What, did anyone think it would be easy?

It seems like it is an annual tradition for the United States in international competitions: stumble early, get a few quick goals, and then hold on for dear life. Friday night’s 2-1 victory over Myanmar might have given the U.S. under-20’s three vital points in Group A, but it left them with many questions as the 2015 U-20 World Cup continues.

After just nine minutes, it appeared that the United States might not get any points. They fell behind early thanks to a bobbled save by U.S. goalkeeper Zach Steffen. Myanmar midfielder Myang Naing Oo buried his shot past Steffen to give them the early lead. The goal was Oo’s first with the Myanmar national team.

Although the goal was a bit of a fluke Myanmar were the dominant team early on. Despite having never played in a World Cup at any level, one would have thought that they were the more experienced side. Led by midfielder Than Paing, the Myanmar midfield dominant play for the first quarter by forcing the United States chase with their efforts often coming up short.

While this early result was certainly a desirable one for Myanmar, the reaction was not the same for the United States. After yielding the early goal play seemed to be fractured and the players a bit tense. “I think we got desperate a lot in the first half. Myanmar did a good job on pressuring the ball and getting behind the ball,” said U.S. coach Tab Ramos. “Until we were able to find spaces in between lines, it was a difficult game for us. That’s one of the things that at halftime we tried to correct – finding spaces between lines, because otherwise we just were not breaking them down. And I think it worked a little bit better in the second half.”

“I think the first 10 minutes of a World Cup game is going to be hectic – they’re trying to come at us, we’re trying to go at them,” said U.S. defender Matt Miazga. “But yea, they came out kind of flying in the first few minutes and they had some dangerous set pieces.”

The breakthrough for the United States came from forward Maki Tall. Tall slotted his shot home after receiving a pass in space from defender Cameron Carter-Vickers. Credit to midfielder Emerson Hyndman for providing service into the box for Carter-Vickers to serve Tall on a silver platter. The goal was Tall’s first at the U-20 level for the United States.

Unfortunately for Tall his World Cup would come to an end early. In the 49th minute Tall would have to come out after having sustained a foot injury. It was later revealed that he had sustained a broken toe, which will keep him out for the remainder of the tournament.

Despite losing Tall, the United States continued to press in the second half. Led by Hyndman, the U.S. midfield would aggressively push the Myanmar defense back on their heels. Much like at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, the U.S. would make outside diagonal runs aimed at forcing Myanmar to give up the center of the pitch. Myanmar goalkeeper Myan Myo Latt would often be left by himself to preserve the lead and made several impressive saves. In the 50th minute his tip over the bar of a Hyndman shot would keep the score at 1-1.

But Hyndman would not be denied. In the 56th minute, the Fulham man would finish off a pass by midfielder Rubio Rubin and nail a bullet from 12 yards out to give the United States the 2-1 lead. After losing Tall, Hyndman and Rubin served as the main focal point of the U.S. attack.

“At that point it was good to get the lead because we’d been struggling throughout the game,” said Hyndman “So to know that we were in front was definitely a relief in a certain way. But we felt like we needed another one and tried to, but hey, we’ll take the victory in the end.”

Despite the early scare, the United States moves in on group play with three valuable points. But the competition will only get more difficult from here with host New Zealand and the Ukraine waiting. “I feel confident that we can win our group. I think we can play better football,” said midfielder Rubio Rubin. We have a lot to process and learn from today, but we’re looking forward to our next match already.”

The United States will next be in action on Tuesday morning when they take on New Zealand. That match will be shown live on Fox Sports 1 at 3am EST.