There’s a unique bent to assessing youth tournaments as opposed to their senior counterparts. In the latter case, all the analysis focuses on the immediate business of performance. In the former, there’s more to it than that. The assessment involves talent projection and the ability to adapt, among other metrics.

That made the 2017 U20 CONCACAF Championship such a rich environment from an American perspective.

The U.S. of course ultimately won the entire tournament, the first time it’s ever done so on this particular stage. That’s an impressive feat, of course, but youth trophies are only so important as what comes next. If your cabinet is replete with hardware from youth tournaments with nothing to show on the senior side, the job is not yet done. So we always look at these things with a bit of a broader lens.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three American players who decisively improved their pro stock in Costa Rica and three who did not.