The U20 Men’s National Team took a loopy route to the doorstep of the 2015 World Cup. The U.S. managed just one point from its initial two group games at this month’s CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Jamaica, but nine points from the final three rescued an awkward start. Now, just one knockout win separates the U.S. from its customary spot in the World Cup field. 

The U.S. will face Group B third-place finisher El Salvador on Saturday, with a spot in the World Cup at stake. Winner goes to New Zealand, loser goes home. The winner of that game moves onto the knockout finale to face the winner of the Guatemala-Honduras matchup with only bragging rights on the line. Mexico and Panama, both group winners who already qualified for New Zealand, face each other for the championship.

The U.S. has never won this competition, and that futility now assuredly stretches on for at least another two years. A circuitous start to the tournament assured that. But as U20 coach Tab Ramos asserted earlier in this cycle, the biggest goal here is to produce productive senior teamers. In the sense that a handful of positive individual performances emerged from the clay during the group stage, the cycle has been doing its job at least partly. In the same breath, some struggled.

Part of this tournament’s purpose is simply to afford a capable group of U20s high-pressure minutes in a quasi-professional environment. It’s also a proving ground for the 2016 Olympics. While that U23 team will primarily consist of players in an older cycle - not to mention three overage options - part of this tournament’s utility is to reveal players who’ve used it as a springboard.

With that in mind, three U20 players trending upward and three who’ve largely disappointed in Jamaica.

Rising Stock

M Emerson Hyndman: If there’s been a better midfielder at this tourney than Hyndman, he’s hard to find. Hyndman’s clearly benefitted from consistent senior team minutes at Fulham, especially judging by the amount of poise and cohesiveness he brings to this team. If there’s been one knock, it’s that he’s struggled to fit into whatever scheme Tab Ramos has fronted. In the 4-3-3, his connection with attacking midfielder Junior Flores was nonexistent, and in the 4-4-2 he lacks a higher option altogether. That said, Hyndman’s had the quality to shoehorn himself into several different roles, even if that means playing as a creative hub, something he isn’t asked to do at the club level. If you’re looking for the most pro-ready player in this U.S. U20 pool, you’ve found it right here.

F Tommy Thompson: Is Thompson really a forward? Or is he a midfielder? The lack of specificity in the answer is one of the beauties of Thompson’s emergence in Jamaica. Thompson didn’t make his international debut until July 2014, when he scored in a friendly against Bermuda in Carson, California. Since then, Thompson’s rapidly installed himself as a U20 fixture, a progression that’s led him to a tremendous tournament in Jamaica. With the exception of a quiet match against Trinidad & Tobago, Thompson’s put in Man of the Match shifts in each of the U.S.’s games as a swirling tornado on the right flank. Funny what happens when you match a mad-dribbling winger with his actual position, right San Jose? 

D Cameron Carter-Vickers: When Carter-Vickers was pulled into a U23 camp late last year as a 16-year old, the reaction was predictably confused. Who is he? Where did he come from? And why is he playing up with some players six years his senior? One look assuaged at least some of those doubts. Carter-Vickers is the size of a barn. As we found out with the U23s and now during his stint as a starting center back with the U20s, he’s also sure-footed and excellent in the air. The American defense hasn’t been perfect, but Carter-Vickers has been its most important piece during a run of consecutive shutouts. He was pulled from obscurity in Tottenham’s youth system, but the pool is better off with his massive upside.

Falling Stock 

F Lynden Gooch: From early on, Gooch never looked particularly comfortable with this team. He came off the bench and played 12 minutes in the U.S.’s first match against Guatemala, and he started up top and went 90 in the ensuing 1-0 loss to Panama. He only played 26 minutes in the U.S.’s final three group games, including none in a throwaway 8-0 win over Aruba. Against Panama, his only full match of the tournament, he looked listless as the U.S.’s center forward in its 4-3-3. He neither prodded possession in deeper positions nor contributed much to action in the box. Whether or not Gooch has a future on this team is a wider matter, but he hasn’t been showing it in Jamaica. 

M Junior Flores: It’s not a particularly good sign when the centerpiece attacking midfielder of the entire setup is subbed off at halftime of the first game of the tournament. So it went with Flores, who was yanked from a scoreless game against Guatemala for Emerson Hyndman after a meager 45 minutes. Flores came off injured after 53 minutes against Panama, didn’t play against Aruba and was a late sub against both Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Flores is clearly comfortable on possession, but hasn’t displayed an open willingness to pass, and he hasn’t clicked with the rest of the midfield. He showed his quality in the open field when he fueled a counter-attacking goal against T&T, but those moments of quality have been few and far between in Jamaica.

M Russell Canouse: In the sense that Canouse was never supposed to start anyway, his inclusion on this list isn’t a total shock. The holding midfielder was thrust into the starting lineup after captain Kellyn Acosta was injured in the Panama loss and knocked out for the rest of the group stage. Canouse had his moments, but his first touch often let him down, and his biggest contributions were often simply of the blunt force variety. The step-down from Acosta to Canouse was steep, considering Acosta looked more willing to knit together attacks from the base and engage in interplay with Emerson Hyndman deep in the midfield. Canouse looked decidedly less comfortable in that role. He isn’t a bad option as a backup, but he hasn’t done nearly enough to push his name up the depth chart either.

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