US Youth Recap: Toye makes his mark with U-23s; U-17s come up just short

Mason Toye – Minnesota United – goal celebration

The September international window has been a busy one for the US youth international setup, with the U-23, U-20 and U-17 sides all in action. Let's look at how they fared:


Toye makes his mark for at Olympic camp

Minnesota United forward Mason Toye parlayed his strong club form into international play, scoring the opener in a 2-0 closed-door victory over Japan that culminated the United States' U-23 camp at Southern California on Monday.


Toye finished off a chance created by Philadelphia Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson shortly before halftime. Real Salt Lake defender Brooks Lennon doubled the US's advantage after the break, converting a penalty earned by Hannover 96 striker Sebastian Soto.


Coach Jason Kreis' squad is preparing for the 2020 Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will be contested next March in Mexico.


Rapids' Bassett scores two for the U-20s


Meanwhile, it's still early days in the new cycle for coach Tab Ramos' U-20 side after their quarterfinal finish at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the group picking up a pair of victories in the Baltic.


Colorado Rapids midfielder and Homegrown Player signing Cole Bassett scored a goal in each victory, neither of which came against another U-20 side.


The Americans defeated Zagreb Football Federation 2-1 on Thursday, a replacement opponent for a friendly that was originally scheduled to come against Croatia. They followed that with a 3-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates' U-23 squad on Monday.


U17s finish second despite win over Mexico

Last but not least, Raphael Wicky's U-17 squad suffered a costly 4-1 defeat to Denmark on Monday, the final day of the Four Nations Tournament in the Netherlands, resulting in a second-place finish behind Mexico based on goal difference.


The Americans opened the tournament with a dramatic, come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Mexico, then followed that with a 3-1 win over the hosts Saturday.


FC Dallas' Ricardo Pepi scored the winner against Mexico, and San Jose's Gilbert Fuentes scored against the Netherlands along with two MLS academy players — Andres Jasson (New York City FC ) and Kobe Hernandez-Foster (LA Galaxy).


The next time the U-17 squad convenes will be in direct preparation for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which kicks off in Brazil in late October.