Valiant Effort Sees Deaf MNT Fall 1-0 to Senegal in World Championship Quarterfinal

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Oct. 1, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team put in a valiant effort, but ultimately fell 1-0 to Senegal in the Quarterfinals of the 2023 DIFA Men’s World Deaf Football Championship on Sunday at Stadium UKM. With the defeat, the USDMNT will now face IR Iran on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 4:30 a.m. ET in the first of two classification matches to determine where the USA will place at the 2023 World Championship.

A hectic first half saw a lot of back-and-forth play with few opportunities between the two sides, but the best chance came in the 41^st minute after U.S. captain Will Frentz was whistled for a foul on Senegal’s Alassane Sarr. On the ensuing free kick, midfielder Papa Ndiaye smashed a left-footed effort from 30 yards that was destined for the top right corner before goalkeeper Erik Jaspers tipped the ball over the bar for a corner kick.

The USA had two moments of danger just before halftime. In the 45^th minute, striker Michael Schmid alertly pressed Senegal goalkeeper Mouhamdou Diaw and got his head to a lobbed pass at the top of the area, but center back Khadim Marro alertly headed away the danger.

Three minutes into first half stoppage time, Tate Lancaster’s chipped free kick from 40 yards picked found Chris Bourdon in the penalty area, but his flicked on header was easily held by Diaw and the teams went into the break scoreless.

The USA best chance of the match came early in the second half via another dead-ball situation. Braden Anderson hit a dipping free kick from 45 yards into the area, finding Schmid whose subtle flick was enough to redirect the ball past Diaw before it careened back off the crossbar in the 48^th minute.

Things got heated around the hour mark during a stoppage in play when Senegal’s Laurent Mendy shoved Lancaster from behind, resulting in a long delay and a yellow card being shown to the Senegal attacker.

But seconds after the restart the Lions of Teranga grabbed the opening goal as a long ball out of the back penetrated through the midfield and just out of reach of Senegal striker Mouhamed Ndiaye. Jaspers came to the top of the box to clear the danger, but the ball deflected back off Ndiaye and into the U.S. goal in the 64^th minute.

Senegal nearly doubled their lead in the 77^th minute when Lassana Sadio won the ball on the right and was able to push it past Lancaster’s slide tackle. The ball trickled to Ndiaye who went in one-on-one with Jaspers, but the U.S. keeper came up with a brilliant kick save to keep his side in the match.

Continuing to seek out an equalizer, the U.S. mustered two moments of danger in stoppage time. After Raul Silva won a free kick 40 yards from goal, Jaspers came all the way up and served a swerving ball that saw Diaw come 12 yards off his line to desperately punch the ball away from Lancaster and Chad Johnson who were there on the doorstep.

When the U.S. won one more free kick from about 30 yards out seven minutes into stoppage time, Johnson stepped up and rocketed a left-footed effort Diaw did well to hang on to. As the Senegal goalkeeper punted the ball away, referee Zulkarnain Zakaria blew the final whistle, ending the USA’s bid for the 2023 Men’s Deaf World Football Championship title.

Next Up: With the defeat, the USDMNT moves on to face IR Iran on Tuesday, Oct. 3 in the first of two classification matches that will determine where the USA places at the competition. IR Iran fell 3-0 to Ukraine in another quarterfinal on Sunday. The USA can finish as high as fifth place and no lower than eighth.

Kickoff of USA-IR Iran is set for 4:30 a.m. ET (4:30 p.m. local) from UPNM Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and the match is expected to stream live via the Malaysia Deaf Sports Association’s YouTube Channel.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• The match marked the USDMNT’s third quarterfinal appearance in its four World Championship runs dating back to 2008.
• With two wins in its final two Classification matches, the USDMNT can still achieve fifth place at the tournament, which would be the side’s second-best finish. The USA earned fourth place at the inaugural 2008 competition.
• Captain and defender Will Frentz and winger Chris Bourdon are the only two U.S. players to have appeared in all 450 minutes of the tournament.
• Seven players have started all five matches at the World Championship: Bourdon, David Dircio, Frentz, Chad Johnson, JP Kanashiro, Tate Lancaster and Eddie Perry.

WATCH: USDMNT 0, Senegal 1 | Oct. 1, 2023

- U.S. MEN’S DEAF NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT -

Match: U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team vs. Senegal
Date: October 1, 2023
Competition: 2023 DIFA Men’s World Deaf Football Championships – Quarterfinal
Venue: Stadium UKM; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kickoff: 8:30 a.m. ET (8:30 p.m. local)
Weather: 85 degrees, clear

Scoring Summary:    1          2          F         

SEN                             0          1          1         
USA                             0          0          0

SEN – Mouhamed Ndiaye      64^th minute                                

Lineups:

USA: 12-Erik Jaspers; 2-David Dircio, 17-Tate Lancaster, 5-Will Frentz (capt.), 3-Eddie Perry (16-Kevin Fitzpatrick, 80); 8-Braden Anderson (6-Trip Neil, 80), 11-JP Kanashiro, 10-Raul Silva; 13-Chad Johnson, 22-Michael Schmid, 7-Chris Bourdon

Subs not used: 1-Eric Setzer, 21-Samuel Lang, 9-Thomas Salvi, 14-Dawson Anderson, 15-Jullian Mitchell, 18-Luke Haubruge, 19-Arthur Goncalves, 20-Kelly Grant

Not dressed: 4-Tristan Torbett

Head Coach: David Kunitz

SEN: 1-Mouhamadou Diaw, 4-Khadim Marro, 6-Issa Tall (capt.), 7-Laurent Mendy, 8-Alassane Sarr, 10-Harona Seck, 11-Mouhamadoul Amine, 12-Papa Ndiaye, 14-Daouda Diop (2-Lassana Sadio, 4), 15-Papa Ndiaye Diarra, 19-Djiby Mbengue (20-Mouhamed Ndiaye, 57)
Subs not used: 16-Zacharia Souleymane, 23-Diakarya Diallo, 3-Ndiaga Wagne, 5-Modou Diop, 9-Papa Mbaye Mbengue, 13-Abdallah Cisse, 17-Adama Ndiaye, 18-Assane Ndao, 21-Abou Seck, 22-Idrissa Ba
Head Coach: Souleymane Bara

Stats Summary: SEN / USA                       

Shots: 12 / 5 
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 14 / 13

Misconduct Summary:

SEN - Papa Ndiaye Diarra (caution) 15^th minute
SEN – Laurent Mendy (caution)         61
USA – Eddie Perry (caution)              69
USA – David Dircio (caution)            82
USA – Chad Johnson (caution)           88
SEN – Alassane Sarr (caution)            90+6

Officials:

Referee: Zulkarnain Zakaria
Assistant Referee 1: Mohd Syafiq Rosli
Assistant Referee 2: Zam Azwan Khan bin Rashid
Fourth Official: Paul Kirby

About Deaf Soccer

Deaf soccer is contested by deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes. Under international criteria, players must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their better ear. Hearing loss below this level has been shown to negatively impact hearing. All players competing in deaf matches must remove all hearing aids before playing.

For more information on the sport or to inquire about athlete eligibility, please contact U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams Department via email at extendednt@ussoccer.org.