It took the United States more than an hour to pierce the tight defensive fence that Fiji built on Tuesday to win a just 3-0 victory in Group B that gave them a place in the round of 16 of the U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
In the San Juan stadium (western Argentina) midfielder Diego Luna, from Real Salt Lake, opened the scoring at minute 67 with a low shot, breaking the strong defensive resistance of the Oceanic team, led by a successful goalkeeper Aydin Murtahib.
But in the 88th minute, Man of the Match striker Kade Cowell gave the United States peace of mind by scoring the second goal.
Already with the victory in his pocket, Michael Varas’ eleven reached the 3-0 win at 90+8 through Caleb Wiley, closing the account of a duel that at first I could not find the return.
The Stars and Stripes team, with a perfect score of six points and the first to qualify for the round of 16, will face Slovakia on the last date of the group stage, which had thrashed Fiji 4-0 on the first day.
The North Americans had debuted with a tight 1-0 victory against Ecuador.
Despite the defeat, the Polynesian team still has chances to advance to the next round as one of the four best third-placed teams.