U.S. U-17s blow lead, settle for World Cup draw with Croatia
The U.S. Under-17 men's national team blew a 2-0 lead to Croatia and settled for a 2-2 draw in the second game of group play in Chile on Tuesday.
Borussia Dortmund product Christian Pulisic had a goal and an assist on Brandon Vazquez's tally in the first half, but the U.S. had to hold on for the point after a furious Croatia second-half rally, surviving two shots off the post in the dying moments to stay alive in hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
Despite a 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the opening game and the Croatia draw, the U.S. can still go through with the right set of results in the group finale vs. host Chile on Friday. Nigeria is already through after thrashing Chile 5-1 Tuesday and plays Croatia, which has one more point than the Americans in Group A.
The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage in addition to the four best third-place finishers.