Despite a somewhat brighter start than the loss to France, the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team lost its second game at the Toulon Tournament, conceding two second half goals en route to a 2-1 defeat.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. You have to think Walker Zimmerman can help this defense

Adding Caleb Stanko back into the fold definitely helped, but the start and overall performance in the second half has to be a concern to Tab Ramos, as the team couldn’t hold on to its one-goal lead. Jeffrey Payeras entered as a second half sub, proceeded to concede a rather unnecessary foul that led to Colombia’s first goal, and then no one tracked a run into the six-yard box on the second.

The former Furman man certainly could help this team bringing some much-needed size. Now that he’s healthy and getting games with FC Dallas, Zimmerman would add a third option at center back alongside Shane O'Neill (who is joining up with the team this weekend) and a much more solid option than Javan Torre or Payeras.

2. Can Jordan Morris and Kellyn Acosta make this World Cup roster?

When Morris and Acosta were brought into the U20 post-qualifying camp, both seemed like afterthoughts of making the squad. And while they probably have their work cut out for them still, both did decent enough jobs against Colombia to keep their name in the running.

Acosta probably has the more uphill battle, though his ability to play in the midfield and as an outside back could end up aiding him, while Morris has shown that he can at least cope with this level despite his meteoric rise. Whether or not Ramos ultimately adds him to the roster is probably going to be dictated by these remaining games.

3. The gulf at this age group still very evident between the United States and other countries

While the opening stages of this game were a touch better than the France game, the difference between having a mixture of part-time college players and fringe professionals up against full-time pros who have youth competitions to play in were again evident.

Time and time again the U20s were too slow in many aspects of the game – speed of thought, decision-making in the final third and taking too many touches on the ball. Slow decision-making proved to undo most of the good work and limited quality attacking opportunities.

A lot of these players may not make the World Cup roster, but it’s indicative of the gulf in not just quality, but the playing environments the players are in. Of course, that’s why you head to tournaments like this one to see which players can at least cope or ideally excel against this level of opposition, and this performance reinforces the notion that most, if not all players on the World Cup roster should come from the pro ranks.

Notes

After coping well with the physical abilities of France, Alfred Koroma was pretty ineffective; turning the ball over countless times, failing to connect with passes and not making the right decisions, he undid a lot of the good work he put in during the France game.

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