da aviator aposta： Despite not being at full-strength, the U.S. has high hopes of making an impact on the tournament in Argentina

da pinnacle： It was a winding road to get there, from a FIFA logistics point of view, but the players that will represent the United States Under-20 men's national team have arrived in Argentina for the U20 World Cup. Well, at least most of them.

Head coach Mike Varas has brought a talented squad to Argentina, albeit one with a few notable absences due to club commitments. The U.S., though, is a team loaded with potential future stars, several of whom have already made their senior national team debuts.

Still, though, the U.S. will be shorthanded for the group stage, with a few key players remaining with their clubs to finish off the European season before arriving at the tournament. Before they arrive, the U.S. will have to navigate a group that includes Ecuador, Slovakia and Fiji, a group they'll be expected to emerge from when all is said and done.

The U.S. has made deep runs in the last few tournaments, with their win over France in the 2019 U20 World Cup serving as a program highlight. Can they do so again this summer?

GOAL look at some of the key players and storylines that will determine the U.S. team's fate over the next few weeks:

GettySlonina's performance

The USMNT's goalkeeper of the future will be on full display at this tournament. Gabriel Slonina is, in fact, that damn good, so good that you can anoint him at such an early age. In a country that is known for producing goalkeepers, Slonina is one of the best youngsters American soccer has seen, which is why Chelsea were so quick to snatch him and up and start grooming him to be their own future No.1.

He has yet to debut at Chelsea and may not for some time, but Slonina is still expected to be a key figure for the U.S. youth teams and, perhaps, the senior team sometime soon.

This tournament will give him a chance to show his talents, much as he did in his USMNT debut earlier this year. He won't just be looking to impress the USMNT's upcoming coach, though, but perhaps European scouts with one eye towards a loan move away from Chelsea.

Either way, Slonina should be one of the team's most reliable pieces, and it's always nice to start a squad off with a goalkeeper you know can win you games.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesStriker options without Pepi

Ricardo Pepi technically could have been in the squad for this tournament, but it's quite clear that he has aged out of this sort of competition. If he had joined up with this U20 squad, he would have been a locked in starter and perhaps even a Golden Boot candidate. Instead, the U.S. will rely on other young forwards without the same track record.

For much of the cycle, the U.S. has played without a designated No.9, with Paxten Aaronson playing as a false-nine, but it doesn't have to be that way at the World Cup. Darren Yapi has emerged as a future star with the Colorado Rapids and then with this U.S. team back in March.

Yapi, though, is still pretty unproven, so it remains to be seen if he can be the guy. If he is, the U.S. has a chance to go pretty deep in this tournament. If not, it'll be a struggle to find goals against some of the better teams.

Getty ImagesThe missing pieces

Youth national team coaches know that they'll never get every player, but Varas will have hoped to have some of the players that were ultimately held back by their club teams. Three members of the CONCACAF U20 Championship Best XI have been prevented from joining up, with Aaronson, Jalen Neal and Christopher Brady all staying with their respective clubs.

The loss of Aaronson, in particular, will be a big one, as there was a legitimate argument that he is this group's best player. He won the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot during the CONCACAF tournament playing as a false nine, and having spent the months since with Eintracht Frankfurt, there's no doubt he's ready to take his game to another level.

Brady and Neal, meanwhile, are a bit more replaceable. Brady's spot will be taken by his Chicago Fire predecessor Slonina, while Neal's absence can be made up for with some of the center-backs in the squad. Regardless, Varas would have hoped to have something closer to a full squad, even if it was never a possibility to have everyone he wanted involved.

GettyLate arrivals

Making matters worse for Varas? That the U.S. will be even more shorthanded for that first game against Ecuador. Cade Cowell, expected to be a key contributor in the attack, will be suspended for the opener for his role in a melee with Costa Rica. Rokas Pukstas and Kevin Paredes, meanwhile, won't be expected to join the team until the knockout stages due to their club obligations

Because of that, Varas will only have five outfield players on the substitute's bench for that first match. It's a dangerous game to play, but Varas has certainly balanced risk with reward.

By calling in Pukstas and Paredes, Varas will have something closer to his best team available to him by the time the knockout stages roll around. He's betting on his team to survive the group and, if he bets correctly, the U.S. team we see in the knockouts will be far better than the one we see in game one.

Will it pay off? We'll find out, but it's an interesting tactic, for sure.