Nov 18, 2023, 02:44 PM ET
The United States lost 3-0 to France on Saturday at the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia, but still finished second in Group E behind the 2001 champion thanks to earlier wins over South Korea and Burkina Faso.
Joan Tincres scored in first-half added time to give France a lead at the break and he added a second late in the second half before teammate Bastien Meupiyou sealed the points over the Americans.
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The U.S. will next play Germany on Monday, while France will meet Senegal.
Defending champion Brazil recovered from an opening-game loss to set up a second-round match against Ecuador on Monday.
U.S. U17 manager Gonzalo Segares will lead his team against Germany in the round of 16. Getty Images
The four-time title-winner was stunned by Iran in the opening Group C game, but recovered against New Caledonia and then beat 2017 champion England 2-1 on Friday to advance.
“The most important thing is not the final result, it’s how we react to the circumstances,” Brazil coach Phelipe Leal said. “The team showed their mental strength and their quality of play. I think we deserve to advance and we reached the very strong final phase.”
Group winner England will face Uzbekistan while Iran also advanced to meet Morocco on Monday.
The top two from each of the six groups of four as well as the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16.
Despite being on home soil and backed by passionate crowds, Indonesia, in its first appearance at any World Cup for over 80 years, was eliminated after a loss against Morocco following draws with Ecuador and Panama.
“It’s the first time that we’ve played a tournament of this magnitude,” coach Bima Sakti said. “It’s very important for Indonesian football. I hope we can use the experience to improve. The idea is for football in Indonesia to grow, all together.”
Japan faces Spain, while two-time winner Mexico recovered from a poor start to defeat New Zealand on Saturday to book a meeting with Mali. The remaining second-round game is an all-South American affair as Argentina meets Venezuela.
The final takes place on Dec. 2 in Surakarta.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
