U.S. U-20 Men’s Youth National Team Downs Cuba 3-0 To Clinch First Place In Group E At Concacaf U-20 Championship

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (June 22, 2022) – The U.S. U-20 Men’s Youth National Team beat Cuba 3-0 to clinch the top spot in Group E at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. A hat trick from forward Quinn Sullivan led the USA’s dominant attacking performance as a fast start set the U.S. up for a convincing victory. 

 

After clinching its spot in the Round of 16 with a draw against Canada, the USA will now face Nicaragua on Saturday, June 25 (8:30 p.m. ET; ViX and Concacaf App, Facebook & YouTube) to kick off the knockout stage. Nicaragua earned a berth directly to the knockout stage through a pre-qualifying tournament.

 

CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL GROUP E STANDINGS

 

	W	L	D	GD	Pts.
USA*	2	0	1	13	7
Cuba*	2	1	0	4	6
Canada*	1	1	1	3	4
St. Kitts and Nevis	0	3	0	-20	0

*Advanced to Round of 16

 

The USA wasted no time as it opened the scoring just two minutes into the match. Winger Caden Clark found the end of a through ball on the left flank and whipped a driven cross into the box, which Sullivan finished on his first touch to net his first goal of the tournament.

 

Just six minutes later, a brilliant run of passing play ended with midfielder Alejandro Alvarado Jr. laying off a one-touch pass into the box for Sullivan, who buried a powerful strike to double the lead. The Philadelphia Union forward rounded out his hat trick in the 43rd after Paxten Aaronson found him on the run with a long ball over the back line. Sullivan brought it down, dribbled up to the box and finished with a precise low shot to beat the goalkeeper.

 

Despite not finding the back of the net in the second half, the USA put on a stellar attacking performance as the team’s build-up play continued to create quality chances. The USA outshot Cuba 9-6 on the night, posting five shots on target while limiting the opposition to two. The U.S. controlled the overall tempo of the game, h olding 73 percent of possession while spending much of the night in Cuban territory.

 

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

• USA – Quinn Sullivan (Caden Clark), 2nd minute – Clark found the end of a through ball on a run up the left flank and played a left-footed cross deep into the box, which Sullivan met with his first touch from five yards out to open the scoring. USA 1, CUB 0

• USA – Quinn Sullivan (Alejandro Alvarado Jr.), 8th minute – Clark played a pass to Alvarado Jr.’s feet near the top of the box and he laid it off on his first touch to Sullivan inside the box on the right side. There, the Philadelphia Union forward fired a powerful right-footed strike past the Cuba goalkeeper to double the lead. USA 2, CUB 0

• USA – Quinn Sullivan (Paxten Aaronson), 43rd minute – Aaronson played a long ball over the top from deep midfield to find Sullivan on the run. He dribbled up toward the box and slotted a right-footed low shot into the net from 18 yards out. USA 3, CUB 0

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Midfielder Quinn Sullivan’s three goals marked his first three of the competition and his second, third and fourth goals with the U-20 MYNT.

• With his hat trick, Sullivan is now tied with four other players for second-most goals at CU20. 

• Sullivan also scored a hat trick in the U-20s' 5-3 comeback win at River Plate in a March friendly.

• The USA is now 4-0-1 vs. Cuba at the Concacaf U-20 Championship.

• Head coach Mikey Varas made six changes from the line-up that faced Canada on Monday. Noah Allen, Caden Clark, Jalen Neal, Niko Tsakiris, Alejandro Alvarado Jr. and Rokas Pukstas replaced Cade Cowell, Daniel Edelman, Marcus Ferkranus, Michael Halliday, Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn.

• Nine players have now scored for the U.S. at the tournament: Sullivan (three goals), Paxten Aaronson, Cade Cowell, Niko Tsakiris (two goals each), Caden Clark, Mauricio Cuevas, Jack McGlynn, Rokas Pukstas and Tyler Wolff.

• Three players have registered an assist for the U.S.: Clark and Diego Luna (three assists each), Sullivan (two), Aaronson and Alejandro Alvarado Jr.

 

-U.S. UNDER-20 MEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-

Match: United States Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team vs. Cuba
Date: June 22, 2022

Competition: 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship

Venue: Estadio Nacional; Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Attendance: 160
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. local

Weather: 70 degrees

Scoring Summary:  1          2          F

USA                            3          0          3

CUB                            0          0          0

USA - Quinn Sullivan (Caden Clark)                          2nd minute

USA - Quinn Sullivan (Alejandro Alvarado Jr.)          8

USA - Quinn Sullivan (Paxten Aaronson)                  43

Lineups:

USA: 1-Chris Brady; 2-Mauricio Cuevas (Capt.), 14-Jalen Neal, 5-Brandan Craig, 3-Noah Allen; 20-Rokas Pukstas, 17-Niko Tsakiris, 19-Alejandro Alvarado Jr.; 7-Quinn Sullivan, 10-Paxten Aaronson, 11-Caden Clark

Substitutes Not Used: 12-Antonio Carrera, 4-Marcus Ferkranus, 6-Daniel Edelman
Head Coach: Mikey Varas

CUB: 1-Ismel Morgado (12-Alejandro Fernandez, 63), 3-Roberto Valdez, 4-Mario Peñalver, 6-Yorlan Duboy (2-Greibel Palma, 46), 8-Luis Ciudad (7-Jose Paradela, 46), 9-Kevin Quiñones, 13-Ronald Sanchez, 14-Ronaldo Noda, 15-Rey Angel (16-Kevin Fernandez, 46), 18-Aldair Alvares, 20-Romario Torrez (Capt.) (19-Osniel Trutiet, 67)

Substitutes Not Used: 5-Eduardo Hernandez , 10-Dairon Reyes , 11-Alejandro Delgado , 17-Kevin Martin

Head Coach: Yuneilys Castillo

Stats Summary: USA / CUB

Shots: 9 / 6

Shots on Goal: 5 / 2

Saves: 2 / 2

Corner Kicks: 2 / 2

Fouls: 17 / 6
Offside: 3 / 2

Misconduct Summary:

CUB - Roberto Valdez (Caution)        13th minute
USA - Jack McGlynn (Caution)          75

USA - Tyler Wolff (Caution)                81

USA - Cade Cowell (Caution)            84

Officials:

Referee: Selvin Brown (HON)
First Assistant Referee: Shirley Perello (HON)
Second Assistant Referee: Enedina Caudillo (MEX)

Fourth Official: Said Martinez (HON)
VAR: Katia Garcia (MEX)

Assistant VAR: Francia Gonzalez (MEX)