SAN JUAN, Argentina – The U.S. had plenty of opportunities and probably should have scored more, but the Americans settled for a 3-0 win over Fiji to record their second victory in as many matches at the Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday.
Midfielder Diego Luna found the breakthrough tally in the 66th minute after the U.S. dominated the ball all afternoon. Forward Cade Cowell netted another in the 88th and defender Caleb Wiley added an exclamation point in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time.
With six points from its first two matches, the U.S. sits atop Group B and is in excellent position to advance to the knockout stage. The top two teams in each of the six groups, as well as the four best third-place teams, move onto the Round of 16.
The U-20 MYNT will face Slovakia in its final group stage match on Friday, May 26 (2 p.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
While the U.S. held a heavy advantage in attack, outshooting Fiji, 31-6, and outpossessing the Junior Bula Boys 78 percent to 22, it wasn’t able to find the back of the net until midway through the second half. Buoyed by a pair of halftime subs in Luna and midfielder Niko Tsakiris, the USA found a new spark after the break. The opening goal came after a nice interchange between the two as Luna pounced on a loose ball just inside the 18 and ripped a shot to the right side.
Making his World Cup debut after serving out a suspension from last summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship, Cowell troubled Fiji from the opening whistle, creating some of the USA’s first danger of the day with hard-hit shots in the 15th and 17th minutes. His efforts were finally rewarded in the 88th minute when he rocketed a shot from the top of the box to double the advantage.
The U.S. continued to push for more, fighting for the entirety of the second half’s 11 minutes of extratime, compounded by a number of Fiji injuries down the stretch. Second-half sub Wiley nearly teed up two goals shortly after 90 minutes of play. In the first minute of stoppage time, he saw a cross deflected before it fell to Cowell, who rocketed a shot off the crossbar. In the third, he sent a cross in for Luna at the top of the box, who laid it off to Cowell before the forward hit another shot off the post.
Wiley finally got on the scoresheet in the ninth minute of added time, polishing off a Brandan Craig free kick from 25 yards out. Craig’s hard bouncing effort rattled off the left post and Wiley tapped home the rebound.
