Preview: U-20 MYNT Sets Sights On Olympic Qualification In Concacaf U-20 Championship Semifinal Vs. Honduras On July 1
2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship - Semifinal; Friday, July 1; Estadio Morazán; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; 9 p.m. ET (FS1, TUDN)
OLYMPICS ON THE LINE:
With its FIFA U-20 World Cup berth secured, the U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team will face host Honduras in the Concacaf U-20 Championship Semifinals on July 1 for a berth to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The USA is seeking its first appearance at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament since Beijing 2008 and is aiming to win its third-straight Concacaf U-20 Championship. The U-20 MYNT secured one of the region’s four U-20 World Cup berths with a strong 2-0 victory against Costa Rica in the tournament quarterfinals. Honduras came from behind to defeat Panama 2-1 in the quarterfinals before a raucous sell-out crowd at Estadio Morazán in San Pedro Sula. Los Catrachos are aiming for their fifth straight Olympic qualification as well as their third Concacaf U-20 title and first since 1994.
Follow the U-20 MYNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
USA VS. HONDURAS:
- The USA is 2-4-4 all-time vs. Honduras at the Concacaf U-20 Championship, including an undefeated 2-0-3 in the last five match-ups dating back to 1992.
- The U.S. earned high-stakes victories against Los Catrachos in their last two meetings at the 2018 and 2017 tournaments. In 2018, the USA topped Honduras 1-0 in the qualification stage to clinch its spot in the tournament final as forward Ayo Akinola scored just after halftime.
- In 2017, the USA won its first-ever Concacaf U-20 Championship with a penalty kick shootout victory against Honduras. After a scoreless 90 minutes, the game went straight to penalties and the U.S. came out on top 5-3. Current senior USMNT midfielder Luca de la Torre converted one of the game-winning kicks.
- Honduras has appeared in 20 of 28 Concacaf U-20 Championships. The Central Americans have won the tournament twice, as host in 1994 and also in 1984.
- Honduras has qualified for nine of 23 U-20 World Cups, including the last four tournaments, but have never advanced past the group stage. Los Catrachos are tied with Costa Rica for the third-most U-20 World Cup appearances in Concacaf.
- Honduras has qualified for five of the last six Men’s Olympic Football Tournaments and finished fourth at Rio 2016.
U-20 WORLD CUP SECURED:
The USA clinched a spot at its fifth straight FIFA U-20 World Cup with an emotional 2-0 victory against Costa Rica in the tournament quarterfinals. Forward Paxten Aaronson scored in the first five minutes of each half to lead the U.S. to victory. Despite early pressure from Costa Rica, midfielder Alejandro Alvarado Jr. drove the ball downfield and found forward Quinn Sullivan at the corner of the box. He set up Aaronson, his Philadelphia Union teammate, for the opening goal. At the start of the second half, forward Caden Clark headed a ball across goal for Aarosnon to hammer home.
Costa Rica provided the USA’s fiercest test yet at the tournament and Los Ticos pressured the U.S. back line with a number of dangerous scoring opportunities. Goalkeeper Chris Brady was forced to make a number of important saves, while Los Ticos also missed a penalty in the 54th minute.
HONDURAS REACHES SEMIS AT HOME:
Honduras came from behind to clinch its spot in the semifinals and U-20 World Cup, topping Panama 2-1 in the quarters. Los Canaleros got off on the front foot and scored in the 22nd minute, but Honduras earned a penalty in the 43rd for the opportunity to tie things up. While Jeyson Contreras missed his initial attempt, Marco Aceituno hammered home the rebound to equalize. The game-winner came on another penalty in the 74th minute to secure Honduras’ advancement and send the sell-out crowd at Estadio Morazán into a frenzy.
Prior to the quarterfinals, Honduras rolled through the group stage, topping Antigua and Barbuda 3-0, Jamaica 5-0 and Costa Rica 1-0. In the Round of 16, Honduras topped Curaçao 4-1, putting the game away with two second-half goals. Eight players have scored for Los Catrachos, led by six goals from Aceituno.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
2022 CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN; U-20 CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Christopher Brady (Chicago Fire FC; Naperville, Ill.; 5/0), Antonio Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 1/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Noah Allen (Inter Miami CF; Miramar, Fla.; 3/0), Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 4/0), Mauricio Cuevas (Club Brugge/BEL; Los Angeles, Calif.; 6/1), Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy; Santa Clarita, Calif.; 4/0), Michael Halliday (Orlando City SC; Apopka, Fla.; 5/0), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.; 7/1)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.; 8/5), Alejandro Alvarado Jr. (FC Vizela/POR; Los Angeles, Calif.; 4/0), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls; Wayzata, Minn.; 8/2), Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.; 6/0), Jackson Hopkins (D.C. United; Fredericksburg, Va.; 1/0), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; Sunnyvale, Calif.; 8/2), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.; 8/1), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Sillwater, Okla.; 7/1), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.; 3/2)
FORWARDS (3): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.; 7/2), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 7/6), Tyler Wolff (Atlanta United FC; Braselton, Ga.; 6/1)
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The USA is the only nation to qualify for the last five FIFA U-20 World Cups. New Zealand and Uruguay have the chance to join the U.S. as the only countries to reach every tournament since 2013.
- Ten of 24 teams have qualified to the 2023 U-20 World Cup: host Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and the USA from Concacaf plus England, France, Israel, Italy and Slovakia from Europe.
- Midfielder Jackson Hopkins replaced midfielder Obed Vargas on the U.S. roster and joined the team just before the Round of 16 and made his U-20 debut vs. Nicaragua.
- Honduras forward Marco Aceituno leads the tournament with six goals. U.S. forward Quinn Sullivan’s five goals are for second with two other players whose teams have already been eliminated.
- Eleven players have scored for the U.S. at the tournament: Sullivan (five goals), Paxten Aaronson (four), Cade Cowell, Niko Tsakiris (two each), Caden Clark, Mauricio Cuevas, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, Jalen Neal, Rokas Pukstas and Tyler Wolff.
- Six players have registered an assist for the USA: Luna and Clark (four assists), Sullivan (three), Aaronson, Alejandro Alvarado Jr. and Cowell.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT:
This year marks the 28th edition of the Concacaf U-20 Championship. The tournament began in 1962 as the Concacaf Youth Tournament, qualifying two teams to the FIFA U-20 World Cup from 1976-1994 and four teams from 1996 to now.
Following a myriad of different formats over the years, the 2022 competition introduces a new 20-team tournament akin to Concacaf’s most recent U-17 Men’s and U-20 and U-17 Women’s Championships. Sixteen countries are drawn into four groups of four, while four countries advance directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament: Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua.
The top three finishers in each group qualified to the Round of 16, where they were joined by the four teams from pre-qualifying. From there, it’s a knockout bracket to the tournament final. The four winners of the quarterfinal matches qualify to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, while the two winners of the semifinal matches qualify to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The U.S. has participated in 25 of 28 Concacaf U-20 Championships, including each tournament since 1974, and qualified for the U-20 World Cup in 17 of 23 attempts. After missing the 2011 U-20 World Cup, the U.S. is the only nation to qualify for the last five tournaments and the only team to reach the quarterfinals in the last three editions.