For most of Tuesday’s FIFA U-20 World Cup Group B showdown between the U.S. men’s national team and Fiji, it didn’t look like the result would come for the Americans, but a relentless second-half performance helped get the job done.
Diego Luna, Cade Cowell, and Caleb Wiley all scored their first tournament goals in a 3-0 group stage victory over Fiji, clinching a knockout stage berth for Mikey Varas’ squad heading into their final Group B match on Friday. Despite leaving plenty of scoring opportunities on the table, the USMNT U-20’s got a breakthrough goal from halftime substitute Luna before Cowell and Wiley padded the shutout victory.
The relentless and aggressive attacking style from the Americans helped keep Fiji under countless pressure in the final 30+ minutes of the match, a theme that captain Daniel Edelman credited for how the USMNT U-20’s moved to 2-0-0 in Argentina.
“Fiji definitely gave us some challenging moments, not being able to score in the first half, they were on us,” Edelman said postmatch. “We felt we controlled the possession and chances, but in the second half we definitely showed our aggressiveness, relentlessness, and determination. Diego got the first goal, Cade got the second and Caleb for the third, so now it’s about Slovakia up next.”
“The subs that came on Niko [Tsakiris] and Diego [Luna] came on and gave us a new energy on the field,” Edelman added. “The message at halftime we to keep being relentless in the final third because Fiji was looking to hit us on the transition so you never know what could happen. It showed our winning mentality to get that result.”
The USMNT U-20’s registered seven shots on goal out of its 31 efforts in total, leaving the door open for an even-larger scoreline. However, after needing a stoppage-time winner from Jonathan Gomez to defeat Ecuador 1-0, the Americans will feel confident heading into Friday’s showdown with Slovakia knowing they added three more goals to their haul on Tuesday.
Luna, Tsakiris, and Wiley all made impacts off the bench while Cowell’s continued fight to get on the scoresheet was a key positive after his first-half misses. In addition, the USMNT U-20’s delivered their second-consecutive clean sheet with Gabriel Slonina only being troubled once in the 100-minute performance.
Although the USMNT U-20’s have already clinched its spot into the Round of 16, the group’s mindset isn’t changing heading into a showdown with Slovakia.
“Win the next game,” Varas said. “Our mindset never changes, we want to stay relentless and play our football. The next step is to win the next one.”