The United States U20 men's national team began its 2025 FIFA World Cup campaign in Chile with a dominant 9-1 victory over New Caledonia, setting a new record for the team's largest margin of victory in the tournament's history.
The performance was spearheaded by Benjamin Cremaschi, the Parma midfielder on loan from Inter Miami CF, who scored a first-half hat trick.
Cremaschi's sensational first 45 minutes at the Estadio Teniente de Rancagua also included two assists.
The U.S. offense was relentless, with six other players contributing to the goal tally: Niko Taskiris, Frankie Westfield, Nolan Norris, Taha Habroune, and Cole Campbell.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, one of the most memorable moments of the match belonged to the debutant team. In the second half, Wapae Simane capitalized on a goalkeeping error by Adam Beaudry to score a historic goal for New Caledonia, marking the nation's first-ever goal in a U20 World Cup tournament.
The 9-1 victory not only set a new U.S. record for goals scored in a FIFA U20 World Cup match but also for the largest margin of victory. This shattered the previous high of six goals, which the U.S. had achieved on three separate occasions: a 6-0 win against Turkey in 1993, a 6-1 win over Poland in 2007, and a 6-0 win against New Zealand in 2017.
The largest win in the history of the FIFA U20 World Cup remains Norway's 12-0 thrashing of Honduras in 2019, a match where future superstar Erling Haaland famously scored nine goals.
In the other Group E match, France secured a narrow 2-1 victory over South Africa.
