The U.S. U23 Men’s National Team ended its trip to France with a win over England in the third place game from the Toulon Tournament on Sunday. Andi Herzog’s group defeated England 2-1 thanks to goals from the spot from Alonso Hernandez and Benji Joya. 

Joya delivered the game-winner midway through the second half when the referee awarded the U.S. its second penalty kick of the game due to a handball in the box. Joya slotted his shot into the upper corner of the net for his first goal of the tournament.  

Goalkeeper Cody Cropper made a number of quality saves in the second half to help see out the result for the U.S. and earn the third place finish at the prestigious international event. 

The U.S. went 3-2 at the tournament with wins over Netherlands, Qatar, and Netherlands. The U.S. lost to host France in the opener and then to regional rival Costa Rica in group play. The third place finish matched the U.S.’s best performance from the Toulon Tournament. 

Monterrey forward Alonso Hernandez finished as the leading scorer for the U.S. at the tournament with two goals. Julian Green, Fatai Alashe, Jerome Kiesewetter, William Packwood, Jordan Morris, and Joya all scored once for the U.S. U23s in France. Morris missed out on Sunday’s placement game after being called up to the full national team for a game against the Netherlands on Friday. The Stanford forward provided the assist on the game-winning goal for the full national team. He remained with the full team, which plays against Germany on Wednesday. 

The Toulon Tournament served as preparation for the U.S. in Olympic qualification, which kicks off in October in the U.S. Although, it is likely that the qualifying roster will look vastly different from the squad that Herzog took to Europe. 

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