The U.S. under-20 national team arrived by charter flight April 12 to Port Harcourt in the far south of Nigeria, where it will prepare for Thursday’s (April 15) round of 16 game against Spain in the U-20 World Cup. The United States, which finished second in Group E, will face a Spanish team that topped Group F. “We’re very much aware that Spain is one of the top teams in this tournament,” said U.S. head coach Sigi Schmid. “But we’ve demonstrated in our three games that we play our best when we’re under pressure to get a result, so I think this will be a good match for us.” The U.S. team played Spain earlier this year (Jan. 26) during the 1999 Copa de Atlantico in the Canary Islands, and lost, 1-0. Spain topped Group E by defeating Brazil (2-0) and Honduras (3-1), and tying Zambia (0-0). The Spaniards are led by star midfielder Gabri, who scored both goals against Brazil, and forwards Francisco Yeste and Pablo. One milestone the U.S. has set for itself is to be the first U.S. team to win more than two matches at the U-20 World Cup. The 1989 squad won two matches (2-0 over East Germany and 2-1 over Iraq in the quarterfinals) en route to a semifinal appearance.