USMNT U-20 Roster Named Ahead Of Austria Training Camp
By Sean Maslin
Time is of the essence for the United States under-20 Men’s National Team. With the U-20 World Cup set to begin in just over a month, chances to prove that one is ready to play are becoming fewer and fewer. On Friday, Ramos announced the 20-man roster for the USMNT U-20’s upcoming training camp.
The camp will be from April 18-26th in Austria. The USMNT U-20’s will play two friendlies during this time period. The first match will be against Qatar on April 21st while the second will be against Croatia on April 25th. No times or streaming service have been provided.
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Although this roster is mostly made up of players who featured for the side at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, there are several new additions. Perhaps the biggest addition is Cristian Roldan. Roldan, who currently plays for the Seattle Sounders, has never featured for U.S. Soccer at any level and had previously expressed some interest in playing for Guatemala the country where his parents are from.
Roldan made his first appearance for the Sounders two weeks ago in a 0-0 draw with FC Dallas. He was taken by the team with the 16th pick in the MLS SuperDraft.
Joining Roldan will be Union midfielder Zach Pfeffer. Unlike Roldan, Pfeffer has previously featured for the USMNT U-20’s but has not played with them in 2015. Pfeffer has one goal in five appearances for the Union this year and has shown flashes of attacking spark.
Also making his first appearance with the team in 2015 is Real Salt Lake’s Jordan Allen. Allen scored a fantastic goal to give RSL the win over Toronto F.C. in Week 4. He seems to really be thriving under coach Jeff Cassar’s system which employs more dynamic wing play than the diamond formation of former coach Jason Kreis.
The USMNT U-20’s begin group play at the World Cup on May 30th against Myanmar. They will continue their drive towards qualifying for the knock-out stage when they take on host New Zealand on June 2nd and Ukraine on June 5th.
The top two teams out of each group will qualify for the knockout stage. The third place team will have the chance to also qualify for the knockout stage but will need to be one of the top four third place teams in the tournament. There are six groups and twenty-four teams competing in the U-20 World Cup.
Full roster (list courtesy of U.S. Soccer:)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jeff Caldwell (University of Virginia; Todd, N.C.), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg; Downington, Pa.)
DEFENDERS (6): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Conor Donovan (Orlando City SC; Fuquay-Varina, N.C.), Matthew Miazga (Clifton, N.J.; New York Red Bulls), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), John Requejo (Club Tijuana; Carpinteria, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Jordan Allen (Real Salt Lake; Rochester, N.Y.), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC; Glendora, Calif.), Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund; Manassas Park, Va.), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew SC; Herndon, Va.), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; Santa Cruz, Calif.), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; Pico Rivera, Calif.), Ethan Sonis (SC Freiburg; Coral Springs, Fla.), Joel Sonora (CA Boca Juniors; Buenos Aires, Argentina)
FORWARDS (4): Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana; Morganville, N.J.), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union; Dresher, Pa.), Maki Tall (Red Star; Washington, D.C.), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes; Loomis, Calif.)