Youth National Teams: U-20s set to face Japan

After arriving in the Nigerian city of Bauchi today, April 7, the U.S. under-20 national team spent one hour training at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in preparation for its April 8 opening-round clash with Asian runner-up Japan. The match, which is the United States’ second of the 1999 U-20 World Cup (Nigeria ’99), will kick off at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET). The United States has three points from its 1-0 win over England April 5. Cameroon, which defeated Japan, 2-1, leads Group E on goals scored. The top two teams in each of the six opening groups, as well as the four best third-place teams, advance to the round of 16 in Nigeria. “Japan has a very strong team,” said U.S. U-20 head coach Sigi Schmid. “They had a bit of bad luck against Cameroon, but overall they are a dangerous side and should not be taken lightly in this tournament.” The Japanese are led by captain and central midfielder Shinji Ono, a member of Japan’s 1998 World Cup team in France. Ono, who is already being tabbed as one of the future stars of the Japanese national team, has garnered much attention for his outstanding play in the J-League. Japan also relies heavily on Masashi Motoyama, a speedy, skillful left-sided midfielder. In its 2-1 loss to Cameroon, Japan controlled the tempo for nearly the entire match, but two late Cameroonian goals erased a 1-0 advantage Japan claimed in the first half. The U.S. delegation traveled by charter bus earlier this morning to Bauchi, a city in north-central Nigeria. In addition to the USA-Japan match, the other Group E match — pitting England against Cameroon — will take place tomorrow in Kano at 4 p.m. local (11 a.m. ET). “Our goal right now is to get into the second round, and when we step on the field tomorrow against Japan, that means we need to get some points,” said Schmid. “I’m happy with how we have prepared up to this point and I’m confident that we will put forth our best effort against the Japanese.” Group E Standings