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The draw for the knockout rounds has opened a promising pathway to the quarterfinals for the winner of Group F at the 2017 Men's U-20 World Cup. The top team in the group will play the runner-up in Group E: very likely New Zealand, maybe Vietnam or Honduras, very unlikely to be France.
Of course, if New Zealand upsets France in the last round of games in Group E, the whole pathway changes for the worse, but right now the winner of Group F is looking at an easier path to the quarterfinals than, say, the runner-up in Group F - who will play Mexico in the round of 16. Or the third-placed team in Group F, which is looking at a knockout-round opener against AFCON U-20 champion Zambia or the top team out of South American qualifying, Uruguay.
Further, if that third-placed team gets by Zambia, it'll run into (most likely) France or Italy in the quarterfinals. If it is paired with Uruguay in the round of 16 and wins, it will be up against home team South Korea or Portugal in the next round. If the Group F runner-up beats Mexico, it is looking at a quarterfinal against England (probably, since England plays Costa Rica in the round of 16 and Costa Rica has struggled in this tournament to far).
The Group F winner won't have it easy if it makes the quarterfinals, but a team might prefer to take its chances against Venezuela or Japan - the quarterfinalist waiting for the team that wins the top-team-in-Group-F-vs-runner-up-in-Group-E match-up - than France, Italy, South Korea, or England.
The USA can't finish lower than third in Group F and is very likely going to the knockout rounds regardless of results in the last round matches in the group (it would take a lopsided loss to Saudi Arabia and a big win for Ecuador and Vietnam in Group E for the USA to drop out of the tournament before the round of 16), but don't expect that to take the edge off its approach to this game. There is a strong incentive to win Group F and it starts with a potential round of 16 game against the second-best team in Group E.
Saudi Arabia won't get out of the group stage with a loss, however, so the USA can expect a well-motivated opponent for its Group F finale.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Senegal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Ecuador | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1 |
Per livesoccertv.com, here's where to find the game if watching from the USA: