US rallies past Myanmar 2-1 in opener at Under-20 World Cup
May 30, 2015, 1:00 PM
Argentina's Angel Correa, top, is congratulated by teammates after scoring goal against Panama during their U20 soccer World Cup match in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, May 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Ross Setford)
(AP Photo/Ross Setford)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The United States won its first match at the Under-20 World Cup since 2009, rallying to beat Myanmar 2-1 Saturday on goals by Maki Tall and Emerson Hyndman.
Making its debut in the tournament, Myanmar went ahead in the ninth minute at Whangarei when American goalkeeper Zack Steffen failed to control a corner kick, and Yank Naing Oo tapped in the ball at the near post.
The U.S. tied the score in the 17th when Tottenham’s Cameron Carter-Vickers redirected Hyndman’s corner kick to Tall, who scored with a right-footed shot. Hyndman, who plays for Fulham and is the grandson of former Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman, got the go-ahead goal in the 56th with a 12-yard shot following a pass from Rubio Rubin.
Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem made his competitive debut for the U.S. as a 55th-minute substitute.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to play, that’s for sure,” U.S. coach Tab Ramos said. “We found in front of us a very inspired team, a newcomer coming into the World Cup and they fought hard. They made us play ugly and it was difficult for us. I’m happy with the win but we’re going to have to improve if we’re going to go anywhere in this tournament.”
The U.S. leads Group A followed by host New Zealand and Ukraine, who tied 0-0 earlier Saturday. After reaching the quarterfinals in 2007, the Americans were knocked out in the first round in 2009 and 2013, and they did not qualify in 2011.
The Americans play New Zealand on Tuesday and Ukraine on Friday.
In Group B, Angel Correa scored twice for tournament favorite Argentina, which was held to a 2-2 tie by Panama,
Correa faced a career crisis last year when a routine medical checkup, preceding his signing with Atletico Madrid, revealed a blocked ventricle in his heart. He underwent surgery in New York and was sidelined for seven months before rejoining his team for South American qualifying.
Correa scored in the 14th and 79th minutes, and Panama got goals from Jhamal Rodriguez in the 19th minute and Fidel Escobar in the 84th.
Yaw Yeboah’s penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time after he was fouled by Konrad Laimer gave Ghana a 1-1 tie with Austria, which had gone ahead on Bernd Gschweidl’s 50th-minute goal.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Comments