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USMNT U-20s drawn with Qatar, Nigeria, Ukraine in Under-20 World Cup

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The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team finally knows its fate for this summer’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Tab Ramos’ side has been paired with Qatar, Nigeria, and Ukraine in Group D of the competition. The U.S. was drawn out of Pot 1 which also featured the likes of hosts Poland, Portugal, Mexico, and France. This summer’s World Cup will take place from May 23-June 15.

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The U.S. kicks off their group stage schedule on May 24th against Ukraine in Bielsko-Biala before taking on Nigeria three days later at the same venue. Ramos’ group will conclude the group stage on May 30th in Tychy against Qatar.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage while the top-four best third-place finishers will also advance.

The U.S. U-20 MNT booked its place in the World Cup after defeating Mexico 2-0 in the final of the 2018 Concacaf U-20 Championship last Fall.

As for their opponents, Ukraine qualified for the U-20 World Cup with a top-four finish at the 2018 UEFA European U-19 Championship in Finland. Nigeria’s spot was guaranteed after being the fourth-placed team and final qualifier from the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. Qatar secured its spot in the tournament with a top-four finish at the 2018 AFC U-19 Champ in Indonesia.

Here’s a closer look at the entire FIFA U-20 World Cup draw:

Group A: Poland, Colombia, Tahiti, Senegal

Group B: Mexico, Italy, Japan, Ecuador

Group C: Honduras, New Zealand, Uruguay, Norway

Group D: Qatar, Nigeria, Ukraine, USA

Group E: Panama, Mali, France, Saudi Arabia

Group F: Portugal, Korea Republic, Argentina, South Africa

Comments

  1. One never knows with youth teams, but no other team in their ;group is a first place finisher and you would think a team like Qatar shouldn’t be difficult. I think the most important issue is if the US can get all its top players.

    Reply
    • Don’t sleep on Qatar. They’re the host nation for the next WC, and have been pushing their youth development hard to find players. They don’t have the same type of immigration laws so have been naturalizing players from all over. The players who represent Qatar in this tournament could be players/contributors for the full national team in 4 yrs when they host.

      Reply
      • About a third of their qualifying squad are on two Belgian squads that are owned by Qatari(?) investors but they don’t play for the first teams. I believe they are from Qatar and got their spots from the investor connections not naturalizations.

    • Pretty unlikely the US will have its top choices. We couldn’t get most of our top Euro players released last time when they were on U19 teams.

      Reply
    • Nigeria (and African teams in general) have done well in the U-20 tournament; it would be foolish to disregard them. Ukraine beat out Spain, Germany and England. Of course, the qualifications often depend upon which players are too talented and are not released for qualifying, Which players are “allowed” to join up with their respective teams at the end of May can change things dramaticly.

      Reply

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