June 13, 2005
ENSCHEDE, Holland – The University of Notre Dame’s Greg Dalby (Poway, Calif.) and the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team registered a 1-0 upset over Argentina on Saturday in their first match of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Tournament. Dalby, who will be a junior midfielder this fall for the Fighting Irish, captained his squad to the win in front of 10,500 fans at Arke Stadium.
A header by UCLA’s Chad Barrett in the 39th minute is all the U.S. needed to secure the win and three points in the opener. The goal came when Barrett’s UCLA teammate, Marvel Wynne, broke free down the right wing, and his deflected cross found Barrett in the middle for an open header. Dalby set up the goal with a great ball to the flank for Wynne, who was Dalby’s high school teammate.
The victory was the second straight for the U.S. as they had beaten Argentina 2-1 in March in South Korea, but it was their first ever for the U.S. over Argentina in the World Youth Championship and just their third victory over a CONMEBOL team in the tournament. The U.S. also became just the second CONCACAF team to defeat Argentina in a World Youth Championship, following Mexico who pulled off the feat with a 4-1 victory in 1999.
This was the fifth time the U.S. has opened the FIFA World Youth Championship with a victory, however in each of the previous four tournaments the U.S. lost their second match but still managed to reach the second round. The U.S. sits tied for first place in Group D with three points after the victory as Germany defeated Egypt 2-0 in the second match of the day. The U.S. will battle for sole position of first place when they face Germany in their second match of the tournament at Arke Stadium on Tuesday, June 14 at 8:30 p.m. local/1:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the match live on Fox Soccer Channel or on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
Dalby is one of 10 college players on the Under-20 team, which also features a formidable mix of professional and high school standouts. One name easily recognizable to all soccer fans is DC United’s Freddy Adu, but the Under-20 team also will feature Eddie Gaven (N.J. Metrostars), Jonathan Spector (Manchester United) and attacking players Jacob Peterson (Indiana) and Lee Nguyen (the lone high school player out of Texas). For more information on the U.S. Under-20 National Team, go to www.ussoccer.com.
U.S. Under-20 National Team Schedule
June 11, U.S.A -1, Argentina 0
June 14, vs. Germany, 8:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. Notre Dame time)
June 18, vs. Egypt, 1:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. Notre Dame time)
Round of 16, June 21-22
Quarterfinals, June 24
Semifinals, June 28
Third Place Match, July 2
Final, July 2
-ND–