The U.S. U20 Men’s National Team opened up its World Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over Myanmar on Saturday in Group A action. Myanmar scored the opening goal in the ninth minute when Zack Steffen missed on his punch on a corner kick and the underdogs punched in the first goal of the tournament from close range. The U.S. answered through Maki Tall in the 17th minute. U.S. captain Emerson Hyndman scored the game-winner in the 56th minute. 

The U.S. jumped into first in the group with the win after Ukraine and hosts New Zealand played to a scoreless draw in the opening game of the tournament. The U.S. will face New Zealand in its next game on June 2. 

While the win was the main takeaway from the game, it was an uneven performance from the U.S. Here are the positive and negatives from the win over Myanmar. 

Positives

• Gedion Zelalem quickly looked worthy of the hype. Despite coming off the bench, Zelalem fit into the team seamlessly and made his mark on the game in the second half. The U.S. lacked the decision-making and quality that he brought to the center of the field in the second half. Head coach Tab Ramos will need to find a way to fold Zelalem into the starting lineup moving forward as his place in the starting lineup should be reserved in permanent ink for the rest of the tournament. 
• Emerson Hyndman, Zelalem’s midfield partner in the second half, also had a good showing over the course of the 90 minutes on Saturday. Hyndman strung passing sequences together in the second half when he looked more comfortable with the players around him. Pairing Hyndman with Zelalem from the start might be the answer to creating a balanced midfield for the U.S. 
• The opening game struggles are out of the way and three points might be enough to advance to the next round in a tournament where 16 of the 24 teams move on. 

Negatives

• FC Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta did not look like a solution at left back. Acosta, a very talented player in his own right, was so hesitant to use his left foot that Myanmar picked up on his right foot dominance within the opening five minutes of the game. The lack of faith in his weak foot came back to hurt Acosta and the U.S. when he reached with his right foot on a cross from Rubio Rubin. Acosta’s effort will likely pop up on some blooper reels. 
• During the opening 10 minutes and the final 10 minutes, Myanmar, surprisingly, looked like the better side. The U.S. settled into the game after that opening stretch, but hopefully that showing will reveal to Ramos and that staff that there are a number of improvements to be made to this lineup for the games to come in New Zealand. 
• The narrowness of the diamond midfield took away a lot of the freedoms for Joel Sonora and Jordan Allen, which made it a quiet outing for both players. They are both capable of adding much more to this team, but they did not seem to be suitable for that spot in a 4-4-2 formation or at least given those roles with those players around them.