USMNT: U-20 World Cup draw offers competition for future stars

The U-20 USMNT will be playing in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in May and there is plenty to look forward to. Find out who they will be playing in the group stage.

The biggest youth international tournament is upon us again as Poland hosts the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. After making it to the quarterfinals in the 2017 edition of the competition, the U-20 United States Men’s National Team finds themselves back in the tournament.

There is much to look forward to as this young group of players has already made some big moves to big clubs around the world. The likes of Chris Richards of Bayern Munich will certainly be on the roster, along with others such as Jonathan Amon and Jaylin Lindsey.

Although the roster selection is still quite a while away, the coaching staff under Tab Ramos will have to begin to evaluate which players have made the grade.

Before we get to any more roster speculations, here is how the group will look for the USMNT.

The U.S. will be in a group along with Ukraine, Qatar, and Nigeria. Below is what the schedule will look like for the group stage.

• Friday, May 25th vs. Ukraine at 2:30 p.m. (EST)
• Monday, May 27th vs. Nigeria at 2:30 p.m. (EST)
• Thursday, May 30th vs. Qatar at 2:30 p.m. (EST)

An important thing to remember about the U-20 World Cup is there are 24 teams total so there will be four third-place teams that can advance along with the top two countries from the six groups.

It’s a bit of a challenge to determine the strength of each team the U.S. will face as some of the players on all of the teams in the tournament have not seen senior team minutes for their clubs. The same, of course, can be said for the USMNT as their main young stars like Tim Weah and Josh Sargent are unlikely to be part of this competition.

Ukraine will certainly have lots of support as neighboring Poland is the host of the tournament. Nigeria will be a tough test, having a good record of doing well at youth competitions. As for Qatar, the rising footballing nation will look to replicate the success of the senior team who just won the Asian Cup of Nations.

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Expect the roster to be full of Major League Soccer influence as most of the players on the qualifying roster were made up of Homegrown players from MLS clubs. This will give those players another avenue to display their talent. It may be a good thing that the U.S. gives this crop of players a chance to boost their reach and exposure.

The quarter-final run in 2017 was full of players that have gone on to play at high levels. Tyler Adams was a member of the team, along with Cameron Carter-Vickers. A look at the roster of 2017 shows that the quarter-final run was a fair result for the quality of the team. Even a semi-final appearance would not have been seen as a huge surprise given the talent on the roster.

For the 2019 team, the question will be where does each player factor into the big picture. With a large MLS representation, the future of the league could be on display. Additionally, the competition could offer a glimpse of the gap the youth roster has to close to get closer to their future teammates.

The U-20 World Cup is here, and with it is a land of opportunity and possibility.