US Bounces Back at U-20 World Cup

It took a game, but the U.S. got on track at the U-20 World Cup, defeating Cameroon 4-1 Tuesday in Suez in their second Group C match. The win pushed the U.S. into second place in the group and will advance if it beats South Korea on Friday.

As unorganized and discombobulated as the U.S. looked Saturday in its 3-0 loss to Germany, it was the complete opposite Tuesday.

It took some time, but the U.S. got on the board in semi-quirky fashion in first half stoppage time. The U.S. lined up a free kick on the right side about midway between the halfway line and penalty box. Ike Opara leapt up to head it, which forced Cameroon keeper Francois Beyokol into a diving save. He punched it away, but it stayed in play and Tony Taylor was able to collect near the touchline and and center it to Bryan Arguez, who powered it into the top of the net.

Ahead 1-0, the U.S. wasted little time to double the advantage, though its unsure if too many people watching on ESPN2 saw the goal. In my case, I was watching a local ad for trading in gold and when it cut back to the match it was already 2-0. Replays after the match showed the U.S. breaking at midfield with a 2-on-1 advantage, culminating with Dilly Duka passing to Taylor, who easily tapped it into the open Cameroon net. (Not sure who was at fault here, ESPN or the worldwide feed operators. Luckily this wasn't as bad a technical glitch as some matches from Euro 2008.)

The U.S. put the game away with a very nice goal by Duka, who loomed a high-arcing shot from the left side of the penalty area over a totally baffled Beyokol, who could only watch as it sailed into the right side netting making it 3-0.

The only blemish for the U.S. came when Opara was handed a yellow card for a challenge in the box, resulting in a penalty kick converted by Banana Yaya (real name) in the 75th minute.

Finally, in second-half stoppage time, Brian Ownby restored the U.S. three-goal advantage when he beat the Cameroon defense and calmly converted a 1-on-1 with the keeper, making it 4-1.

The final goal was important for a couple reasons since it leveled the U.S. goal difference at zero, and pushed Cameroon's to -1, putting both countries with three points, but the U.S. sits in second place. Should the U.S. draw South Korea on Friday and Cameroon draws Germany, the U.S. would advance. Of course, if the U.S. wins and Germany loses, the U.S. would win the group.

With any of these FIFA youth tournaments its hard to exactly gauge the level of the players and competition, but at least the U.S. took a stride in the right direction Tuesday.