The U.S. U-20 men's national team drew Argentina, Germany and Egypt for the 2005 World Youth Championship June 10-July 2 in the Netherlands.
ARGENTINA. The Americans fell to Argentina, 2-1, in overtime in the quarterfinals of the 2003 U-20 championships. They led had until the final minute of stoppage time. Argentina has won four titles (1979, 1995, 1997 and 2001), tying Brazil for the most U-20 championships. It finished third in the South American qualifying tournament behind host Colombia and Brazil. Argentina's star is Leonel Messi, who joined Spanish club Barcelona at the age of 13 and made his first-team debut last fall at 17 in the European Champions League.
EGYPT. The junior Pharaohs outclassed the United States at the 2001 World Youth Championship, winning, 2-0, in the round of 16. Mohammed Radwane's team fell to Nigeria, 2-0, in the final of the 2005 Africa Youth Cup. Mahmoud Abdel Razek, nicknamed Shikabala, who recently signed with Greek club PAOK, led Egypt with three goals at the African championships.
GERMANY. In group play two years ago, the United States fell to Germany, 3-1. The Germans' third-place group finish at the 2004 UEFA U-19 Championship was enough to qualify them for Netherlands '05, where they will make their seventh appearance in the finals. They won the 1981 U-20 title and finished second in 1987. The Germans are led by strikers Mario Gomez, who plays for VfB Stuttgart, and Ashkan Dejagah, Hertha Berlin's Iranian-born hopeful.