The U.S. U15 Boys National Team lost 2-0 to Uruguay on Friday in the Semifinal round of the Copa Mexico de Naciones – a youth international tournament in Mexico City between countries from North and South America.

The U.S. had the better run of play in the first half with Joshua Perez and Alejandro Zendejas pulling the strings for the Americans. Perez put a couple of crosses into the box, but neither resulted in a shot on goal.

The best chance for the U.S. came from a beautiful chip pass by right back Tyler Adams to striker Joe Gallardo. The Monterrey target man brought the ball down eight yards from goal, but took a second too long to pull the trigger and a Uruguay defender blocked the ball out for a corner kick.

Set pieces for the U.S. were a bit of a mystery all day, as the U.S. could not get consistent service and also struggled to keep track of their marks defensively.

Uruguay punished the weakness of the U.S. defense early on in the second half with the opening goal. A free kick for Uruguay from 40 yards out took a slight deflection off a header and then bounced through the 18-yard box before Francisco Ibanez kicked it home for the opening goal.

U.S. head coach Richie Williams threw caution to the wind and started to shift players forward in search of an equalizer. LA Galaxy Academy striker Haji Wright replaced Logan Panchot two minutes after the goal to bring another out-and-out striker into the fold along side Gallardo.

Eight minutes later, Williams brought on John Nelson and Hugo Arellano for Edwin Lara and Christian Pulisic. The substitutions allowed Philadelphia Union center back Daniel Barbir to move into an attacking role.

The formation morphed into a 4-2-4, which hindered the U.S.’s ability to get the ball into the box for service to Wright (6-foot-2) and Barbir (6-foot-3).

Uruguay put the game to bed with eight minutes left when the goalkeeper snagged a cross and immediately hit a 70-yard drop kick forward. The U.S. defense, with only two players back, struggled with the initial ball and a Uruguay forward skated into the box. Goalkeeper Kevin Silva lunged to knock the ball off of the attacker’s foot, but instead, took out the player and conceded a penalty kick.

Diego Rossi converted the kick from the spot to give Uruguay the 2-0 lead, and a spot in the final on Sunday.

The U.S. returns to the field on Sunday to play Paraguay in the third place game. Paraguay lost to Argentina 2-0 in the other semifinal on Friday. The third place game kicks off at 11:00 a.m. (ET). 

U.S. U15 Lineup:

Kevin Silva; Edwin Lara (Hugo Arellano 52’), Daniel Barbir, Alexis Velela, Tyler Adams; Eric Calvillo, Logan Panchot (Haji Wright 44’), Alejandro Zendejas; Joshua Perez, Joe Gallardo, Christian Pulisic (John Nelson 52’)

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