The USA U17 team has defeated African nation Malawi 1-0 in the World Cup in Nigeria.

A second-half volley from midfielder Alex Shinsky separated the sides in a closely fought contest at Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano.

The win saw the USA go to equal-second place on the Group E table with three points after their opening match loss to Spain.

Head coach Wilmer Cabrera was happy his team could improve defensively after letting Spain come from behind to steal the match earlier in the week.

"For us it was very important to improve on two areas," Cabrera said.

"Defensively we needed to come back after what happened against Spain so we had very solid work covering each other tonight. We also wanted to keep the ball and play.

"Malawi is a very athletic and very fast, and we thought that moving the ball around would make them work harder and give us more opportunities."

Man of the match Shinsky was delighted to have contributed the goal that gave his nation a vital three points.

"It was a really important match for us, and it feels great to have scored an important goal," he said.

"It was a bit surprising to see it go in the back of the net, but when the ball was in the air I was just focusing on hitting the ball. A little luck was on my side, so that felt good. A goal is a goal and I was really happy about it."

USA will be looking to move through to the next round of the tournament when they take on fellow second-placed side United Arab Emirates on Sunday in the final group stage match.