Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown and the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team bowed out of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup with a heartbreaking 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to Venezuela in Jeonju, Korea Republic.
Palmer-Brown played all 120 minutes in a match that ended scoreless through regulation but saw Venezuela’s Adalberto Penaranda and Nahuel Ferraresi score in the 96th and 116th minutes, respectively. Jeremy Ebobisse restored hope for the U.S. with a goal in the 117th minute, but the Americans were unable to find an equalizer before the final whistle. Head coach Tab Ramos’ side consequently suffers elimination at the quarterfinal stage for the second straight tournament, having reached the same stage in 2015 before falling to eventual champion Serbia in a penalty kick shootout.
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, the 20-year-old Palmer-Brown played all 480 minutes of the 2017 U-20 World Cup as the U.S. captain, starting five matches in central defense. The center back nearly snatched a late winner deep in second-half stoppage time on Sunday, only to direct his header inches wide of the right post.
Sunday’s quarterfinal contest was played just four hours after the U.S. and Venezuela senior national teams met for an international friendly at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, playing to a 1-1 draw that included a late substitute appearance from Sporting Kansas City defender Graham Zusi.
Palmer-Brown has performed admirably for the U.S. U-20s since the start of 2017, having previously led his country to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship title en route to Golden Ball honors as the player of the tournament. That competition concluded on March 5 and successfully qualified the U-20 MNT for the U-20 World Cup, which kicked off May 20 in Korea Republic.
The defender subsequently captained the side to draws against Ecuador and Saudi Arabia on either side of a 1-0 win over Senegal, helping the U.S. finish atop Group F to set up a meeting with New Zealand in the Round of 16. Six different players scored in a 6-0 thumping of the Kiwis, propelling the U.S. to the quarterfinal round for the second straight time. Palmer-Brown was one of U.S. three players — alongside fellow center back Cameron Carter-Vickers and midfielder Gedion Zelalem, who tore his ACL in the tournament-opening 3-3 draw versus Ecuador on May 22 — who also competed at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Venezuela will meet Uruguay in the semifinal round on Thursday, while Monday’s other quarterfinal matchups will see Italy battle Zambia and Mexico face England. The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final is set for next Sunday, June 11.
Palmer-Brown will now return to his hometown club Sporting Kansas City, which jumped to first place in the Western Conference on Saturday after defeating Minnesota United FC by a 3-0 scoreline. The team returns to action this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. CT, hosting the Montreal Impact with hopes of extending a 16-game home unbeaten streak at Children’s Mercy Park that dates back to June 2016. Tickets for the inter-conference clash are available via SeatGeek.com.
