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The United States under- 20 men’s national team clinched passage into the Classification Stage on Friday with a 4-1 win over St. Kitts and Nevis in their final group stage match. After getting off to a rocky start in the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Panama, Tab Ramos’ side rebounded with two convincing wins to finish second in Group B.
Their prize (punishment) for finishing as group runner-ups is having to face the other two group winners in the Classification Stage. Those two teams will be Mexico and El Salvador. According to Brian Sciaretta, this is how the schedule between the three teams will play out:
Looking like Group D of U20 WC qualifying will be Mexico, El Salvador, & USA. Top 2 qualify: USAvMEX (Mon), MEXvSLV (Wed), USAvSLV (Fri 3/3)
— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 24, 2017
The top two finishers in the three-team group will qualify for the 2017 U-20 FIFA World Cup. While Mexico will undoubtedly be favorites in the group, El Salvador are no push-overs either. Their youth teams are usually very competitive and often give the U.S. fits. It will be a tough task for the Baby Yanks to find a win in the two matches.