Preview: USA Set For Quarterfinal Clash With Uruguay In FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals

2023 FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN; U-20 CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Alex Borto (Fulham/ENG; South Plainfield, N.J.; 2/0), 12-Antonio Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 4/0), 1-Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.; 9/0)

DEFENDERS (7): 17-Justin Che (Hoffenheim/GER; Dallas, Texas; 9/1), 5-Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 14/1), 14-Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy; Santa Clarita, Calif.; 12/0), 13-Jonathan Gómez (Real Sociedad/ESP; Keller, Texas; 10/1), 2-Michael Halliday (Orlando City SC; Apopka, Fla.; 11/0), 3-Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta, Ga.; 9/1), 4-Joshua Wynder (Louisville City FC; Louisville, Ky.; 5/0)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.; 14/0), 10-Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; Sunnyvale, Calif.; 20/5), 8-Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.; 20/2), 20-Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.; 13/2), 15-Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.; 9/4), 18-Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC; Anchorage, Alaska; 8/0), 16-Owen Wolff (Austin FC; Austin, Texas; 7/2)

FORWARDS (4): 9-Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.; 10/5), 11-Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Va.; 7/2), 7-Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 18/7), 19-Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.; 6/0)

STARTING KNOCKOUT STAGE STRONG: The U-20 MYNT earned its spot in the quarterfinals with a strong 4-0 victory against New Zealand in the Round of 16. Midfielder Owen Wolff opened the scoring in the 15th minute and the U.S. kept the pressure on the Oceania champion all afternoon. Forward Cade Cowell added his third goal in three games just after the hour mark, defender Justin Che polished off a rebound from midfielder Diego Luna in the 75th and new arrival Rokas Pukstas added another in the 82nd. With the win, the U.S. advanced to the U-20 World Cup Quarterfinals for the fourth-straight tournament after already standing as the only nation to reach the final eight in the last three editions. The USA is also the only team not to concede a goal thus far at this year’s U-20 World Cup.  

URUGUAY BATTLES FOR FINAL 8: Uruguay reached the quarterfinals following a second-place finish in Group E and a hard-fought 1-0 win against Gambia in the Round of 16. During pool play, La Celeste kicked off the tournament with a 4-0 rout of Iraq, fell 3-2 to European champion England in a back-and-forth contest and took down Tunisia 1-0 on a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to secure its place in the knockout stage. In the Round of 16 vs. Gambia, two red cards were shown in the first half and both sides saw out the game with 10 players. Uruguay’s breakthrough came in the 65th minute from midfielder Anderson Duarte. Now, the South Americans are seeking their third semifinal berth in the last five U-20 World Cups.

Date	Opponent	Result	Goal Scorers
Monday, May 22	Iraq	W 4-0	Abaldo, Ferrari, Matturro, O.G.
Thursday, May 25	England	L 2-3	F. Gonzalez, Abaldo
Sunday, May 28	Tunisia	W 1-0	F. Gonzalez
Thursday, June 1	Round of 16: Gambia	W 1-0	Duarte

USA ROSTER NOTES

• Goalkeeper Gaga Slonina and defender Brandan Craig have played all 360 minutes for the USA thus far in Argentina.
• Eight players have scored for the U.S. in Argentina: forward Cade Cowell (three goals), defenders Justin Che, Jonathan Gómez and Caleb Wiley plus midfielders Diego Luna, Rokas Pukstas, Niko Tsakiris and Owen Wolff.
• Three players have logged assists: Luna (three), Craig, forward Quinn Sullivan and Wolff.
• Pukstas and forward Kevin Paredes joined the team in Argentina following the group stage. All 18 U.S. field players have logged minutes at the World Cup after both new arrivals took the field against New Zealand as second-half subs
• Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2003, are age-eligible for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Head coach Mikey Varas selected 10 players born in 2003, eight born in 2004 and three born in 2005.
• The three players born in 2005 -- defender Joshua Wynder as well as midfielders Tsakiris and Obed Vargas -- are also age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
• The roster features players from 18 clubs, including 11 from Major League Soccer, led by three players from the Philadelphia Union and two from the San Jose Earthquakes.
• Six players are based abroad: two each in England and Germany and one player each in Croatia and Spain. 
• A total of 13 states are represented on the roster, with four players hailing from both California and Texas. A native of Anchorage, Vargas is a rare World Cup roster selection from Alaska.
• Six players have earned call-ups with the full USMNT, including four who have already made their debut with the senior squad. Forward Cowell (three caps) and defender Gómez (two caps) lead the charge, while goalkeeper Slonina made his debut last January against Serbia. More recently, defender Wiley picked up his first cap as a substitute in April’s Allstate Continental Clásico against Mexico.
• Defenders Justin Che and Wynder have been called into USMNT camp and are still in search of their full international debut.
• The USA qualified for the 2023 U-20 World Cup as it took home its third straight confederation crown at last summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras.
• Forward Sullivan was named to the tournament Best XI after netting six goals in Honduras. Sullivan and goalkeeper Antonio Carrera, defenders Craig, Marcus Ferkranus and Michael Halliday, midfielders Daniel Edelman, Luna, Jack McGlynn, Rokas Pukstas and Tsakiris and forward Cowell all return from that World Cup qualifying squad.
• Every player on the roster has been capped at the U-20 level, led by Luna and McGlynn’s 19 appearances.
• Sullivan is the squad’s leading scorer with seven international goals, six coming at World Cup qualifying. 
• Four players have appeared in eight of the 10 training camps held since the cycle kicked off in November 2021: Ferkranus, Luna, McGlynn and Sullivan.

USA VS. URUGUAY

• CAUTION WATCH: Defender Josh Wynder plus midfielder Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn picked up yellow cards during the USA’s first four matches. Should any of the three be shown a second caution against Uruguay, they will be suspended for the USA’s potential semifinal match. 
• Uruguay midfielder Luciano Rodriguez will miss the quarterfinal after picking up a red card in the Round of 16 vs. Gambia.
• The U.S. is 1-3-0 against Uruguay all-time at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
• The teams last clashed at Canada 2007, a 2-1 overtime triumph for the USA in the Round of 16. Future Uruguay star Luis Suarez put the South Americans up 1-0 in the 73rd, but a 87th-minute own goal sent things to extra time. Michael Bradley scored in the 107th to send the U.S. to the quarterfinals.
• The U.S. fell to Uruguay 3-0 in the Round of 16 at Malaysia 1997. The first two meetings came in the group stage. Uruguay was the USA’s first-ever opponent at the U-20 World Cup, falling 3-0 at Australia 1981. They squared off again at Mexico 1983, a back-and-forth 3-2 loss that featured a goal from Hugo Perez.
• This is Uruguay’s 16th appearance at the U-20 World Cup, it has qualified for the last eight tournaments, the longest active streak of any nation. The U.S., Uruguay and New Zealand are the only three countries to qualify for the last five U-20 World Cups.
• Uruguay’s has twice finished runner-up (1997, 2013) and has reached the final four six times, more than any other nation yet to win the tournament. Only South American powers Brazil (nine) and Argentina (eight) have made more appearances in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Semifinals.
• Nineteen of Uruguay’s 21 players are based domestically, with four each coming from Defensor Sporting and Peñarol. Two are playing abroad in Italy and Spain.

URUGUAY – 2023 FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Jose Arbio (River Plate), 1-Facundo Machado (Nacional), 12-Randall Rodriguez (Peñarol)

DEFENDERS (6): 3-Mateo Antoni (Liverpool), 2-Sebastian Boselli (Defensor Sporting), 6-Mathias De Ritis (Peñarol), 16-Facundo Gonzalez (Valencia/ESP), 13-Alan Matturro (Genoa/ITA), 4-Mateo Ponte (Danubio)

MIDFIELDERS (10): 17-Matias Abaldo (Defensor Sporting), 8-Rodrigo Chagas (Nacional), 11-Juan Cruz de los Santos (River Plate), 5-Fabrico Diaz (Liverpool), 7-Anderson Duarte (Defensor Sporting), 9-Andres Ferrari (Defensor Sporting), 14-Damian Garcia (Peñarol), 10-Franco Gonzalez (Danubio), 18-Santiago Homenchenko (Peñarol), 15-Ignacio Sosa (Fenix)

FORWARDS (2): 19-Luciano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Nicolas Siri (Montevideo City)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

• Uruguay qualified for the U-20 World Cup as one of four teams from South America with a second-place finish at this winter’s 2023 CONMEBOL U-20 Championship.
• La Celeste topped its group in the first group stage, going an undefeated 3-0-1 against Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.
• Four wins in the second group stage secured Uruguay’s U-20 World Cup berth. A late goal boosted La Celeste to a 1-0 victory against Colombia and another dramatic finish lifted the team to a 2-1 win vs. Ecuador. Uruguay topped Venezuela 4-1, then another late tally was enough to push it past Paraguay 1-0 before a 2-0 defat to Brazil on the final matchday, conceding in the 84th and second minute of second-half stoppage time.
• Midfielder Fabricio Diaz plus forwards Alvaro Rodriguez and Luciano Rodriguez led Uruguay in scoring at World Cup qualifying with five goals each. Alvaro Rodriguez is not a part of the U-20 World Cup squad.

U-20 WORLD CUP HISTORY

The United States has qualified for 17 of 23 all-time U-20 World Cups, tied for second-most all-time with Argentina. The biennial tournament was staged for the first time in 1977 and Tunisia hosted the inaugural event, originally held as the FIFA World Youth Championship before becoming the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007. The USA’s first qualification came at the 1981 tournament, which was held in Australia.

The USA has made it out of the group stage 11 times at the competition with the high watermark coming in 1989. Led by future legendary USMNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller, the U.S. finished fourth place in Saudi Arabia that year. Keller took home the Silver Ball at the tournament, while fellow future senior team players Mike Burns, Neil Covone and Chris Henderson also played key roles. While the U-20s advanced from group play with just one win, the USA took down Iraq in the quarterfinals before falling in extra time to Nigeria in the semis.