FRISCO - Coy Craft is back in Texas after a full month in Costa Rica with the U.S. U-20s - and he brought a little hardware with him.
The FC Dallas Homegrown was a part of the U-20 side that captured the country’s first-ever CONCACAF U-20 Championship over the weekend and qualified for the 2017 U-20 World Cup.
“It’s something that we’ve all been working for for a year and a half to two years now and it’s also something that we’ve obviously dreamed about most of our lives, just being professional athletes, that we want to compete at the U-20 World Cup, in the Olympics and at the World Cup,” Craft said of the experience. “It means a lot me as a player and it definitely means a lot to us as a team.”
Craft appeared in all six of the U.S. matches, working off the bench and providing a crucial closer role throughout the tournament. And when it mattered most - a penalty shootout in the Final against Honduras - Craft stepped up and converted his PK en route to the title.
“I was definitely nervous, but we knew that we were brothers whether we made it or missed it and I just chose my spot and went with it,” he said. “You just have to be ready whether you’re starting or coming off the bench as a sub, especially in these games - there are games that are open that you can do a little bit and then there are games that are completely back and forth and you just have to go in and fight to get the result. It was a fun experience.”
Craft and the U-20s will head to Korea in late May for the U-20 FIFA World Cup, where the U.S. will be seeking its first title yet again.