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The USA Men's U-20 National Team kicks off its U-20 World Cup against the second-best team from the South American qualifying tournament.
Ecuador is not to be taken lightly: teams that would be regarded as among the favorites to win this World Cup - Brazil and Colombia - didn't make it out of qualifying. But it should also be noted that the CONMEBOL qualifying tournament was held in Ecuador, so its presence in South Korea owes a little something to home advantage.
The USA will be confident, having won the CONCACAF U-20 Championship with a win over Mexico along the way. Also, there is margin for error in the format of this World Cup. The top two teams in each group make it out of the group stage, and four of the six third-placed teams from the groups will be in the knockout rounds as well. So any team can afford an early slip-up.
But the Americans did not come to Korea to make up the numbers. Their predecessors in the 2015 U-20 cohort made the quarterfinals at the 2015 U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, and the 2017 U-20s would like to at least match that achievement. Their performance against Ecuador will be the first test of how realistic an expectation it is that the USA can make the latter stages of this World Cup.
Per livesoccertv.com, here's where to find the game if watching from the USA:
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