SUWON, South Korea -- The United States will play Ecuador, Senegal and Saudi Arabia in the first round of the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.
The United States qualified for the World Cup at the CONCACAF U20 Championships, an event the team won for the first-time ever at U20 level.
Coached by former national team star Tab Ramos, the Americans were drawn Wednesday to open against Ecuador on May 22, meet Senegal three days later and close Group F against Saudi Arabia on May 28. The first two games will be in Incheon and the third in Daejeon.
There are six groups in the 24-nation tournament, which runs through June 11, and the top two in each group advance along with the top four third-place teams.
Two years ago in New Zealand, the U.S. was eliminated by eventual champion Serbia on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.
England and Argentina were drawn into Group A along with host South Korea and Guinea.
Italy and Uruguay will meet in Group D along with Japan and South Africa. New Zealand was placed in Group E with France, Honduras and Vietnam. Germany, Venezuela, Vanuatu and Mexico are in Group A.
Portugal will be expected to progress from Group C, which also contains Iran, Costa Rica and Zambia.