Mediocre U.S. under-20 side is trounced, 3-0, by South Korea in Egypt
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Turning in its most abject performance of the 17th FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, the U.S. was routed, 3-0, by South Korea today, leaving its chances of advancing in the 24-nation tournament hanging by a proverbial thread.
The Americans can still make it through to the last 16 as one of the four best third-place teams, but those chances are out of U.S. hands and depend on the results of games being played by Costa Rica, Hungary and South Africa on Saturday.
Coach Thomas Rongen‘s squad showed not only a lack of talent on Friday, but also a lack of discipline. It managed only one shot on target compared with seven for South Korea, but it committed 17 fouls compared with eight, and was shown five yellow cards and one red card.
All in all, the U.S. performance at the Mubarak Stadium in Suez was forgettable.
‘They played us off the park, both tactically and technically,’ Rongen said. ‘They were also much better organized than we were. ... We have to sit down and work out where the U.S. game stands in this age group.’
South Korea, which finished second in the group behind Germany, was livelier, quicker, more inventive, calmer, more tactically savvy and generally superior in every aspect. The team is coached by former South Korea World Cup standout and former Galaxy defender Hong Myung-bo.
‘We simply had a better attitude than the USA today,’ the coach said. ‘Our will to win was stronger, because we had to take all three points to make the next stage.’
The Koreans took the lead in the 23rd minute on a goal by Kim Young-gwon, doubled that advantage just before halftime on Kim Bo-kyung‘s 42nd-minute goal, and completed the rout when Koo Ja-cheol scored on a penalty kick 15 minutes from the end following a foul by Ike Opara that saw the American defender ejected.
The U.S., which was beaten, 3-0, by Germany and defeated Cameroon, 4-1, in its other games in Egypt, reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 edition of the tournament in Canada, also under Rongen’s guidance.
-- Grahame L. Jones