June 20, 2005
ENSCHEDE, Holland – The U.S. Under-20 national soccer team, captained by Notre Dame’s Greg Dalby, defeated Egypt 1-0 in the third and final match of group play on Saturday at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. With the victory, the U.S. remained unbeaten with a 2-0-1 record and captured Group D, which was referred to as the `Group of Death’ heading into competition. The squad will now battle Italy in the second round on Tuesday.
Jacob Peterson headed home a deflected shot from Freddy Adu in the 56th minute and the defense held Egypt to just one shot on goal for the entire 90 minutes to give the U.S. its third shutout of group play. The U.S. wins its group for the second straight time at the FIFA World Youth Championship and also becomes just the 12th team in WYC history to finish group play with three shutouts. Dalby, who will be a junior midfielder for the Fighting Irish this coming fall, did not play in the match versus Egypt after totaling every minute throughout the first two contests.
In the other group match, Argentina defeated Germany 1-0 in Emmen providing the U.S. with first place in Group D with seven points and allowing them to stay in Enschede to face Italy, who finished in third place in Group E, on Tuesday, June 21 at Arke Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10:30 a.m CT (South Bend time) and fans can follow the match live on Fox Soccer Channel and ussoccer.com‘s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
The back-to-back-to-back shutouts in the tournament’s toughest group marks one of the greatest national team accomplishments in U.S. soccer history, with the U.S. becoming just the 12th team in the tournament’s 28-year history to manage the feat. The previous lowest amount of goals allowed by a U.S. team in a WYC was three, which occurred in four tournaments (Chile ’87, Australia ’93, Malaysia ’97 and Argentina ’01).
The victory also marks the second straight time the U.S. has won their group in the World Youth Championship, as they claimed first place for the first time in 2003 in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, the seven points mark the most points ever earned by the U.S. U-20s in group play in 10 tournament appearances.
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, U.S.A. – 0, Germany 0
June 18, U.S.A – 1, Egypt 0
June 21, Round of 16 vs. Italy, 10:30 a.m. CT (South Bend time)
Quarterfinals, June 24
Semifinals, June 28
Third Place Match, July 2
Final, July 2
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