Coach Sigi Schmid lauded his players’ effort after the United States’ run in the 1999 U-20 World Cup in Nigeria came to an end with a 3-2 second-round loss to Spain. “I’m very proud of the determination we showed today to get back into the match,” said Schmid. “I thought we played a bit tentative in the first half, gave them [Spain] a bit too much respect, and this put us on our heels. But in the second half we were a much better team and forced the play much more. “For us there are many good things we will take out of this tournament. Any time you get the chance to play in a world championship it provides players with valuable learning experiences. We played well, and although we aren’t satisfied with the result, we know that we have earned the respect of a very good European opponent.”