U20s flame out of WWC, prompting questions

Failure. Again.

For the second consecutive cycle, the U.S. U20 WNT faced North Korea in a critical knockout match at the World Cup. And for the second time in as many opportunities, the U.S. fell short of a major milestone win despite having some of the most talented pieces at their disposal in the history of the program.

Troubling times indeed.

Despite having one of the most heralded, top-heavy teams in USYNT history, the U.S. crashed out of the U20 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 loss to North Korea in Papua New Guinea. North Korea snagged an early goal on a harsh penalty off a Katie Cousins handball, which gave way to a late 88th-minute Natalie Jacobs equalizer. The match plunged into extra time, but it only took North Korea 60 seconds to go ahead off a well-worked piece of team soccer, and the U.S., riven by fatigue and injuries, had no response.

For the second straight U20 Women’s World Cup, the U.S. failed to even reach to final, and it was at the hands of the North Koreans. Here’s three things we learned from a massively disappointing day for the U.S.