Homegrown defender Nolan Norris and the U20 U.S. Men's National Team enjoyed a flying start to their FIFA U20 World Cup campaign Monday night. The U.S. romped to a 9-1 win over New Caledonia (of Oceana) with Norris scoring two goals despite only playing 45 minutes before being substituted at halftime.
Norris was selected to start at left back by head coach Marko Mitrović but immediately contributed on the attacking end by providing a secondary assist on the USMNT's opening goal. Norris' outside-the-foot pass started the move that was finished off by Benjamin Cremaschi to make it 1-0 after just three minutes of play.
Norris would find the net himself 30 minutes later to make it 5-0 to the United States. Norris stayed forward following a corner kick and eventually latched onto a low cross from San Jose Earthquakes' Niko Tsakiris, flicking the ball into the side netting with his left foot for his first-ever U20 USMNT goal.
With one minute remaining in the first half, Norris doubled his tally to score the U.S.'s seventh goal of the evening. The Fort Worth native got forward again for a corner kick that was played short by the U.S. for Cremaschi who sent a low cross in the direction of Norris who guided the ball home for another left-footed finish. That was the last action of the night for Norris who departed the game at halftime. The game finished 9-1 to the U.S., earning them three points toward qualification from Group E. Norris and the USMNT next face France on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. CT. The match will be shown on FS2 and Universo.
