the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup? Are you impressed with these results? Think they will go a perfect 3-0 on Wednesday?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Nice to see the RSL youth prospects contributing. They have one of the best academies in MLS and we are seeing it now at both the U18 and U20 level. Allen had two assists in the first game and Benji Lopez scored in the 2nd. At U18 they have Saucedo, who scored a nice goal against Mexico, Glad and Christian Herrera the goalkeeper.

    As an RSL fan I am really excited about the future for RSL. Glad, Lopez and Allen have already signed homegrown contracts and Allen has already earned playing time as an 18 year old. Another homegrown signing for RSL is Carlos Salcedo who just got called into the Mexico U20 team. Then the RSL academy teams seem to win the MLS youth cups every year at almost every age group. Nice to see these academies producing players.

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  2. The USA national team beats a couple club teams, nice. I will be more excited when they can beat Germany’s or Argentina’s U-19/20 national teams.

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  3. Good, good the US’s evil plan to take over the soccer world is finally starting take root. U-17’s are boss while the talent of depth for this U-20 team is immense.

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  4. Wish we could see these games or at least the highlights. Want to see Rubin so bad. I’ve been following him for years but I haven’t actually seen him play since he was 15.

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  5. Seems like things are really taking off for our youth teams. Wonder if the 10 month seasons for USSDA teams are playing a large part in this?

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  6. I just feel bad for these international kids whose trip to USA lands them in Dallas, of all places. Sorry kiddos!

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    • There are worse places in this world. And in this country, for that matter. Much worse. Many would consider Dallas both a sports hotspot and a pretty fun city to visit. Lot more to the United States than the east and west coasts.

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      • Home is where the heart is… which is why life is so sad for homeless international pariah Landon Klinsmann

    • I doubt these kids care where the tournament is located. They’re just happy to be playing in one of the most prestigious tournaments here or abroad. Playing in Dallas Cup is one of the best memories I have of youth soccer. I could have cared less what city it was located in.

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      • Come on, if you were flying in from Germany or Argentina, you’d probably rather see LA or NY. Dallas is fine, but for a number of these kids this will be the only time they visit the US in their lives. I’m sure Dallas wouldn’t be there first choice.

      • The teams from Germany, Argentina, and such are here for soccer and they flew here for the Dallas Cup. They are also here on business and as someone who has attended business events in Dallas, San Diego, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Seattle, et al, they are all the same Hotels with a different city shtick. I enjoyed Dallas more than many of the others.

      • I understand your point, but most of these players are too young to truly appreciate what New York and L.A. have to offer, other than to brag to their friends that they went there. Plus, the fan support in Dallas seems pretty solid, whereas a youth soccer tournament would barely register on the events calendar in those other two cities.

      • BUT TACOS AND BBQ!

        I fully understand that Dallas is not that exciting. It’s a good place to work/live/reproduce but a dull place to visit. Fort Worth has some stuff.

      • There’s no evidence its a good place to work/live/reproduce either. From what I can gather Dallas is just one giant strip mall from horizon to horizon, the highest elevation of suburban sprawl.

  7. I guess our u-20 national team should be able to beat these club team’s u-19 sides but I’ll take any win we can get!

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