While the U.S. Women’s National Team continues to beat just about everyone, youth national teams have struggled.
Since winning the Under-20 World Cup in 2012 – which sent a handful of players to the current full team – it’s been a quarterfinal finish, a fourth-place finish and a group stage exit the past three competitions.
MORE: Harvey announces Under-20 WNT qualifying roster
And that’s not necessarily an indicator of doom, as those previous U.S. sides have still managed to send enough talent to the full team. Can this year’s squad, under new head coach Laura Harvey, buck that trend?
This year’s U20 World Cup is slated to be co-hosted by Costa Rica and Panama. That keeps it in the Concacaf family, but it also means that only the finalists from this year’s U20 Concacaf Championship advance to the World Cup. In theory, that shouldn’t be an issue, as the U.S. has won four of the last five tournaments, finishing as runners-up in 2018.
Group C Schedule (All Times EST)
Cuba, Feb. 22 – 4 p.m.
Dominican Republic, Feb. 24 – 4 p.m.
Honduras, Feb. 26 – 7 p.m.
