by: Kloe Adams

Games Editor

The men’s U-20 World Cup commenced Sept. 27, featuring 24 nations from six football confederations. The U-20 World Cup is a biennial international soccer tournament composed of national teams with players under the age of 20. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has held the cup since 1977; prominent players who previously competed include Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. 

The 2025 cup took place across four Chilean cities: Santiago, Valparaiso, Talca, and Rancagua. FIFA organized the 24 teams into six groups of four. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. The United States’ U-20 team played against France, New Caledonia, and South Africa in the group stage. The US and South Africa both advanced to the knockout stage, where the US faced Italy in their first knockout game. Italy led an early attack in the eighth minute, but US goalkeeper Adam Beaudry executed an impressive save. Only seven minutes later, the US took charge of the game when team captain Benjamin Cresmachi scored the first goal in the fifteenth minute. Italy held its own throughout the rest of the first half with the score remaining 1-0. Late into the second half, former Los Gatos High School student Nico Tsakiris scored the second US goal. This was Tsakiris’s second goal of the tournament and third overall in U-20 World Cup play. Three minutes into stoppage time, Cremaschi scored the third and final goal of the game with an assist from Luke Brennan. Italy made a valiant effort, but Beaudry made three impressive saves, keeping his second clean sheet of the tournament. 

After their impressive win over Italy, the US moved on to their fifth consecutive quarter-final, facing off against Morocco. The US held a dominant 78 percent possession rate in the first half; however, Morocco’s tough, calculated defense held off US attacks. Morocco claimed the game’s first goal 30 minutes in. Just before halftime, the US team scored on a crucial penalty kick taken by Matthew Corcoran, evening the score to 1-1. The second half featured more back-and-forth play, but Morocco took the lead, scoring two more goals. Beating the US, Morocco headed into the semi-finals against France; Argentina also continued to the semi-finals, playing Colombia. France and Colombia both succumbed to their tough adversaries, leaving them to fight for a third-place title. In a tight game, Colombia beat France 1-0, securing third place overall. 

Seeking their seventh U-20 men’s title, Argentina came into the match favored to win. The stands, however, featured many Chilean locals rooting against their South American rivals. Morocco, despite being the underdogs, played unfazed and scored two goals in the first half. Yassir Zabiri bagged the first goal from a free-kick; the second goal came from a cross from Zabiri to Othmane Maamma, who volleyed the ball to the back of the Argentine net. Two goals and a strong defense were all Morocco needed to secure the first-place title. Becoming the first Arab nation to reach a U-20 World Cup in 44 years, Morocco has a newfound momentum that fans are excited to see continue in 2027. 

(Sources: US Soccer, US Times, FIFA)