PREVIEW: USA Set for Round of 16 Showdown vs. France at FIFA U-20 World Cup

U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team
2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup – Round of 16
Bydgoszcz Stadium; Bydgoszcz, Poland

11:30 a.m. ET (FS2, Universo)
June 4, 2019

U-20 MNT READY FOR KNOCKOUT ROUND: After two straight victories, the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team is on to the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Waiting in the first stage of the knockout phase is perennial powerhouse France. Les Bleus topped Group E with victories over Saudi Arabia, Panama and Mali. The USA drew France 2-2 in one of its final pre-World Cup friendlies in March.

Tuesday’s match will be broadcast on FS2 and Universo. Follow the U-20 MNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

U-20 WORLD CUP DIGITAL MEDIA GUIDE: For more on the U-20 MNT at the U-20 WC, check out the digital media guide for complete info on players, stats, results from the full 2018-19 cycle, team history and everything else about the squad set to take on the world in Poland.

 

USA GROUP D RESULTS

Date	Match	Kickoff (ET)/Result	Broadcast	Venue
May 24	USA vs. Ukraine	L 1-2	FS1, Universo	Bielsko-Biala Stadium, Bielsko-Biala
May 27	USA vs. Nigeria	W 2-0	FS1, Universo	Bielsko-Biala Stadium, Bielsko-Biala
May 30	USA vs. Qatar	W 1-0	FS2, Universo	Tychy Stadium, Tychy

 

WATCH THE FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP: All of the USA’s matches at the U-20 World Cup will be broadcast in English on Fox Sports platforms. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on FS2. Matches are also available to stream on the Fox Sports App. The full Fox broadcast schedule can be found here.

The USA’s matches will be broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo platforms. Tuesday’s match will be available on Universo and streamed live on the Telemundo Deportes app.

 

USA VS. FRANCE

• Tuesday’s match marks the USA’s second meeting all-time against France at this tournament.
• The USA drew France 1-1 in the group stage of the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, head coach Tab Ramos’ first World Cup at the helm of the team. It was Ramos’ first result at the U-20 World Cup. France went on to win the tournament.
• The USA played France at its final pre-World Cup camp, where the USA rallied to a come-from-behind, 2-2 draw against Les Bleus in Spain. Sixteen players return from that France team, while seven started against the U.S.
• The U-20s also played France’s U-21 squad twice at the start of the cycle in 2018, going 1-1-0.
• Tim Weah plays for French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain with France forward Moussa Diaby. They made two Ligue 1 appearances together this season in August.
• France is making its sixth appearance at the U-20 World Cup. Its best finish came in 2013, when it won the tournament.
• The French roster features 16 players born in 1999 and five born in 2000.
• Fifteen players compete domestically in France at 13 clubs. Six ply their trade internationally in Germany (three), Belgium, Italy and Spain (one each).
• Head coach Bernard Diomede helped France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil. He has managed in France’s youth set-up since 2015.

 

GROUP D FINAL STANDINGS AND RESULTS

Team	W	L	D	GD	Pts.
Ukraine	2	0	1	2	7
USA	2	1	0	2	6
Nigeria	1	1	1	2	4
Qatar	0	3	0	-6	0

 

Date                Result                          Venue

May 24            Ukraine 2, USA 1        Bielsko-Biala Stadium; Bielsko-Biala
May 24            Nigeria 4, Qatar 0       Tychy Stadium; Tychy

May 27            USA 2, Nigeria 0         Bielsko-Biala Stadium; Bielsko-Biala

May 27            Ukraine 1, Qatar 0      Tychy Stadium; Tychy

May 30            USA 1, Qatar 0            Tychy Stadium; Tychy

May 30            Nigeria 1, Ukraine 1    Bielsko-Biala Stadium; Bielsko-Biala

 

GRINDING OUT A RESULT VS. QATAR: Needing a win to secure an automatic berth to the knockout round, the USA faced a dogged Qatar side in its final group stage game. Despite dropping its first two World Cup matches, the Qataris made life difficult for the USA, but goalkeeper David Ochoa and the back line did well to keep a clean sheet in a grinder of a game.

After a few chances throughout the game, the USA found its breakthrough in the 79th minute. Alex Mendez pounced on a soft pass deep in the Qatar end and sent the ball to Tim Weah, who took a touch and hit the ball over the goalkeeper into the back of the net. The lone goal proved to be the difference and saw the USA finish second in Group D, clinching a berth in the Round of 16.

With his goal, Tim Weah became the 10th U.S. player to score in both the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cup. The USA advanced to the knockout stage for the 11th time in its 16th U-20 World Cup appearance.

Chris Durkin and Alex Mendez picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament against Qatar and will be unavailable for the USA’s Round of 16 match due to suspension.


LES BLEUS TOP GROUP E: France was one of two teams to claim all nine available points in the group stage, but Les Bleus had to battle for each result. In its first World Cup game, France faced a tough challenge from Saudi Arabia, but a red card on the opponent opened things up for the French as they secured a 2-0 lead. France then took down Concacaf representative Panama with a goal on either side of halftime for a 2-0 victory in its second game.

Facing Mali in the group stage finale for the top spot in Group E, both teams scored early before France netted a penalty midway through the second half. Les Bleus added an insurance goal in the 87th before Mali pulled one back in stoppage time for a 3-2 French victory.

 

USA – 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): CJ Dos Santos (Benfica/POR; Foxchase, Pa.; 2/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.; 5/0), Brady Scott (Köln/GER; Petaluma, Calif.; 11/0)

DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, Calif.; 2/0), Sergino Dest (Ajax/NED; Almere-Stad, Netherlands; 10/1), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96/GER; Montclair, N.J.; 14/0), Aboubacar Keita (Columbus Crew SC; Columbus, Ohio; 5/0), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.; 12/3), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union; Drexel Hill, Pa.; 12/0), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; Birmingham, Ala.; 11/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 0/0), Chris Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.; 5/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Phoenix, Ariz.; 5/0), Alex Mendez (Freiburg/GER; Los Angeles, Calif.; 18/8), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas; 11/3), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas; 11/3)

FORWARDS (5): Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; Miami, Fla.; 5/1), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; Lynwood, Calif.; 12/7), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution; South Hamilton, Mass.; 15/6), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96/GER; San Diego, Calif.; 8/4), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; Rosedale, N.Y.; 3/1) 

FRANCE – 2019 FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB):

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Didier Desprez (Drancy), 1-Allban Lafont (Fiorentina/ITA), 16-Ilan Meslier (Lorient)

DEFENDERS (7): 15-Thomas Basila (Nantes), 13-Nicolas Cozza (Montepellier), 4-Bouubacar Kamara (Marseille), 3-Evan N’Dicka (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), 12-Sambou Sissoko (Reims), 2-Jean-Clair Todibo (Barcelona/ESP), 5-Dan Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund/GER)

MIDIFIELDERS (5): 8-Mickael Cuisance (Borussia Monchengladbach/GER), 14-Ibrahima Diallo (Brest), 18-Youssouuf Fofana (Strasbourg), 6-Enzo Loiodice (Dijon), 20-Boubakary Soumare (Lille)

FORWARDS (6): Yacine Adli (Bordeaux), Nabil Alioui (Cercle Brugge/BEL), 10-Moussa Diaby (Paris Saint-Germain), 9-Amine Gouiri (Lyon), 17-Lenny Pintor (Lyon), 19-Moussa Sylla (Monaco)


HOW THEY GOT HERE:

• France qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup as one of the top four teams at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Finland, reaching the semifinals.
• France reached the European Championship aft4er a lengthy qualification process. Starting in qualifying group 11, France rolled Andorra 7-0, edged Bosnia and Herzegovinia 2-1 and drew Georgia 1-1 to top the group and advance to elite round qualifying.
• In the elite round, France used a furious comeback to top Belgium 3-2. After falling behind 3-2, Les Bleus scored in the 81st, 86th and stoppage time to secure the victory. France topped Bulgaria 2-0 in its second game before a back-and-forth 4-2 win over host Spain.
• At the European Championships, France dropped its opener 2-1 to Ukraine before blowing by Turkey and England by 5-0 score lines to finish second in Group B.
• In the semifinals, Italy defeated France 2-0 on two first-half goals.

• Forward Amine Gouiri led France in scoring at the tournament with four goals. Midfiedler Mickael Cuisance and forward Moussa Diaby were named to the tournament Best XI.