How to watch USA vs Dominican Republic – 2020 FIFA U20 WWC qualifying decider

Topics: United States U-20 women's national team, Dominican Republic U-20 women's national team, 2020 Concacaf U-20 Women's Championship, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Santo Domingo, Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez, Reggae Girls, Jamaica, Canada, Mia Fishel, Alissa

In our match preview informing you where and how to watch the Concacaf U-20 Women's Championship semifinal match between the Dominican Republic and the USA, we look at both team's roads to this stage and point out a couple of players to watch.

The United States U-20 women’s national team has dominated the 2020 Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship as expected and now have the task to take down tournament hosts the Dominican Republic in the semifinals to qualify for the FIFA U-20 WWC. But you cannot rule out the hosts despite falling to the USA earlier in the competition.

The U-20 Dominican national team is in the midst of glory, having reached the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, a feat that has not been accomplished by any Dominican team at any level in men’s or women’s football. Having lost to the Americans 4-0 in group play, the Dominicans now have a better idea of what the US is made of and attempt to stay away from their past mistakes.

Dominican Republic tournament recap

The Dominican Republic compiled an imposing 2W-OD-1L record group stages, scoring seven goals and conceding four – all which came against the USA.

Finishing as the second seed of Group C, its next opponent was Group E’s third-seeded El Salvador. A historic 4-1 win in that Round of 16 fixture rewarded the hosts a spot in the quarterfinals, the first Dominican team to reach this stage of any Concacaf competition, against Jamaica. But despite the Raggae Girlz being favorites in the matchup, it was the Dominicans who came out as victors, 2-1.

The Dominicans will need to make the best out of their good form, morale and home advantage to overthrow the Americans at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo.

USA tournament recap

The US heads into this semifinal as clear favorites, winning all its matches by a margin of four goals or more and keeping clean sheets across all five games.

The United States began the competition with a stomping 9-0 win over Cuba followed by its victory over the Dominican Republic and an 11-0 triumph against Honduras to close out group play.

A top-seeded finish saw the Americans face tournament debutants, Saint Lucia. That match did not end well for the islanders who suffered a rough 6-0 defeat. Next in line was Canada at the quarter-final stage and the US took care of business with a dominant performance that saw Canada lose 4-0 missing out on the 2020 FIFA U-20 WWC.

The Stars and Stripes enter the decisive semifinal match bagging 34 goals while not conceding a single one.

Dominican Republic vs USA: players to watch

Alissa Ovideo – Dominican Republic

Ovideo has been the brains and soul of the team throughout the competition. She has scored three goals while wearing the captain’s armband in her midfield position. She is proud of what her team has accomplished and is only hungry for more. She is grateful for the support of the home fans and can’t wait to have a second chance against the U.S.

Mia Fishel – USA

Fishel has taken this competition head-on scoring 10 goals in just five matches. It is not a surprise given the freshman’s first season with UCLA where she scored 14 goals amassing to 31 total points on the season. She is a force to reckon with standing tall at 5-7 with the ability to switch gears to get past defenders with speed.