Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
CHICAGO – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos has named the 21-player roster for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic, which runs from May 20-June 11.
“We are very excited to once again provide a great competitive opportunity to our players and are looking forward to heading to Korea Republic,” Ramos said. “As always there were some extremely tough decisions to make. This is a talented age group.”
The team departs for its initial training camp in Japan on May 10, where remaining players will meet the group prior to the team’s arrival in Korea Republic on May 17.
The U.S. was drawn into Group F with Ecuador, Senegal and Saudi Arabia. The team opens group play against Ecuador on May 22 (4 a.m. ET), followed by matches with Senegal on May 25 (7 a.m. ET) and Saudi Arabia on May 28 (5 a.m. ET). The first two games will be played at Incheon Stadium in Incheon, while the third and final group game will be played at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon. All of the U.S.’s group matches will be broadcast live on FS1.
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), J.T. Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.), Brady Scott (De Anza Force; Petaluma, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, Utah), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur FC; Westcliff-on-Sea, England), Marlon Fossey (Fulham FC; Surbiton, England), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (University of New Mexico; Las Cruces, N.M.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Luca De La Torre (Fulham FC; San Diego, Calif.), Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.), Eryk Williamson (University of Maryland; Alexandria, Va.), Gedion Zelalem (Arsenal FC; Bethesda, Md.)
FORWARDS (6): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Lagos Kunga (Atlanta United FC Academy; Tucker, Ga.) Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Emmanuel Sabbi (Unattached; Columbus, Ohio), Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallen, Mo.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah)
The U-20 MNT capped its qualifying run at the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship with five-straight wins. After opening the tournament with a 1-0 loss against Panama, the team went on to defeat Haiti and St. Kitts and Nevis by matching 4-1 score lines, earning first place in Group B and advancement to the Classification Stage. There, the U-20 MNT used a 29th minute header from Erik-Palmer Brown to earn a 1-0 victory against rivals Mexico, breaking El Trí’s 20-match unbeaten streak at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Ramos’ side followed up that victory with a 2-1 win against El Salvador to punch its ticket to Korea Republic and also advance to the tournament Final against Honduras.
Having played to a 0-0 draw, the U.S. was perfect in converting its penalty kicks, defeating Los Catrachos 5-3 in the shootout to clinch its first regional crown at U-20 level. Following the match, goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, defenders Marlon Fossey and Justen Glad, midfielder Erik Palmer-Brown and forward Brooks Lennon earned Best XI honors, with Palmer-Brown and Klinsmann receiving the Golden Ball and Golden Glove awards, respectively. Fifteen players that were part of the U-20 MNT’s successful qualifying run are part of the final World Cup roster.
In April, Ramos brought the U-20 player pool together one more time for an international training camp in London, England to continue World Cup preparations and evaluate new players, including World Cup choice Lagos Kunga.
The U-20 World Cup showcases some of the world’s best young talent. The USA’s roster at the last FIFA World Cup in 2014 featured nine players that had previously played in a U-20 World Cup: Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Brad Davis, Clint Dempsey, Mix Diskerud, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando and DeAndre Yedlin.
The USA’s best finish at the U-20 World Cup came in Saudi Arabia in 1989, where a team backstopped by future MNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller finished fourth. Most recently under Ramos in 2015, the USA advanced from its group and defeated Colombia 1-0 in the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champions Serbia 6-5 on penalty kicks in the Quarterfinal.
Development Academy Ties:
Seventeen players have ties to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
Defender Erik Palmer-Brown spent four seasons in the Development Academy for Sporting Kansas City Academy before signing with the first team in 2013.
Forwards Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri) and Lagos Kunga (Atlanta United FC Academy), and goalkeeper Brady Scott (De Anza Force) are currently attached to Development Academy teams.
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse was named U-15/16 Academy Player of the Year during the 2013-2014 Development Academy season while playing for Bethesda-Olney, leading the nation in goals with 29.
Two players have Conference Player of the Year honors: Sebastian Saucedo (West, 2014) and Eryk Williamson (East, 2015).
Six players have been named to Development Academy Conference Starting XI’s: Danny Acosta (West, 2015), Justen Glad (West, 2013 and 2014), J.T. Marcinkowski (West, 2015), Emmanuel Sabbi (Central, 2015 and 2016), Jeremy Ebobisse (East, 2014) and Saucedo (West, 2014).
In 2013, Real Salt Lake teammates Justen Glad, Sebastian Saucedo and Brooks Lennon won the U-15/16 Development Academy national title.
Roster Notes:
Fifteen of the 21 players were part of the team that qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in March.
The roster includes three members of the USA’s 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup team: defenders Erik Palmer-Brown and Cameron Carter-Vickers, and midfielder Gedion Zelalem.
The trio takes the number of U.S. players to appear on two FIFA U-20 World Cup rosters to 12 all-time: Kellyn Acosta, Freddy Adu, Bryan Arguez, Bobby Convey, Kasey Keller, Brian Perk, Zack Steffen, Nathan Sturgis and Danny Szetela.
Danny Acosta, Justen Glad, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo are all teammates with M.L.S. club Real Salt Lake, while the club also holds the Homegrown rights to midfielder Aaron Herrera.
Marlon Fossey and Luca de la Torre are teammates with English club Fulham FC.
Including the four Real Salt Lake teammates, nine players on the USA roster represent clubs in Major League Soccer: defenders Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City) and Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC), midfielders Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls) and Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union), and forward Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers).
Of the 12 non-M.L.S. players, four come from European clubs, four are playing at the collegiate level in the United States, three represent U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs, and one player is unattached.
Born in February of 2000, 17-year-old forward Josh Sargent is the youngest player on the roster. The St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri striker joins the roster having just captained the U.S. at the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where they successfully qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be played in India this October.
Sargent can become the first player since Freddy Adu to compete for the United States in both the U-20 and U-17 FIFA World Cup during the same year.
Having previously been capped by Ghana at youth national team level, midfielder Derrick Jones has been cleared by FIFA to represent the U.S.
Eryk Williamson scored the second goal of the U.S.’s 2-1 victory against El Salvador in the CONCACAF Championship Classification Stage match that clinched the team’s spot in the World Cup. The goal also came in at No. 5 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays for March 3.
Carter-Vickers and Zelalem have been called to the U-20 MNT for the first time since 2015.
Carter-Vickers was last part of a U.S. camp when he was summoned for the MNT’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches against Mexico and Costa Rica in November 2016.
Tab Ramos becomes the second coach to lead a U-20 team in three World Cups (2013, 2015, 2017), following Thomas Rongen (2003, 2007, 2009).
