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Well, here we are once again. The United States under-20 men’s national team has once again made it to the knockout stages of the World Cup. After making it to the quarterfinals in 2015, Tab Ramos and his group of talented players will be looking to do the same early Thursday morning against New Zealand.
The Kiwis finished second in the group ahead of CONCACAF side Honduras, winning once and drawing once. They allowed three goals and scored three goals in those matches.
Meanwhile, the U.S. have won once and drawn twice in a tough group, which was enough for the top spot. While it’s not smart to underestimate your opponent at any level, they’ll be satisfied that their status as group winner has netted them a manageable RO16 opponent. A much more reasonable opposition than the 2015 team had in Colombia at this stage of the competition.
The favorable bracket comes as a welcome sight for the Americans as they’ll be without three of their starters for this one. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Derrick Jones and Aaron Herrera are all out due to suspension. Ramos will have several decisions to make on how to replace them in the lineup. Our Adam Snavely wrote about one possibility here.
Whoever advances from this match will take on Venezuela in the quarterfinals on Sunday after they sent Japan home with an extra time goal from New York City FC’s Yangel Herrera.
Good morning, it's a great day for some #U20WC footy! ☕️⚽️ Here's your U-20 #USMNT starting XI vs. NZL.
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@ussoccer_ynt) June 1, 2017
Preview: https://t.co/VQs30pd5lO pic.twitter.com/sLLe7ZMnWC
How to Watch
Kickoff Time: 7:00 a.m. ET, 4:00 a.m. PT
Available TV: Fox Sports 1, Telemundo Deportes
Available Streams: FOX Sports GO, fuboTV (free trial), Sling TV
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