International Soccer
Westfield delivers goal, assist in U.S. Under-20 rout
Philadelphia Union defender Frankie Westfield had a goal and an assist in a 9-1 rout for the U.S. Under-20 team to open their U-20 World Cup campaign against New Caledonia on Monday night in Chile.
Westfield, a 19-year-old from Philadelphia, started for the Yanks and contributed to the goal-scoring parade with a header that found the back of the net off a Brooklyn Raines corner in the 28th minute and made it 4-0. The U.S. added a three more goals before halftime. Westfield assisted on the eighth goal of the day with a low cross that found substitute Taha Habroune for a one-timed finish.
Benjamin Cremaschi had a hat trick, Nolan Norris a brace and Niko Tsakiris also scored for the U.S. off an assist from Cremaschi.
New Caledonia was making their U-20 World Cup debut in the match. The small island nation qualified by beating Solomon Islands in the semifinal of the Oceania U-19 Championship.
The U.S. set records for most goals scored and largest margin of victory in a U-20 Men’s World Cup match, while captain Benjamin Cremaschi became just the third American player to score three goals in a single match. The USA’s margin of victory put the team in good position for any tie breaking scenarios. The first tiebreaker in group stage play is goal differential. The USA next face France, who defeated South Africa 2-1 earlier in the day, on Thursday, Oct. 2 (4 p.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
