da bet nacional： After a fine start to the tournament, the U.S. bowed out on Sunday as they lost out to Uruguay – but who had a competition to remember or forget?

da bet sport： The United States Under-20 men's national team will leave Argentina with a bad taste in their mouth. What once seemed like an U20 World Cup run that seemed destined for something great, ended with a resounding thud. Four games of near-flawless soccer were undone by two uncharacteristic mistakes against Uruguay and, in games of this magnitude, you often can't overcome one.

So that's where the U.S. sits as their World Cup comes to an end: looking back at four very good games as well as one very bad one. How you view that run depends on if you're a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person. Do you look back at the four as a sign of progress or at the one as a sign of just how far this group still has to go?

That'll be up for debate, and we likely won't find the answer for several years. The point of U20 soccer, ultimately, isn't neccessarily to win trophies, but to develop players for the senior team. This team's legacy won't be defined by what happens in 2023, but rather in 2026, 2030 and beyond when, hopefully, a few of them become key contributors to the U.S. men's national team.

Mike Varas' primary job was to win this tournament, of course, and the U.S. will feel like they could have if a few bounces had gone their way. They had the better of the play against Uruguay, no doubt, and there was a path to glory there for the taking.

It didn't happen. So be it. Now, it's time to look back at what the run was instead of ahead at what the run could be. So, with that in mind, here's a look at the big winners and losers from the U.S. team's run through the U20 World Cup:

GettyWINNER: The Philadelphia Union

In recent years, no MLS club has been better at developing, and selling, talent than the Philadelphia Union, and it seems their next crop should already have one eye fixed on Europe. Brandan Craig and Jack McGlynn were arguably the two best American players in the tournament, with both showing incredible poise on the ball throughout the U.S. run.

Craig, a central defender, was at his best in the middle of a back three. His passing ability and range were on full display in this tournament as the center-back kickstarted several big attacks while serving as the primary set-piece taker. He also was at the center of four consecutive clean sheets to start the tournament and certainly wasn't at fault for either goal conceded by the U.S. against Uruguay.

McGlynn, meanwhile, bossed the midfield. McGlynn's passing range is phenomenal and he links up play so well, serving as a key figure whenever on the field for the U.S. Anyone who watched McGlynn will have been left impressed by a player that is already mature enough to dictate a game with and without the ball.

With both Craig and McGlynn, there are concerns about athleticism, for sure, but the talent is certainly there for both to make the next step soon. Quinn Sullivan, meanwhile, didn't get as much run as his Union team-mates, but he also remains a player to keep an eye on in the future.

Look for European sides to really take an interest in Craig and McGlynn, though, as the two were standouts throughout the five-game run.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: The late arrivals

Varas had two aces in the hole heading out of the group stage in Rokas Pukstas and Kevin Paredes. The duo would miss the start of the tournament to fulfill club commitments in Europe before joining up for the knockout stages, giving the U.S. two major reinforcements with top-level experience. However, neither really ever got the chance to get going after arriving in camp.

The pair were limited to two substitute appearances each and, although Pukstas did get a goal in the 4-0 win over New Zealand, it never felt like they fully made an impact. The New Zealand game was already won by the time they came on for appearances that were surely meant to simply introduce them to the squad, and neither really made much of an impact in the Uruguay game, save for a goal-bound shot from Cade Cowell that Pukstas inadvertently blocked.

Fitness may have been, and probably was, a factor, but it just wasn't the impact that either would have hoped for after joining up.

Getty ImagesWINNER: Cade Cowell

He has his flaws, for sure, but those can be ironed out. The big takeaway from this tournament shouldn't be the things that Cowell can't do, but rather the ridiculous things that he can do when he has the ball at his feet.

Cowell was electric for most of the U.S. run, as his strength, speed and dribbling ability created chance after chance. He scored three goals to lead the U.S. team and was the only American with multiple goals in the five-game run.

The San Jose Earthquakes star was a total menace for opposing defenses, who could do little to handle him once he took off with the ball. It was Cowell's energy that helped create several key chances, even if many of those chances fell by the wayside.

Cowell's faults are known and his decision-making in the final third certainly needs work. There's still another big step for him to take there as he'll need to improve both his finishing and decision-making if he wants to reach the top level.

But, after this tournament, there will be a European team that will think they can get him there. Some club out there will look at the still-raw attacker and see a player they can teach to be a star.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Darren Yapi

This has nothing to do with what we saw on the field, as Yapi's hold-up play was good in his limited minutes. The reason the Colorado Rapids' striker is here is because those minutes were so limited.

After going through much of qualifying without a striker, the U.S. finally had a No.9 in Yapi. With Paxten Aaronson out, leaving that false nine role vacant, it seemed that Varas would go with a more traditional striker in Yapi, who could at least be a change-of-pace option off the bench.

He ended up starting just once while making two substitute appearances in the group stage. He did not make it off the bench in the knockout rounds, though, despite the fact that the U.S. were clearly chasing the game against Uruguay with their tournament lives at stake.

Varas preferred to use the likes of Cowell and Diego Luna as his key attackers, and understandably so. However, the fact that Yapi wasn't brought into that Uruguay game shows that the coaching staff didn't think he could add anything to the attack, despite being the only pure No.9 in the squad.

Maybe this team just wasn't built for a player with Yapi's skillset, but it would have been interesting to see how he'd fared with more minutes, especially in that last game.