TEMPE, Ariz. -- A pair of Arizona State student-athletes have been selected to compete for their respective countries in the upcoming U20 World Cup in France beginning on August 5th.
Eva Van Deursen has been named to the Dutch roster while Alexia Delgado has been named the captain of the Mexican team that will compete in the opening game of group play against Brazil.
"It is a dream becoming reality to play a World Cup at this age," Deursen said of the honor. "This is the highest achievable tournament to play at my age and it is a historical achievement for womens soccer in the Netherlands. Never before has the Netherlands qualified for a world cup U20, so to belong to the 21 best players from my country is a big honor for me. To be able to represent my country and battle against the best teams in the world from my age is incredible."
"The type of experiences these young ladies have are crucial," head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We may be a young squad but we will have more top level experience than many squads. The professionalism it takes to represent your country is another level. There is no bigger accomplishment than to represent your country against another, listen to your national anthem and to do this in a World Cup. I can hardly imagine."
"I feel that the experience these players are having at this level can only improve their soccer IQ. We want an intelligent team that understands the smaller details of the game, ones that watch soccer every week and not just every four years when the World Cup is on TV. When we have a full squad who love the game so much that they just cannot get enough of it, then I will feel that we are moving forward."
Earlier this summer, Delgado spent time in Moscow as part of the 2018 FIFA Workshop titled Captains of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow, where FIFA aimed to bring together players and young referees representing the confederations in an effort to develop their leadership skills both on and off the field.
"This level of professionalism I hope will filter through the squad. The way top athletes look after their body, the way they compete when nobody is watching training, these small details all contribute to making special players."
"Being captain it's not easy," Delgado said of the opportunity "It means you have more responsibilities as a player and as a leader on and off the field. Besides the extra responsibilities, it is a big honor and pleasure being selected as a captain once again. In a few words, being captain is awesome."
"She is the ultimate professional in how she conducts herself," Winkworth added of Delgado's already high level of leadership. "When I personally went to watch her compete in the CONCACAF tournament in Trinidad, (they won beating the US in the final), she was suffering from an injury. She got to play (and captain) in one game but had to sit out the rest of the tournament. When I was watching how she interacted with her teammates it was amazing. She had a smile on at all timse, and she was the first to congratulate other team members and would go and provide an arm around a shoulder to the ones who may need it. This was inspiring for a player who was sitting out. I feel that if everyone on our roster who is not on the field can be as supportive as this, then we will have an incredible team culture and chemistry that can take us further than anyone can imagine."
The duo, part of Winkworth's historic 2018 signing class, will battle through group play with a possibility of meeting each other's team as early as the quarterfinal round.
"On the pitch these ladies can add to the leadership we already have. They have played in high pressure matches against the best young players in the world. It is these experiences which will help us in big games. This without even mentioning that they both have special individual gifts as players."
The Netherlands will look to battle through Group A which includes host country France, as well as Ghana and New Zealand. Mexico will fight their way through Group B which includes Korea, England and Brazil.
"I want the best players in the world to come to ASU," Winkworth added. "I 100 percent believe that we have the ability to find some of those locally, nationally and internationally in the future. Many of the top young players were already committed to schools when we got here as a staff. We had no choice but to scour the world for other top stars. One thing that we will do here at ASU is try and play an attractive brand of football. We have purposely put together a group of players that can control a ball, that can read the game and that have a winning mentality."
"If our brand of soccer then inspires the little girls and boys of tomorrow to play without fear of making mistakes, to take a chance and be brave then this would be a massive. If we can then persuade those young kids to be future Sun Devils even better."
The Sun Devils will start their season with a pair of exhibition matches against New Mexico State and Colorado College on August 12. The 2018 regular season home opener will take place on August 31, when the Sun Devils host New Hampshire. Fans can follow all the action from the 2018 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
Eva Van Deursen has been named to the Dutch roster while Alexia Delgado has been named the captain of the Mexican team that will compete in the opening game of group play against Brazil.
"It is a dream becoming reality to play a World Cup at this age," Deursen said of the honor. "This is the highest achievable tournament to play at my age and it is a historical achievement for womens soccer in the Netherlands. Never before has the Netherlands qualified for a world cup U20, so to belong to the 21 best players from my country is a big honor for me. To be able to represent my country and battle against the best teams in the world from my age is incredible."
"The type of experiences these young ladies have are crucial," head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We may be a young squad but we will have more top level experience than many squads. The professionalism it takes to represent your country is another level. There is no bigger accomplishment than to represent your country against another, listen to your national anthem and to do this in a World Cup. I can hardly imagine."
"I feel that the experience these players are having at this level can only improve their soccer IQ. We want an intelligent team that understands the smaller details of the game, ones that watch soccer every week and not just every four years when the World Cup is on TV. When we have a full squad who love the game so much that they just cannot get enough of it, then I will feel that we are moving forward."
Earlier this summer, Delgado spent time in Moscow as part of the 2018 FIFA Workshop titled Captains of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow, where FIFA aimed to bring together players and young referees representing the confederations in an effort to develop their leadership skills both on and off the field.
"This level of professionalism I hope will filter through the squad. The way top athletes look after their body, the way they compete when nobody is watching training, these small details all contribute to making special players."
"Being captain it's not easy," Delgado said of the opportunity "It means you have more responsibilities as a player and as a leader on and off the field. Besides the extra responsibilities, it is a big honor and pleasure being selected as a captain once again. In a few words, being captain is awesome."
"She is the ultimate professional in how she conducts herself," Winkworth added of Delgado's already high level of leadership. "When I personally went to watch her compete in the CONCACAF tournament in Trinidad, (they won beating the US in the final), she was suffering from an injury. She got to play (and captain) in one game but had to sit out the rest of the tournament. When I was watching how she interacted with her teammates it was amazing. She had a smile on at all timse, and she was the first to congratulate other team members and would go and provide an arm around a shoulder to the ones who may need it. This was inspiring for a player who was sitting out. I feel that if everyone on our roster who is not on the field can be as supportive as this, then we will have an incredible team culture and chemistry that can take us further than anyone can imagine."
The duo, part of Winkworth's historic 2018 signing class, will battle through group play with a possibility of meeting each other's team as early as the quarterfinal round.
"On the pitch these ladies can add to the leadership we already have. They have played in high pressure matches against the best young players in the world. It is these experiences which will help us in big games. This without even mentioning that they both have special individual gifts as players."
The Netherlands will look to battle through Group A which includes host country France, as well as Ghana and New Zealand. Mexico will fight their way through Group B which includes Korea, England and Brazil.
"I want the best players in the world to come to ASU," Winkworth added. "I 100 percent believe that we have the ability to find some of those locally, nationally and internationally in the future. Many of the top young players were already committed to schools when we got here as a staff. We had no choice but to scour the world for other top stars. One thing that we will do here at ASU is try and play an attractive brand of football. We have purposely put together a group of players that can control a ball, that can read the game and that have a winning mentality."
"If our brand of soccer then inspires the little girls and boys of tomorrow to play without fear of making mistakes, to take a chance and be brave then this would be a massive. If we can then persuade those young kids to be future Sun Devils even better."
The Sun Devils will start their season with a pair of exhibition matches against New Mexico State and Colorado College on August 12. The 2018 regular season home opener will take place on August 31, when the Sun Devils host New Hampshire. Fans can follow all the action from the 2018 season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.