The U.S. U-20 national team is hoping to become the second U.S. team in history to reach the final four of the World Youth Championship. The best performance so far by a U.S. team came with its fourth-place finish in 1989. BY SCOTT FRENCH Here are the keys to U.S. success: 1. Solidify the defense. The U.S. back line was exposed often during the Toulon Festival, and the diamond Coach Wolfgang Suhnholz employed in midfield didn’t provide the needed support. Things should be different in Argentina, where the Americans likely will return to twin-defensive midfielders — two from among Kenny Arena, Brian Carroll and Kelly Gray — to supplement the back four and protect the attacking quartet up top. Something had better work, because if the Americans don’t tighten up in the back, they’ll be heading home early. 2. Superstars stand out. The Yanks’ three special players — attacking midfielders Landon Donovan and Bobby Convey and winger DaMarcus Beasley — need to be at the top of their games for the Americans to have any shot at the final four. There are a half-dozen or so serious title contenders, all with talent on par with the U.S. trio’s, and the stars who shine brightest likely will be wearing medals at the end. 3. Rallying cry The Americans must be capable of overcoming deficits late in games, and to do so, they’ll likely need Edson Buddle, Brad Davis or Alecko Eskandarian to strike off the bench. Davis scored twice as a substitute during qualifying, but he’ll miss the opener against China while serving a red-card suspension. U.S. Roster GOALKEEPERS 1. D.J. Countess (UCLA), 18. Doug Warren (Clemson Univ.). DEFENDERS 2. Philip Salyer (Univ. of Maryland), 3. Oguchi Onyewu (Clemson Univ.), 4. Nelson Akwari (UCLA), 5. Alex Yi (UCLA), 12. Ricky Lewis (Clemson Univ.). MIDFIELDERS 6. Kelly Gray (Univ. of Portland), 7. DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), 9. Brad Davis (Saint Louis Univ.), 11. Bobby Convey (D.C. United), 13. Kyle Martino (Univ. of Virginia), 14. Kenny Arena (Univ. of Virginia), 15. Brian Carroll (Wake Forest Univ.), STRIKERS 8. Alecko Eskandarian (Univ. of Virginia), 10. Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), 16. Conor Casey (Borussia Dortmund), 17. Edson Buddle (Columbus Crew). U.S. First-Round Schedule GROUP C June 17 USA vs. China in Mendoza June 17 Chile vs. Ukraine in Mendoza June 20 Chile vs. USA in Mendoza June 20 Ukraine vs. China in Mendoza June 23 USA vs. Ukraine in Mendoza June 23 China vs. Chile in Mendoza Soccer America senior editor Scott French will be covering the World Youth Championship in Argentina for Soccer America Magazine and will be providing updates for SoccerAmericaDaily, which is available to Soccer America subscribers, who can sign up at www.mysocceramerica.com.