:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46489106/GettyImages-469921042.0.jpg)
The 2015 edition of the Toulon Tournament concludes on June 7. The final will feature France and Morocco, two worthy group-winners - the only remaining undefeated teams in the competition.
But the third-place playoff is of greater interest to fans of the New York Red Bulls, because that is where we may catch another glimpse of NYRB II midfielder, Dan Metzger. He and his U-23 teammates will take on an England U-20 team that probably isn't aware of the fact it has the chance to avenge the 0-2 loss to the USA suffered by the English squad in the third-place playoff of the 1989 Toulon Tournament.
This competition has a reputation for showcasing stars of the future, some of particular significance to RBNY fans: Thierry Henry was named Player of the Tournament in 1997; Peguy Luyindula was the top-scorer in the 1999 edition.
The England team's ranks boast several up-and-coming players their clubs surely hope will kick on to dominate the senior professional and international level: players like Lewis Baker, John Swift, Chuba Akpom, and Callum Robinson.
For the USA, the biggest name on the team is surely Jordan Morris - not yet a pro, but increasingly looking like a key part of USMNT's future, at least for as long as Jurgen Klinsmann has a say in those plans. The 20-year-old scored against France in this tournament, and contributed to the senior national team's surprising and thrilling win over the Netherlands on June 5.
There is talk of him playing against England, then rejoining USMNT for its friendly against Germany on June 10. Three high-level games in five days seems like asking a lot of a player who has been busy in Toulon since May 27, but one assumes his coaches know how much playing and travel time he can handle.
And if Morris does not play, it will simply create further opportunity for the other players in the squad to advance their reputations.
This American U-23 squad is selected with October's CONCACAF Olympic qualifying in mind. The team in Toulon features several players considered a long shot to make the roster for that tournament - and Dan Metzger would arguably be part of that group of prospects on the fringe of Andi Herzog's thinking. This is another chance for those fringe players to take a step up the U-23 depth chart.