Crew SC midfielder Romain Gall is back in Columbus after spending a successful week with the United States Under-20 National Team in Austria. He returned from training camp after lifting USA to a 1-0 win over Croatia’s U-20s at the Red Bull Salzburg Academy.
Gall scored the winner in Saturday’s friendly in the 66th, only two minutes after coming on as a substitute. He picked up a pass from Zach Pfeffer at the top of the box, sidestepped a defender and placed the ball into the bottom left corner.
“I was coming off an injury and was just happy to be back with the team,” Gall said about the trip. “The games I came in I think I did solid and I was able to score the game winner in the last game. I was very happy about that.”
The training camp was held in preparation for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will take place in New Zealand from May 30 to June 20.
“We are moving in a good direction. We have a lot of solid players, good competition in every position,” Gall said. “We’re always pushing each other and I think we’ll have a strong team. Whichever team goes I think will do well.”
The U.S. previously qualified for the World Cup at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, where Gall won the Golden Boot after tying for the tournament lead with five goals. With now six tallies, Gall is the overall leading United States U-20 goal scorer for the year. He has now earned 16 caps for the U-20s.
“My teammates have helped me through it all,” Gall said, “and I am just glad I can score goals and help the team.”
