Injured Alejandro Bedoya still not ready to return; Union youngsters shine at U20 World Cup

Bedoya has been sidelined since May 19, when he suffered a quadriceps strain during training. He has missed the last two games and is expected to miss Wednesday's home game vs. Charlotte.

Alejandro Bedoya (right) hasn't played for the Union since May 18.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published May 30, 2023, 5:10 p.m. ET

After initially hoping that midfielder Alejandro Bedoya would be back for the Union’s game Wednesday vs. Charlotte (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free), manager Jim Curtin signaled Tuesday that his captain isn’t ready yet.

“He’s still working hard to try to make it for the game — still hasn’t joined the group fully, so it’s going to be tough,” Curtin said in a lunchtime news conference. “He’s getting better and better. We’re a better team when he’s healthy. But he’s still working to gain full fitness. Tomorrow will be difficult to make.”

Bedoya has been sidelined since May 19, when he suffered a quadriceps strain at the end of the day’s training. He has missed the last two games, wins over New England and New York City.

In announcing the injury the night after the New England game, Curtin called it “grade one” and “minor.”

Curtin adapted to Bedoya’s absence in those two games by rolling out a 3-5-2 formation instead of the usual diamond-midfield 4-4-2. The new setup has delivered impressive results, a 3-0 home win over New England and a 3-1 win at New York.

But it comes with the cost of starting all three centerbacks currently available on the Union’s roster: Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, and Damion Lowe. The fourth, Brandan Craig, is away at the under-20 World Cup and has made just one appearance for the first team — a late-game cameo last July — since reaching the big leagues last year.

This isn’t a big problem when players can get a full workweek of rest between games, as they did last week. But now there’s a Wednesday game between two Saturday contests, so Curtin is rightly wary of wearing his players out.

Curtin said the centerback trio “recovered well” from the NYCFC game, helped by needing only a bus ride from Queens that night before returning to their own beds.

“The hard game, like you guys always hear me say, is that third one after the very brief rest of the Wednesday-Saturday,” he said. “We recovered well, the data shows the guys bounced back quick. When we were up 3-1, too, it wasn’t a demanding New York City game by the end of it.”

Curtin also praised Jesús Bueno for his late-game shift as a defensive midfield reinforcement.

“I think we were comfortable in that game — listen, it’s never easy, but it was a comfortable one, and I thought Bueno came in and did a great job,” Curtin said. “I think you’ll see more change in that Montreal game, but we’re going to be aggressive and go for this one. … I like how the group has raised their level, I think they’ve taken a new formation and ran with it and done a good job.”

Craig shines at U20 World Cup

The United States rolled into the quarterfinals of the U20 men’s World Cup with Tuesday’s 4-0 dismissal of New Zealand in Mendoza, Argentina.

Craig, of Morrell Park in Northeast Philadelphia, and Jack McGlynn started and helped the Americans deliver their fourth straight shutout after a sweep of the group stage. The Union duo has started every game so far, with Craig playing every minute.

Against New Zealand, Craig assisted on the fourth goal with a well-placed free kick, while McGlynn played the game’s first 71 minutes. Quinn Sullivan did not play Tuesday, after starting the first two group games and coming off the bench in the third.

The U.S. squad got a boost after the group stage with the arrivals of attacking midfielder Rokas Pukstas and winger Kevin Paredes. They joined late by agreement with their club teams in Europe, which were not required to release them for the tournament.

The Americans have outscored their opponents by a combined 10-0 margin in the tournament so far, and are headed to their fourth straight U-20 World Cup quarterfinal. They will face the winner of Thursday’s Gambia vs. Uruguay matchup (1:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus and TelemundoDeportes.com) in a game set for Sunday (5 p.m., FS2, Telemundo 62, Universo).

With a win Sunday, the U.S. would reach the U-20 World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1989.