As riots raged through downtown Istanbul, Turkey, Javan Torre sat in his hotel room, away from the chaos at the center of the city. Despite the unrest nearby, Torre was focused on something else.
“Turkey was strictly business,” he said.
Torre, a rising sophomore defender for UCLA men’s soccer, spent the last month and a half in Europe competing for the U.S. under-20 men’s national team in the Toulon Tournament in France and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
His trip started on May 28 in Toulon, France, where the United States played France, Columbia, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Korea in the tournament – the team’s final games before the World Cup. After France, Torre and the team spent some time in Portugal continuing to prepare until finally beginning World Cup play in Istanbul, Turkey on June 21.
While the U.S. team went 0-2-1 against Spain, France and Ghana and failed to advance past the group stage of the U-20 World Cup, Torre said he was still pleased with the team’s performance, as well as his own. Torre said the tie game against France, who went on to win the tournament, was the most memorable experience of his trip overseas.
“It was unfortunate we didn’t get the three points out of that game, but that game was a battle from beginning to end and I think that was the most fun I had during the trip because it brought the best out of everyone,” Torre said.
The challenge of facing such difficult international competition such as the French team helped him grow as a player, he said.
“Because of the length of the trip and the level of play it was at, I’d say it made me improve a lot more. I learned a lot more during this month than any other trip,” Torre said.
U.S. U-20 coach Tab Ramos agreed that the U-20 World Cup would help his players in their development.
“I see it as a great experience for our players regardless,” Ramos said. “Hopefully we have a lot of players on this team that will move up to play for (U.S. national team coach) Jurgen Klinsmann at some point. That’s how we have to look at it.”
This trip wasn’t Torre’s first stint with the national team. He also played for the U-18 team in the 2011 Milk Cup as well as the U-20 team in the 2012 Marbella Cup. But this trip stood out from the rest, he said.
“Those are more for evaluation when they’re looking at players,” Torre said. “When it came to the World Cup, that was not so much trying to prove yourself to the coaches, but you’re trying to prove yourself to everybody else. You’re trying to make your nation heard.”
Playing against the top international competition of his age group, Torre said the World Cup not only showed him a higher level of play, but also gave him a glimpse of what his life could be like should he reach the professional level.
“Those players are playing against adults for their positions on the field and when it’s about money, you see a much more focused mindset among the players,” Torre said.
“When someone’s trying to support a family, they play with a lot more heart and it makes you battle more. So I think playing against kids that are within that environment makes me sort of get a taste of what is to come when I reach the next level.”
Before he gets to that next level, Torre has to first think about his college team.
With even more national team experience under Torre’s belt, UCLA teammate Joe Sofia, a rising senior defender, believes Torre’s time spent playing against international competition will help the Bruins improve this season.
“Javan Torre is a great player, a great defender, and I think with his recent exposure to the under-20 national team he’s been able to play against some of the top forwards,” Sofia said.
“So just that experience and ability to play against those forwards will really help us and help him this year when he plays for our team.”