Jonathan Gomez delivers late golazo, giving US U20s World Cup win vs. Ecuador

JoGo with a bomb to win it in stoppage time

When Jonathan Gómez said the U.S. U-20 national team had the players to win the U-20 World Cup, he may have been talking about himself.

Earlier this week, Gómez told Pro Soccer Wire that he felt the 21-player squad Mikey Varas had assembled had the quality to win the tournament, and he backed up his point by scoring a stoppage-time rocket to give the United States a 1-0 win over Ecuador in their Group B opener.

For the United States, the match was shaping up to be a frustrating start to the tournament. They held Ecuador without a single shot on goal while forcing Gilmar Napa into five saves at the other end. However, as stoppage time began, the scoreboard still read 0-0, and it was looking like the U.S. would have to settle for a point at Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario.

Gómez had other ideas. The Real Sociedad defender isn’t exactly known for his goalscoring — he has three in 90 professional appearances — and as a left back, he’s not known for charging up the right flank.

Nevertheless, two minutes into stoppage time, that’s where the space was, and that’s where he ended up. With the U.S. sending numbers forward in pursuit of a late winner, Gómez picked up Owen Wolff’s crossfield ball before launching a rocket past Napa.

Beyond being a thrilling winner to cap off an assured performance, it sets the U.S. up extremely well in Group B. A win against Fiji (May 23) or Slovakia (May 26) would make advancement to the knockout stage a virtual certainty. A first-place finish in the group is well within reach now, and that would seal a round-of-16 clash against a third-place finisher on May 30.

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