Nine points from nine; you can't do much better than that. The U.S. under-20 men's national team made it three wins from three at the U-20 World Cup to complete the group stage, but now the real test begins as they look ahead to the knockout stages.
Led by an absolutely chaotic Cade Cowell performance, the U.S. topped Slovakia 2-0 in their final group stage game, sealing their spot atop the group. It wasn't the prettiest win by any means. In fact, it was the second game in a row where the U.S. will feel like they left handfuls of goals on the table, only to win by multiple goals in the end.
Cowell, to be fair, was responsible for most of those missed opportunities, as the San Jose Earthquakes star squandered chance after chance. Yet, chance after chance kept falling to him as he absolutely tortured Slovakia's backline with his pace, timing and dribbling.
The all-important opening goal did fall to, who else, Cowell, as he weaved past several defenders to finish off the hardest chance of the day. Missing four or five won't matter as much as long as you score the one that counts, and Cowell certainly did that.
He wasn't the only standout from this win, which saw Mikey Varas shift tactics to a 3-5-2. The U.S., by and large, dominated, with Slovakia rarely threatening and never really having much of the ball. In the end, Cowell's club teammate, Niko Tsakiris, sealed the win with a goal of his own deep in stoppage time to remove all doubt.
Tougher tests await, as the U.S. head to the knockouts for the fifth consecutive U-20 World Cup. At some point, they may rue the missed chances that have defined their run so far but, as long as those chances keep coming in waves, there's a pretty good chance they'll be just fine.
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