Indiana University Athletics
Under-20 National Team Defeats Argentina
7/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
June 11, 2005
ENCHEDE, Holland - The United States Under-20 National Team got off to an impressive start at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Enschede Holland on Saturday. The U.S. defeated heavily favored and world power Argentina in front of 10,500 fans at Arke Stadium. It was the opening match of Group D at the World Youth Championship for the U.S. and marked the first time ever the U.S. had defeated Argentina at a FIFA World Youth Championship.
"I am very proud of the way we played today," U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team head coach Sigi Schmid said in a ussoccer.com release. "We came out and didn't play timid and demonstrated that we have the ability to perform with some of the best teams in the world. We played well in the first half and had a great build-up for our goal and in the second half we had some luck at the right time when the Argentineans stepped up their pressure. This is a great victory for the U.S. and takes us a step forward."
Chicago Fire (Major League Soccer) and former UCLA forward Chad Barrett headed home the game-winner in the 39th minute. Notre Dame midfielder Greg Dalby punched a pass down the right side to UCLA midfielder Marvell Wynne. Wynne sent a cross from the right side of the box that was deflected high by a Argentinean defender before finding a wide-open Barrett, who headed the ball straight down past the goalkeeper.
U.S. goalkeeper Quentin Westberg earned the shutout, making six saves in net. The best Argentinean chance came early in the match. Westberg was beaten to the near post, but the shot hit the left post and was cleared by the U.S. defense in the 20th minute. Westberg also came up with a huge save in the second half, sprawling to block a shot from Lionel Messi.
Indiana junior forward Jacob Peterson came on in the 60th minute for the U.S., playing the final 30 minutes. He came on from midfielder Sammy Ochoa. It was Peterson's ninth appearance for the U.S. in 2005 as he earned his eighth career Under-20 international cap. Incoming Hoosier freshman Lee Nguyen did not see action in the opening match as he was not one of the three allotted international substitutions made by U.S. head coach Schmidt.
The win leaves the U.S. in a tie for the top spot in Group D. Germany opened Group D action as well with a 2-0 victory over Egypt. The top two finishers from each of six groups as well as the top four third-place finishers in the six groups will advance to the round of 16.
The U.S. will next face Germany in its second Group D match. It is set for Tuesday, June 14 at 1:30 p.m. CT in Enschede. The match will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and Galavision, the West feed only. The U.S. will close out Group D competition on Saturday, June 18 at 6:30 a.m. against Egypt. The match will also be televised on FSC and Galavision. Every U.S. match at the World Youth Championship can be followed live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
