USA eliminated from FIFA U-17 World Cup with 4-0 loss to the Netherlands

GOIANIA, Brazil (Nov. 2, 2019) – The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team fell to the Netherlands, 0-4, in its final Group D match of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup on Saturday night at Estádio da Serrinha. With the loss, the USA finished fourth in the group and will not advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

The match was evenly played for large portions of the first half, but things came undone for the red, white and blue in the second after going down a goal just before the break. Netherlands forward Santje Hanson had a hand in three goals – scoring the first two and assisting on Mohamed Taabouni’s tally before Jayden Braaf closed out the scoring late.

The USA twice were inches from taking the lead within the first ten minutes of the game. At the seven-minute mark, U.S. right back Joe Scally pushed down the line and sent a driven cross into the box. Gio Reyna made an aggressive run towards the ball and sent a glancing, flicked header to the back post that went inches wide of goal.

Minutes later, the Netherlands defense headed away a USA corner that fell to the feet of Adam Saldana just outside the box. Saldana hit a low shot through the defense that also went just wide of goal.

The Netherlands, European champions, held strong and started to create their own chances. The breakthrough came just before the half when Hansen danced around at the top of the box before cutting to his left and tucking a shot just past the outstretched diving attempt by U.S. goalkeeper Chituru Odunze and into the near post.

The USA made two changes to start the second half and were more aggressive offensively right off the whistle. However, it was Jansen who opened the second-half scoring with a first-time shot from inside the box. The forward then turned to playmaker, taking a ball to the end line before finding Taabouni, who finished from four yards out.

In the 76th minute, Hansen again went at the USA defense and drew a penalty kick after being clipped by Bryang Kayo. Kenneth Taylor stepped up to shoot but was denied by a diving save from Odunze. The Netherlands finished the scoring in the dying minutes, with Jayden Braaf netting one from close range.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:

NED – Sontje Hansen (unassisted), 42nd minute

Hansen took an innocent ball on the top of the right side of the box and cut to his left past two U.S. defenders before shooting low to the near post. Goalkeeper Chituru Odunze dove to his left and got a slight touch but it wasn’t enough to prevent the opening goal. USA 0, NED 1

NED – Sontje Hansen (Anass Salah Eddine), 51st minute

A Dutch player advanced the ball to the USA end line on the left side before sending a cross through the defense back to the penalty mark, where Hansen hit a one-time shot past Odunze. USA 0, NED 2

NED – Mohamed Taabouni (Sontje Hansen), 70th minute

Hansen took the ball towards the right U.S. post before touching a short pass back to the corner of the six-yard box, where Mohamed Taabouni beat a USA defender to put it away. USA 0, NED 3

NED – Jayden Braaf (Naoufal Bannis), 87th minute

Bannis entered the USA box right of the arc and after drawing a defender, sent a square pass to the center where an unmarked Braaf took one touch to his right before shooting past Odunze. USA 0, NED 4 FINAL

KEY SAVES & DEFENSIVE STOPS:

USA – Chituru Odunze, 11th minute: A Dutch forward did well to create separation from the U.S. defense at the top of the left side of the box before hitting a low, hard shot that forced Odunze to dive to his left for the save.

NED – 17th minute: USA forward Gio Reyna received a ball over the top inside the right side of the box which brought the Netherlands’ goalkeeper off his line. Reyna found teammate Andres Jasson in the center, but the Dutch defense did well to prevent a clear shot. Jasson passed once more to his left to George Bello, whose shot went high.

USA – Kobe Hernandez, 19th minute: A Dutch player advanced towards the U.S. defense and hit a low, hard shot that Hernandez-Foster deflected with his right foot just wide of goal for a corner kick.

USA – Chituru Odunze, 78th minute: After the Netherlands were awarded a penalty kick, captain Kenneth Taylor stepped up to shoot. The left-footer hit a hard shot to the upper right side, but the 6-8 Odunze guessed correctly and made the save diving to his left, pushing the ball wide of goal with his right hand.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Head coach Raphael Wicky made two changes from the USA’s last match vs. Japan: forward Gio Reyna returned to the lineup in place of Ricardo Pepi and defender Tayvon Gray came on for Nicolas Carrera.
• Busio, Hernandez-Foster, Leyva, Saldana and Scally started all three group stage matches for the U.S., while Dobblelaere, Jasson and Reyna also appeared in all three.
• Saldana made his team-leading 28th appearance for the U-17 MNT this cycle.
   

– U.S. UNDER-17 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Match: U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team vs. Netherlands
Date: Nov. 2, 2019
Competition: 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Venue: Estádio da Serrinha; Goiania, Brazil
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local)
Attendance: 1305
Weather: 82 degrees; cloudy

Scoring Summary:        1          2          F
USA                                  0          0          0
NED                              1          3          4

NED – Sontje Hansen (Naci Unuvar)                   42nd minute

NED – Sontje Hansen (Anass Salah Eddine)         51

NED – Mohamed Taabouni (Sontje Hansen)       70

NED – Jayden Braff (Naoufal Bannis)                  86

Lineups:
USA:  12-Chituru Odunze; 2-Joe Scally, 14-Tayvon Gray, 5-Kobe Hernandez-Foster, 3-George Bello; 16-Adam Saldana (8-Bryang Kayo, 46), 6-Daniel Leyva, 7-Gianluca Busio; 17-Ethan Dobbelaere (19-Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, 46), 10-Gio Reyna (capt.), 20-Andres Jasson (4-Nicolals Carrera, 80)

Subs not used: 1-Damian Las, 21-Aaron Cervantes, 11-Griffin Yow, 13-Adam Armour, 15-Sebastian Anderson, 18-Maximillian Dietz

Unavailable: 9-Ricardo Pepi

Head Coach: Raphael Wicky

NED: 1-Calvin Raatsie, 2-Ki-Jana Hoever, 4-Devyne Rensch, 5-Anass Salah Eddine, 6-Kenneth Taylor (capt.), 7-Sontje Hansen (19-Romano Postema, 90+3), 10-Mohamed Taabouni, 11-Naci Unuvar (9-Naoufal Bannis, 68), 12-Steven van der Sloot (14-Dirk Proper, 71), 13-Youri Regeer, 17-Jayden Braaf

Subs not used: 15-Yannick Leliendal, 16-Bart Verbrugge, 18-Soulaiman Allouch, 20-Djenairo Daniels, 21-Tein Troost

Unavailable: 3-Melayro Bogarde, 8-Ian Maatsen

Head Coach: Peter Van Der Veen

Stats Summary: USA / NED
Shots:  9 / 19
Shots on Goal: 3 / 9
Saves:  5 / 3
Corner Kicks: 5 / 8
Fouls:  9 / 18
Offside: 1 / 2

Misconduct Summary:

NED – Mohamed Taabouni        80th minute

USA – Joe Scally                        90

Officials:
Referee: Amin Mohamed (EGY)
Assistant Referee 1: Attia Amsaaed (LBY)
Assistant Referee 2: Ibrahim Mohammed Abdallah (SDN)
Fourth Official: Alves Batista Edina (BRA)

Video Assistant Referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (QAT)
Video Assistant Referee 2: Yaqoub Al Hammadi (UAE)