United States under-17 coach John Hackworth told his players that it was up to them "to give hope to our country" after the senior U.S. team failed to qualify for the World Cup.
And they responded with an emphatic 5-0 win over Paraguay in the U-17 World Cup round of 16 in India on Monday -- securing a place in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005.
After the game, Hackworth was asked whether this win would compensate for the senior national team's loss last week that eliminated the Americans from the big World Cup in Russia next year, and he said his players had accepted the challenge of carrying the torch for U.