The questions surrounding the performance of the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team at the World Cup in Germany didn’t go away completely during the squad’s 1-0 win over South Korea, a win which clinched the group title at the FIFA event, launching Jillian Ellis’s side into the quarterfinals.

It was the team’s most promising performance however, particularly as the win came against the toughest opposition the squad has faced thus far. Yes, South Korea rested five starters since they already knew they were in the knockout rounds when the match kicked off (and the U.S. didn’t), but the U.S. showed more strength than it had in two previous matches, a surprisingly poor draw to Ghana and a 5-0 win over hapless Switzerland.

The big improvement Wednesday was the midfield combination of Amber Brooks, Kristen Mewis and Christine Nairn,who seemed to gel a bit overall. Nairn was effective in winning possession, Brooks got forward more regularly and played some killer passes, including the setup to the game’s lone goal (scored by Sydney Leroux in the 1st half), and Mewis was dangerous as usual in the U.S. attack.

The wing play left a bit to be desired however, although Teresa Noyola played some great passes of her own after coming on as a 2nd half substitute for Maya Hayes.

The defense again looked shaky and better finishing from the Koreans may have made this a different kind of game and even a different result. Saying that, U.S. forward Leroux did not have her best finishing game, which helps illustrate what a good finisher she usually is. It’s not just the speed with this one.

Bianca Henninger also gets credit for coming up big on a couple of occasions and that may be the difference-maker for the U.S. going forward into the knockout rounds.

This team still needs to improve if it wants to win the World Cup, but Wednesday’s performance did make it seem that it is going in the right direction.