Being able to wear the U.S. crest and represent your country playing the sport you love is an honor and the opportunity of a lifetime. The U.S. U-20 women’s national team is currently competing in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship with a spot at the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on the line.
The U.S. dominated during group play, going undefeated while scoring 24 goals without conceding any. They’ve now just defeated St. Lucia 6-0 in the Round of 16 to setup a Mar. 4 quarterfinal against Canada (the two finalists advance to the World Cup).
As the U.S. finds itself one step closer to a World Cup, it’s a first for many youth players on the squad . . . except for one standout individual who’d be playing in her third World Cup with the youth national team.
Today marks Pinto's 35th U-20 #USWNT cap, moving up to a tie for fifth all-time.
The YNT vet is determined to reach her third youth World Cup >> https://t.co/uhtBU34aHj pic.twitter.com/l1LGHwUIH2— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) February 29, 2020
Brianna Pinto is a stellar midfielder for the University of North Carolina and is already a veteran for the U.S. — she was even called up for the senior USWNT at the age of 17, although she did not see any action.
Her vast experience is valued from younger players on this World Cup aspiring team and her leadership role is one she takes pride in to help better herself as well as those around her. As a stellar athlete and player, Pinto has now made her 35th appearance for the U-20s, fifth-most all time. She has scored five goals thus far at the CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship, second-most on the team behind only Mia Fishel of UCLA.
Highlights@USWNT powers to the #CU20W quarterfinals with a 6-0 victory over Saint Lucia . Watch the best moments of the game! pic.twitter.com/TfpRmqtOxt
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) February 29, 2020
“It's not going to be easy,” said Pinto. “It's not going to be handed to us. We need to treat every team that we play in qualifying as if it's the World Cup final because that's where we want to go. If we don't train at that level, if we don't compete at that level, it's not going to translate to win the games that actually matter. It's going to be extremely difficult, but I'm excited. I'm extremely motivated because we've got something to prove.”
Wise words from a star in the making.
