I didn't come into this tournament with high expectations given this was a third-choice roster at several positions. In an ideal scenario for the U20 World Cup, only three to four players would likely be on my final roster if all eligible players were available. But with all of that, this team exceeded my expectations. They didn't always play beautiful football. In fact, most of the time they did not play beautiful football, but they showed a lot of toughness, heart and grit throughout the tournament.

I planned to grade the team and the individuals primarily on how they performed against Mexico because outside of Canada, there weren't many talented teams in the tournament. Unfortunately it was difficult to really judge this team in the final against Mexico. The United States had a lot stacked against them. To start, their most talented attacker on the roster, winger Nimfasha Berchimas, suffered a broken foot in the second game of the tournament, so an already weak wide attacking group was left without their most dynamic player. Then, Chicago Fire decided to call Christopher Cupps back to the team only to not start or play him in their Leagues Cup game. That proved to be consequential once Chris Applewhite got a red card in the first half of the game and the United States had to play Brandon Dayes at center-back for half of the game.

The first goal concession was inconclusive at best. We never saw a good angle of the ball fully crossing the goal line. That was a bit unlucky. And then the red card on Applewhite, which I didn't see him make any contact on the Mexican attacker, was changed from a yellow to a red card after VAR — a very questionable and unfortunate decision.

Even with all that, I thought the boys fought hard and kept it interesting for most of the game. I wasn't overly impressed with what was a first-choice Mexico squad who was only missing the very talented Gilberto Mora. The United States, on the other hand, was without Cavan Sullivan, Adri Mehmeti, Mathis Albert, Zavier Gozo, Peyton Miller, Julian Hall, Justin Ellis, Neil Pierre, Ian James, Jude Terry and Gabriel Wesseh — all top-30 USMNT prospects in my latest update. Give me half of those players and I think this game goes very differently.

DM, Cooper Sanchez, Atlanta United (2008)
No player improved his stock for me more than Sanchez. I thought he was excellent throughout and looked like the most polished prospect on the roster. His superpower is his counter-pressing instincts and duel-winning efficiency. He controlled his zone and won balls constantly through the tournament. On the ball, he was excellent as well. He showed composure in tight space and displayed passing range while operating from deeper midfield positions. And above all else, I loved his firey competitiveness. He didn't back down from anyone and was the first guy to back up his teammates. I haven't had a chance to watch him a ton at Atlanta this year, but you can see how much playing time with the first team is helping him develop. Sanchez would be my starting six going into the U-20 World Cup.

AM, Xanti Oyharcabal, Athletic Club (2007)
It took a little bit for head coach Gonzalo Segares to realize what he had in Oyharcabal, but once he was able to get some minutes, he showed his quality. When Berchimas went down, Oyharcabal became the most talented attacker left on the roster. The production wasn't as high as I would have liked to see, but no attacker showed more moments of high-level play that could translate to higher levels of competition. It was very disappointing to see that he was the attacker sacraficed when Applewhite went out with the red card. He isn't a lock to make the U-20 World Cup roster, but I think he's given himself a really good chance if some things fall his way.

CF, Dino Klapija, RB Leipzig (2007)
I would be surprised if Klapija comes anywhere close to the USMNT, but he was fun to watch in this tournament. His hold-up play, footwork, overall ability on the ball and finishing were impressive throughout the tournament. And while he didn't get a ton of service against Mexico, he had some nice moments. He isn't a player who would make the first-choice roster for this age group, but if some spots open up I think he can do a good job at the U-20 World Cup.

For the second U-20 Concacaf Championship in a row, the United States sent a nominal third-choice team to the tournament and once again lost in the final to Mexico. The pattern isn't dissimilar to the senior team and the Gold Cup. The United States is either not able to or willing to force the issue with a first-choice team in the summer. Is this a problem?

There are good arguments on both sides of this debate. The positive here is that the reason we're not sending our best players at the U-20 level is because we have a lot of guys who have important roles for their first team in MLS and some guys trying to break through in Europe. Those are good problems to have. But playing in international finals against Mexico is also great experience. We need our most talented players getting experience in high-pressure international games. The rest of the Concacaf field outside of Mexico and occasionally Canada is prosaic, so I understand clubs not wanting to release important players for a lot of low-level competition, but I think we're all tired of losing to Mexico in finals.

The shift to a fall-to-spring schedule in MLS should help future iterations of the tournament. If the Concacaf U-20 Championships continue to be a summer event, more top players from MLS clubs will be available and we'll be able to field a much better product.

From here on out, it's full steam ahead towards the U-20 World Cup. The U-20 World Cup will be co-hosted by Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The dates for this tournament aren't yet set, but they've historically been held between May or June, which would fall smack dab in the middle of the MLS 2027 Sprint Season. U.S. Soccer will likely be a little more forceful with releases for that tournament.