New Zealand knocked out of Fifa Under-20 World Cup after heavy loss to the United States in round of 16

At Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza: United States 4 (Owen Wolff 14’, Cade Cowell 61’, Justin Che 75’, Rokas Pukstas 82’) New Zealand 0. HT: 1-0.

New Zealand have been knocked out of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup after crashing to a humbling 4-0 defeat against the United States in Mendoza on Wednesday (NZ time).

Darren Beazley’s side made a bright start in the round-of-16 fixture but went behind to Owen Wolff’s soft first-half opener and were always chasing the game.

The heavily favoured American team squandered plenty of chances until Cade Cowell fired home their second on the hour and Justin Che sealed their victory in a one-sided contest with a third from a devastating counter.

The United States topped their group with three wins, without conceding a goal, and kept another clean sheet in progressing to the quarterfinals without too many scares against the battling New Zealanders.

The Kiwis registered just three shots on goal, with one on target, while the Americans had 23 attempts.

Diego Luna was among their best attacking players, whose wonderful run set up Che’s decisive third, and Rokas Pukstas’ late header completed their comfortable success.

New Zealand’s under-20s were playing in their fourth successive last-16 match at the World Cup after progressing as the second-highest third-placed team from the group stages, but they couldn’t reach the last eight for the first time.

Skipper Finn Surman was strong at the heart of New Zealand’s defence and Norman Garbett and Jay Herdman were their best attacking threats when they found space.

As expected, however, the Americans controlled possession and were more slick with the ball while effectively pressing the Kiwis across the pitch.

New Zealand had good early chances on the break through Garbett and Herdman, with the latter forcing American keeper Gabriel Slonina to make a strong, low save to his right.

Garbett’s deflected shot was also reviewed by VAR for a potential handball, but there was no clear reason to award a penalty.

As underdogs, they needed to take those opportunities and have some luck, but they were soon trailing to Wolff’s 14th-minute opener.

Kiwi keeper Kees Sims dived early from Wolff’s low effort from outside the box and didn’t stretch his arms out to push the shot wide.

It was a soft goal that even surprised Wolff and his team-mates as the ball trickled into the bottom corner.

Sims was livid was himself and the Americans took control of the first half without scoring a second, although they hit the bar with a deflected cross and had chances when New Zealand conceded possession in midfield.

That crucial second for the Americans came in the 61st minute when New Zealand’s defence was exposed and Cowell shot low past Sims.

The floodgates were open in the closing stages as the Kiwis tried to get back into the game and the United States hit them on the break with further goals.

The big moment

The relief among the American players was clear when Cowell drove his shot into the bottom corner.

Their second had been coming after a dominant start to the second half and the Kiwis couldn’t recover.

The big picture

New Zealand’s tournament started with great promise after a 1-0 win over Guatemala. They were leading 2-0 in their second match against Asian champions Uzbekistan but were pegged back in a 2-2 draw.

A 5-0 loss to hosts Argentina followed but progression to the last 16 was still assured, which would have been the bare minimum they wanted from the tournament, but they never looked like beating the United States.