US beats Senegal 1-0 at U20 World Cup on Sargent's 3rd goal

Josh Sargent scored his third goal of the tournament in the 34th minute, and the United States beat Senegal 1-0 Thursday at Incheon, South Korea, to move into good position to reach the knockout stage of the Under-20 World Cup.

Sargent scored after Aaron Herrera passed to Tyler Adams along a flank, and Adams played a back-heel pass to Luca de la Torre, who was bursting into the penalty area.

De La Torre bent the ball back to Sargent. The 17-year-old from O'Fallon, Missouri, who is the youngest player on the American roster, took a touch with his left foot about 16 yards out, spun and beat goalkeeper Mouhamed Mbaye with a left-footed shot.

"He's a big talent," Adams said. "He's clinical in front of the goal, and he just battles out there. He's resilient.

The U.S., which opened with a 3-3 against Ecuador last weekend, leads Group F with four points, followed by Senegal and Saudi Arabia with three apiece, and Ecuador with one.

The top two teams in each of six groups advance along with the best four third-place finishers. The U.S. would advance with a draw or win Sunday at Daejon against the Saudis, who beat Ecuador 2-1 earlier Thursday.

Sargent, who plays club soccer for Scott Gallagher Missouri, is tied for the tournament scoring lead with Jean-Kevin Augustin of France and Sergio Cordova of Venezuela.

"He plays much older than his age," U.S. Under-20 coach Tab Ramos said. "He's a very mature player who we thought was prepared to play here."

Jonathan Klinsmann, son of former U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, got the shutout.

Tottenham's Cameron Carter-Vickers, a son of former NBA player Howard Carter, was in central defense after missing the opener while recovering from a knee injury. He was paired with Sporting Kansas City's Erik Palmer-Brown, the U.S. captain.