GOIANIA, Brazil — After earning a point in a 0-0 draw with Japan Wednesday, the Under-17 U.S. men’s national will face Netherlands in its final group stage match with a chance to advance to the knockout round of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Saturday night.
The Americans (0-1-1, 1 point) sit in third place in Group D but can qualify for the Round of 16 with a victory against the Dutch. The Netherlands (0-2-0, 0) has dropped its first two matches to open the tournament but remain alive for advancement with a win at Estadio da Serrinha.
The 6:50 p.m. ET match will be broadcast on FS2 and Universo.
Here are knockout round qualification scenarios:
The top two teams in the group advance to the Round of 16, while the four best third-placed teams in the six groups also advance. A win would likely see the USA through to the knockout round. In 21 past FIFA tournaments with this format, 101 teams finished the group stage with exactly four points, and 98 advanced (97 percent).
The USA is still alive for second place in the group with a win, but it would need Senegal to defeat Japan and to finish with a better goal differential than the Asian champions.
A win would guarantee the USA at least a third-place finish in the group and put it in contention to advance. Entering the final round of group play for all six groups, the ranking of third-placed teams is below. The top four-ranked third-placed teams advance to the Round of 16.
USA GROUP D SCHEDULE
Date Match Kickoff (ET)/Result Broadcast Venue Oct. 27 USA vs. Senegal L 1-4 FS1, Telemundo Estadio Kleber Andrade; Cariacica, Brazil Oct. 30 USA vs. Japan D 0-0 FS2, Universo Estadio Kleber Andrade; Cariacica, Brazil Nov. 2 USA vs. Netherlands 7:50 p.m. FS2, Universo Estadio da Serrinha; Goiania, Brazil The battle for third-place
Team W L D Pts. GD 1 Korea Republic (Group C) 1 1 0 3 -1 2 Tajikistan (Group E) 1 1 0 3 -3 3 Australia (Group B) 0 1 1 1 -1 4 Mexico (Group F) 0 1 1 1 -1 5 USA (Group D) 0 1 1 1 -3 6 Canada (Group A)
