US Soccer Names U-20 MNT World Cup Qualifying Squad
By Sean Maslin
Who is ready for some World Cup action? On Sunday, US Soccer and US Under-20 Men’s National Team Coach Tab Ramos announced the 35-man provisional roster for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
The CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which begins play on January the 5th, doubles as the region’s World Cup qualification tournament for the U-20 World Cup, which take place in 2015 in New Zealand. Select players have begun training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with the official roster of 21 players being announced on January the 2nd.
The United States is in Group A with Guatemala (1/9,) Panama (1/11,) Aruba (1/14,) Jamaica (1/18,) and Trinidad and Tobago (1/21). Ramos’ squad can automatically qualify for the World Cup if they win their group. However, they could also qualify through being the second or third-placed team in their group and then qualifying a squad from Group B in a one-game playoff.
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One important thing to note about the roster is that the 21 man roster for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship will not necessarily be the same roster that Ramos and US Soccer select to go to New Zealand. Any of the 35 man roster will be able to be named to the USA’s World Cup squad.
In terms of the roster itself, there are interesting names from foreign club teams that USA supporters might not be familiar with. The first is midfielder Luis Felipe from Cruzeiro of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. Felipe, who was born in the United States but whose parents moved back to Brazil when he was three, has been on the US Soccer’s radar for about three years. Although he is just 17 years old, he has shown promise in Cruzeiro’s Youth Academy system.
The other player to keep an eye on internationally is Reading FC striker Andrija Novakovich. The 18 year old famously scored a hat trick earlier this season against the Wimbledon U-21 team and has been a regular fixture for their U-21 side. He famously spurned the collegiate system to head to Reading and it appears to have paid off.
In terms of the domestic players, Bradford Jamieson IV is coming off of a 2014 campaign with the Los Angeles Galaxy II where he scored 6 goals in 18 appearances. A lot has been made about this kid, who has already made 2 appearances with the senior Galaxy side at 18 years old. It will be interesting to see if Ramos chooses to go with a 4-4-2 combination of Jamieson and either Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes) or Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana) up front. With Rubio Rubin unlikely to play due to obligations with F.C. Utrecht, both Thompson or Arriola will have a chance to prove their value to the squad come World Cup time.
U.S. U-20 MNT’s 35-Player Provisional Roster by Position (Courtesy of US Soccer:)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jeff Caldwell (Virginia), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg)
DEFENDERS (12): Michael Amick (UCLA), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur), Conor Donovan (N.C. State), Chase Gasper (UCLA), Luis Martir (Chivas Guadalajara), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Shaquell Moore (Unattached), Chris Odoi-Atsem (Maryland), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City), Tommy Redding (Orlando City), John Requejo (Club Tijuana), Tyler Turner (Orlando City)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Fernando Arce (Club Tijuana), Corey Baird (Stanford), Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC), Luis Felipe (Cruzeiro), Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union), Joel Soñora (CA Boca Juniors)
FORWARDS (8): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Alex Muyl (Georgetown), Andrija Novakovich (Reading), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Ben Spencer (Indy Eleven), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)
Players currently training in Ft. Lauderdale:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg)
DEFENDERS (7): Conor Donovan (N.C. State), Chase Gasper (UCLA), Luis Martir (Chivas Guadalajara), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Shaquell Moore (Unattached), John Requejo (Club Tijuana), Tyler Turner (Orlando City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Fernando Arce (Club Tijuana), Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC), Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland)
FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Ben Spencer (Indy Eleven), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)