Sporting KC defender Erik Palmer-Brown and the U.S. U-20 men’s national team will play New Zealand on Thursday in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup Round of 16. The match will kick off at 6 a.m. CT and will air on FS1 and Telemundo En Vivo.
The U.S. enter the knockout round of the tournament having won Group F with five points. The Americans opened the group with a 3-3 draw against Ecuador, before defeating Senegal 1-0 and drawing Saudi Arabia 1-1. New Zealand finished second to France in Group E and are coming off a 2-0 loss to Les Bleus in their final group stage match.
Palmer-Brown has been a standout performer for the United States in his second U-20 World Cup. The Lee’s Summit native was named team captain before the tournament and played all 90 minutes during the three group stage matches.
The United States’ depth will be tested when they take on the Kiwis on Thursday. Already missing midfielder Gedion Zelalem to a torn ACL, head coach Tab Ramos will be without defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Aaron Herrera as well as midfielder Derrick Jones. Herrera and Jones are each serving a one-game suspension following caution accumulation while Carter-Vickers was issued two yellow cards during the final group stage match against Saudi Arabia.
The winner of Thursday’s match will advance to the quarterfinals and face a Venezuela side that continued their perfect run through the tournament with a 1-0 win over Japan in the Round of 16.
The United States are one of two CONCACAF teams left in the tournament. Mexico will play Senegal tomorrow morning, while Costa Rica dropped a 2-1 result to England on Wednesday.
