Spain taught the United States under-20 national team a humbling lesson about the perils of sacrificing shape for endeavor on the World Cup stage.
U.S. coach Tab Ramos and his players heeded the instructive nature of that 4-1 defeat on Friday ahead of Monday's encounter against France. The Americans focused on cohesiveness throughout their structure, reduced their reliance on high pressure and set the defensive line a bit closer to goal.
The alterations constituted a natural evolution for the second Group A game and presented a more formidable challenge for the French to overcome. Daniel Cuevas ensured the U.S. reaped the benefits from its much improved display when he popped up five minutes from time to snatch a 1-1 draw in Istanbul.
Cuevas' equalizer proved no less than the Americans deserved on the day after France opened the scoring in controversial fashion three minutes into the second half. Javan Torre appeared to foul Dimitri Foulquier outside of the penalty area, but referee Carlos Vera pointed to the spot anyways. Yaya Sanogo punctuated his deft work up front by tucking home from 12 yards.
It would have stood as the winner if not for a timely intervention from second-half substitute Cuevas. Luis Gil atoned for his penalty miss after 65 minutes by playing a low free kick into the penalty area. The service bounced and squirmed through a pack of defenders before Cuevas poked home the equalizer at the back post to spark wild celebrations.
This precious point could provide the foundation for a place in the knockout round with a victory over Ghana in Kayseri on Thursday, but the Americans must produce a similarly effective display in order to progress to the round of 16.
In stark contrast to the naïve showing against Spain, the U.S. produced a composed and mature performance here. The brief period between matches provided the necessary time to sort out the defensive issues exposed ruthlessly on Friday and suss out a way forward in the tournament.
As previous American successes on the international level have indicated, and the setback against Spain reinforced, the U.S. functions best with a modest approach against this sort of competition. By setting out its stall early and waiting for the right times to push forward, the Americans shifted the onus to create onto the French. And, for the most part, the French simply weren't up to the task.
The revamped defensive philosophy permitted the French to operate fairly comfortably in the middle third in exchange for a more resolute tack closer to goal. The deeper line heaped the pressure on France to either break down the extra bodies or strike on the counter. Both avenues produced the occasional chance, but the French could not find a way to dominate their superiority on the ball to any tangible advantage from the run of play.
Sonogo staked his side to a generally deserved edge three minutes after the interval, but he and his French teammates could not reinforce that lead with the second goal required to cinch the points. The inability to do so proved costly in the end as the Americans applied themselves earnestly in search of a point.
Gil should have restored parity shortly after the hour mark after Mario Rodríguez drew a fairly dubious penalty with a determined run into the penalty area. His tame effort resulted in an easy save for Alphonse Aréola, but it did not dissuade the Americans from pursuing other routes to goal over the final 25 minutes.
The huffing and puffing eventually produced the desired result when Cuevas navigated his way through the penalty area to draw the U.S. level in the waning stages. France concocted one or two chances to snatch the points after Cuevas' equalizer without finding a way to take them.
France's inability to procure that late winner threw the Americans a lifeline in the competition and underscored the overall improvement from the opener against Spain. Ramos' tinkering – including the staggering decision to drop captain Caleb Stanko and keep the faith with the heavily criticized Torre – ultimately produced the desired results. This effort – full of commitment, discipline and organization, though lacking in menace – warranted its reward.
By adapting to the realities placed in stark relief by Spain on Friday, the Americans placed themselves in a position to procure a point against France and progress with a victory against Ghana. It is now up to them to ensure the harshly enforced tutelage remains ingrained long enough to book a place in the round of 16 on Thursday.
