United Homegrown Chris Durkin had a standout performance in the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team's FIFA World Cup opener, playing a full 90 minutes and scoring to help the Yanks claim a dominant 3-0 win against host India in their first Group A match.
A raucous crowd of 46,312 turned out to support India for the nation’s first FIFA World Cup game at any level, but the USA was unfazed by boisterous atmosphere and through a wealth of possession carved out numerous chances throughout the first half before a clever move from captain Josh Sargent earned a penalty kick that he then converted in the 30th minute to give the U.S. a lead it would never relinquish.
Highlighting his Man of the Match performance for the U-17s, Durkin gave the U.S. breathing room in the 51st minute with a well taken, volleyed goal after a U.S. corner was only half cleared. Andrew Carleton then put the U.S. out of sight with a smooth finish in the 84th minute, countering India’s only chunk of sustained pressure in the match to make it 3-0.
While U.S. goalkeeper Justin Garces had mostly light work in securing the shutout, he came up with a great challenge off his line in the 56th to force an India attacker into skying an attempt well over the bar and did so again in the 82nd to stifle any flicker of an India comeback.
Up Next: The U-17 MNT remains in New Delhi for its second Group A game which sees the team take on Ghana. Kickoff from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is set for 7:30 a.m. ET, and the match can be seen live on FS2 and UNIVERSO.
2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship Classification Group D | ||||||||
Team | GP | W | L | D | Pts. | GF | GA | GD |
USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Ghana | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Colombia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Josh Sargent, 30th minute: Sargent received the ball on the left side of India’s box and took his defender on one-v-one. He got the ball past his man but was brought down in the box as he attempted to follow earning a penalty kick which he dually converted with a hard shot into the lower left corner as the ‘keeper jumped the opposite direction. USA 1, IND 0
USA – Chris Durkin, 51st minute: Andrew Carleton’s hard work won the U.S. a corner that Blaine Ferri hit to the back post where a group of players challenged for it. The ball fell just above the penalty spot and Durkin was on hand to blast a left-footed volley on frame. An India defender got a touch to the shot but it was not enough to keep the powerful shot out of the net. USA 2, IND 0
USA – Andrew Carleton (George Acosta), 84th minute: After a spell of pressure from India that included a shot that rebounded off the USA’s crossbar, Acosta got hold of the ball in his defensive third, picked up his head and picked out Carleton with a peach of a pass over top the India defense that led Carleton in on goal. With a calm move, Carleton rounded the ‘keeper and slotted the ball into the vacated net to cement the final 3-0 margin. USA 3, IND 0 FINAL
-U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team vs. India
Date: Oct. 6, 2017
Competition: FIFA U-17 World Cup
Venue: Jawaharal Nehru Stadium; New Dehli, India
Kickoff: 10:30 a.m. ET (8 p.m. local)
Attendance: 46,312
Weather: 85 degrees, clear
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 2 3
IND 0 0 0
USA – Josh Sargent (penalty kick) 30th minute
USA – Chris Durkin 51
USA – Andrew Carleton (George Acosta) 84
Lineups:
USA: 1-Justin Garces; 3-Chris Gloster, 4-James Sands, 6-Chris Durkin, 2-Jaylin Lindsey; 11-Andrew Carleton (18-Indiana Vassilev, 90+1), 8-Blaine Ferri, 20-Chris Goslin; 10-Tim Weah, 9-Josh Sargent (capt.), 7-Ayo Akinola (15-George Acosta, 66)
Subs not used: 12-CJ Dos Santos, 21-Alexander Budnik, 5-Tyler Shaver, 13-Sergino Dest, 14-Akil Watts, 16-Taylor Booth, 17-Bryan Reynolds, 19-Jacobo Reyes
Head Coach: John Hackworth
IND: 1-Dheeraj Moirangthem; 3-Jitendra Singh, 4-Anwar Ali, 5-Sanjeev Stalin, 6-Suresh Wangjam (13-Lalengmawia, 90+3); 7-Ninthoinganba Meetei (16-Nongdamba Naorem, 70), 8-Amarjit Kiyam (capt.), 9-Aniket Jadhav, 10-Abhijit Sarkar (14-Rahim Ali, 70); 11-Komal Thatal, 17-Rahul Kannoly
Subs not used: 2-Boris Thangjam, 12-Anthony Hendry, 15-Jeakson Thounaojam, 18-Namit Deshpande, 19-Mohammed Shahjahan, 20-Prabhsukhan Gill, 21-Sunny Dhaliwal
Head Coach: Luis Norton de Matos
Stats Summary: USA/IND
Shots: 19 / 8
Shots on Goal: 7 / 1
Saves: 1 / 4
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 8
Offside: 3 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Gery Vargas (BOL)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Montano (BOL)
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Alberto Antelo Arauz (BOL)
Fourth Official: Claudia Umpierrez (URU)
ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Chris Durkin
