Youngsters sent

New Zealand have been knocked out of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup after crashing to a humbling 4-0 defeat against the United States in Mendoza yesterday.

Darren Bazeley’s side made a bright start in the round-of-16 fixture but went behind to Owen Wolff’s soft first-half opener and were always chasing the game.

The heavily favoured American team squandered plenty of chances until Cade Cowell fired home their second on the hour and Justin Che sealed their victory in a one-sided contest with a brilliant third goal from a devastating counter.

The United States topped their group with three wins, without conceding a goal, and kept another clean sheet in progressing to the quarterfinals without too many scares against the battling New Zealanders. The Kiwis registered only three shots on goal, with one on target, while the Americans had 23 attempts.

New Zealand’s men’s under-20s were playing in their fourth successive last-16 match at the World Cup but couldn’t reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time.

Coach Bazeley said the tournament had still been a great experience for his players.

‘‘USA were the better team and were really clinical in moments. We tried to play out [from the back] and tried to do some really good things,’’ Bazeley said on the host broadcast.

‘‘We had some moments where we got into some good areas and didn’t quite have that clinical [finish].

‘‘Overall, I’m really proud of our players. We kept competing,

nobody let their heads go down, and we kept trying to score all the way to the end.’’

Skipper Finn Surman was strong at the heart of New Zealand’s defence and Norman Garbett and Jay Herdman were their best attacking threats when they found space.

As expected, however, the Americans dominated possession and were more slick and assured with their passing while effectively pressing the Kiwis across the pitch.

New Zealand had good early chances on the break through Garbett and Herdman, with the latter forcing American keeper Gabriel Slonina to make a strong, low save to his right.

Garbett’s deflected shot was also reviewed by VAR for a potential handball, but there was no clear evidence to award a penalty.

Kiwi keeper Kees Sims dived early from Wolff’s low effort from outside the box and didn’t stretch his arms out to push the shot wide.

It was a soft goal that even surprised Wolff and his team-mates as the ball trickled into the bottom corner.

That crucial second for the Americans came in the 61st minute when New Zealand’s defence was exposed and Cowell shot low past Sims.

It was a long way back for a New Zealand side with a handful of professional players against a strong, fully professional American outfit.

The floodgates were open in the closing stages and the Kiwis were vulnerable as the United States hit them on the break, threatening to add more goals when the score could have got ugly.