The USA Under-20 national team will look to finish on top of Group B at the FIFA U-20 World Cup when they face Slovakia in their final group stage match at Estadio San Juan Bicentenario in San Juan, Argentina.
The USA are already in the round of 16, but winning the group with a win or draw against Slovakia could ensure what on paper would be a less formidable opponent in the round of 16.
Slovakia can also finish first with a win against the Americans, and Ecuador is also in the mix, playing bottom-place Fiji in a game that starts at the same time. Here are the round of 16 pairings depending on where each team finishes in Group B:
- 1st Group B: vs. 3rd Group A/C/D (currently Uzbekistan, Israel, Italy)
- 2nd Group B: vs. 2nd Group F (currently South Korea)
- 3rd Group B: vs. 1st Group C/D (currently Colombia/Nigeria)
The goal difference is the first tiebreaker in the group if the teams finish tied on points, and that is followed by total goals scored if the teams finish tied in both points and goal difference. FIFA has outlined the full list of tiebreakers.
Sporting News follows USA vs. Slovakia live and provides score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
MORE: All the updated classification of the FIFA U-20 World Cup groups
U-20 World Cup Group B qualification live
- Friday May 26: USA vs. Slovakia (2 p.m. ET)
- Friday May 26: Ecuador vs. Fiji (2 p.m. ET)
| Equipment | pts | GP | W | L | D. | bride | Georgia | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. USA-what | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 2. Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| 3. Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4. fiji | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -7 |
- what = Qualified to the round of 16
- my = removed
United States vs Slovakia live
| First half | scorers | |
| USA | — | — |
| Slovakia | — | — |
Projected lineups:
USA (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Slonina (GK) — 17-Che, 14-Ferkranus, 2-Halliday, 3-Wiley — 15-Tsakiris, 6-Edelman, 16-Wolff — 9-Cowell, 19-Yapi, 7-Sullivan.
Slovakia (4-3-3, from right to left): 12-Hrdina (GK) — 19-Kopasek, 3-Bagin, 6-Kosa, 18-Sikula — 8-Gajdos, 17-Snajder, 14-Szolgai — 15-Marcelli, 10-Jambor, 16-L. Sauer.
Live updates of USA vs. Slovakia, FIFA U-20 World Cup highlights
2 hours for KO: The US Under-20s may be top of their group, but they’re also good at other non-soccer things.
USA vs Slovakia lineups
With the USA already clinched a spot in the knockout phase and a Round of 16 game looming in four days (if the USA finishes in first place), USA head coach Mikey Varas could consider player rotation in this match, especially jonathan gomez and brandan craig who have played the full 180 minutes so far.
Three US players also earned a yellow card in the first two games and would be suspended with another. So that could mean that jack mclynn, diego lunaand joseph wynder all sitting against Slovakia. The yellow card slate is cleared after the quarterfinals.
Kevin Walls (Wolfsburg) and Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split) are set to join the team in the knockout stages. the likes of Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy) were not released by their clubs to play in the tournament.
USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Gaga Slonina (GK) — 17-Justin Che, 14-Marcus Ferkranus, 2-Michael Halliday, 3-Caleb Wiley — 15-Niko Tsakiris, 6-Daniel Edelman, 16-Owen Wolff — 9-Cade Cowell, 19- Darren Yapi, 7-Quinn Sullivan.
USA Alternates (8): 21-Alex Borto (GK), 12-Antonio Carrera (GK), 5-Brandan Craig, 13-Jonathan Gomez, 4-Joshua Wynder, 10-Diego Luna, 8-Jack McGlynn, 18-Obed Vargas
Slovakia head coach Albert Rusnak (father of the Seattle Sounders player of the same name) has started with almost the same starting lineup in each of the first two games, barring one change (nino marcelli over the end Adam Gazi for the second game). Rusnak also has four players who are one yellow card away from suspension (Samuel Bagin, Samuel Kopasek, Dominik Snajder and Mario Sauer).
Of the 21 players on the Slovak roster, 18 play in the Slovak local league. The three who play abroad are Adam Griger (Cagliari Sub-19 on loan from LASK of Austria), Jan Murgas (with Admira Wacker from the Austrian second division), and leo sauer (Feyenoord under-21 team in the Netherlands).
Slovakia projected starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 12-Adam Hrdina (GK) — 18-Nicolas Sikula, 3-Samuel Bagin, 6-Sebastian Kosa, 19-Samuel Kopasek — 8-Artur Gajdos, 17-Dominik Snajder, 14-Mate Szolgai — 15-Nino Marcelli, 10- Timothy Jambor, 16-Leo Sauer.
Substitutes for Slovakia (10): 1-Samuel Belanik (GK), 21-Adam Danko (GK), 2-Simon Micuda, 5-David Ovsonka, 13-Marek Ujlaky, 4-Jan Murgas, 7-Balint Csoka, 20-Mario Sauer, 11-Adam Gazi , 9-Adam Griger
MORE: FIFA U-20 World Cup round of 16 schedule
United States vs Slovakia live broadcast, tv channel
- Date: Friday, May 26, 2023
- Time: 2 p.m. Eastern Time
- TV channels: FS2 (English), Universo (Spanish)
- Transmission: Fubo, Fox Sports GO, FoxSports.com, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Universo NOW
The match USA vs Slovakia will be televised on FS2 (English) and Universe (Spanish) with both channels streaming on FuboIt offers a free trial for new users.
there is also a broadcast available on the streaming platforms of both broadcasters (site and application) for authenticated subscribers of cable, satellite or telecommunications packages: Fox Sports GO, FoxSports.com, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo and Universo NOW.
For those located outside of the US, the the station carrying the match depends on the region. For countries without a designated broadcast rights holder, the match can be found on FIFA+, which is FIFA’s official streaming platform.
