WITH QUALIFYING FOR the Under-20 World Cup looming in January, U.S. coach Tab Ramos opted for familiarity over experimentation as he summoned 19 players for a 10-day camp in Argentina that begins Monday.

Here's the full squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Jeff Caldwell (Virginia; Todd, N.C.), Santiago Castaño (New York Red Bulls; Union City, N.J.), Evan Louro (Michigan; South River, N.J.)

DEFENDERS: Conor Donovan (North Carolina State; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Chase Gasper (UCLA; Alexandria, Va.), Matthew Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), John Requejo Jr. (Club Tijuana; Carpinteria, Calif.), Tyler Turner (Orlando City; Milford, Conn.)

MIDFIELDERS: Fernando Arce (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield; Arlington County, Va.), Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim; Lancaster, Pa.), Luis Felipe (Cruzeiro Esporte Clube; Ouro Branco, Minas Gerais), Joel Soñora (Boca Juniors; Buenos Aires, Argentina)

FORWARDS: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union; Dresher, Pa.), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes; Loomis, Calif.)

Of the players Ramos named to the roster Friday, only three are being called up to the U-20 team for the first time—Orlando City right back Tyler Turner, UCLA defender Chase Gasper, and midfielder Gboli Ariyibi, who just inked a deal with Chesterfield in England’s third tier.

“It’s mostly guys we’ve had in before. As we get closer to qualifying, we’re experimenting maybe a little less,” Ramos told American Soccer Now. “Gboli, he’s someone we’ve wanted to have in for a while. We actually called him in three different times before but he’s been trialing with teams in England and wasn’t available until now. I liked what I’ve seen of him on video and I’m excited to finally get a chance to get a look at him and see what he can bring.”

Excited to be back with the team in a few days!!! Flying down to Argentina! #U20MNT #usa ???????? pic.twitter.com/6CraKvI6ng

— Russell Canouse (@RussellCanouse) August 29, 2014

In his three-year tenure as head coach of the U-20s, one thing Ramos has gotten used to is not having his first-choice lineup together. With a player pool spread out in Europe, Latin America, and both the professional and amateur ranks of the United States, his players are never all available at the same time.

“It’s never happened since I’ve been with the 20s, not once,” Ramos said. “The closest I came was for the (U-20) World Cup last year but even then there were players out with injuries. But that means you just have a deeper pool and you go about three-deep at every position. And then, if the third string isn’t good enough, you bring in someone new.”

The trip will culminate with a friendly against Argentina's U-20 team on Sept. 9 but Ramos hopes to arrange a scrimmage or two against club teams in Bueno Aries.

Games are key for this group because there aren’t many camps left before the CONCACAF qualifying tournament begins in January in Jamaica. “We’ll have two more camps before qualifying. There will be a camp in Spain in November and a camp in Jamaica in December. Then it’s a break for Christmas and then we get back together and it’ll be for qualifying.”

This group going to Argentina features a typically eclectic mix of players from European clubs, MLS, Mexico, South America, the United Soccer League, college soccer and one player who is finishing high school.

So blessed and thankful for the constant opportunity to represent my country. Going to Argentina on Monday w US U20s. pic.twitter.com/2hyTlsahFQ

— Paul Arriola (@PaulArriola) August 29, 2014

If the team needs a tour guide it will likely turn to midfielder Joel Sonora, who plays in Argentina for Boca Juniors. Brazil-based middie Luis Felipe and the Tijuana trio of forward Paul Arriola, left back John Requejo, and midfielder Fernando Arce round out the Latin American contingent.

Besides Ariyibi, Hoffenheim midfielder Russell Canouse is flying over the Atlantic for this camp while the domestic contingent is led by six MLS players—goalkeeper Santiago Castano and defender Matt Miazga (both from New York Red Bulls), defender Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City) and forwards Bradford Jamieson IV (Los Angeles Galaxy), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union) and Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes).

Excited for another trip with the u20 national team.. Off to Argentina on Monday ?? http://t.co/xdMvgQfQVQ pic.twitter.com/5x0tiPxAl0

— Tommy Thompson (@tomthom11) August 29, 2014

Ramos is looking forward to pairing Miazga and Palmer-Brown together in central defense.

“They’ve both gotten some games with their first-team clubs and they’ve both had ups and downs, which is expected for a young players, especially at that position,” said Ramos. “But compared to the last cycle, we have a lot more pro depth at this position. The last time, because of injuries, we had to use either college players or Shane O’Neill and Caleb Stanko, who were converted midfielders and we really had no choice.”

At 17, Palmer-Brown is the youngest player on the roster. “He’s really a U18 player but I talked with (Sporting Kansas City coach) Peter Vermes a few months ago and he said Erik had been showing well and I decided it didn’t make sense to leave him at the 18s and he was ready to move up to this level. He’s up for the challenge.”

At 18, Turner has been a regular for Orlando in the USL and he’ll likely share right back duties on the trip with Shaquell Moore, who is finishing high school and waiting to turn 18 so he can pursue a contract abroad.

“Tyler’s had a good season in the USL and we’re looking forward to seeing him to see where he’s at,” said Ramos. “Playing in the USL has been great for him and it’s great to see young players going that route and getting games at the pro level. Whether it’s MLS, USL, NASL—that they’re out there competing and getting games, it’s so important at this age.”

Besides Gasper, the college contingent is North Carolina State defender Conor Donovan and goalkeepers Evan Louro of Michigan and Jeff Caldwell of Virginia, who posted a clean sheet against Old Dominion in his collegiate debut Friday night.

Along with Castano, Caldwell and Louro have a chance to move up the depth chart because Maryland’s Zack Steffen bas been recovering from shoulder and finger injuries. “He didn’t start training until last week and I talked to Sasho (Cirovski, Maryland’s coach) and we decided he’d be better off staying here and getting back in shape playing with (Maryland).”

Outside of goalkeepers, Ramos isn’t expecting many college players to make the qualifying roster but that doesn’t mean he won’t still be looking.

“We’ve had a lot of players in already who will be in college this fall and we’ll be closely monitoring their progress as well as looking for new players who have strong seasons who we haven’t had in before who might show that we need to take a look at them. I’m not ruling out a player because he plays in college.”

He’s also not going to write a player off because he showed poorly in a prior camp, citing the examples of DeAndre Yedlin and Jordan Morris, neither of whom wowed Ramos initially. Both are now among the top U23 players in American soccer and have already been summoned to the senior national team.

Yedlin was part of Ramos’ first U20 camp early in 2012 and “he’d be the first person to tell you he didn’t do well. Other than his speed, none of what you see now he showed in that camp.” He didn’t return to the U20 fold till after qualifying in 2013 when he’d proven himself with the Seattle Sounders.

“He came back a different player," Ramos continued. "Physically he adapted and when he made a mistake, he didn’t hang his head but instead went back and did something about it to turn things around. It was night and day.

"Jordan, he didn’t join the 20s until one of our last camps before the World Cup and that was before he started college. He showed a lot but he was also behind the other guys and wasn’t ready. Now he uses his athleticism better, runs off the ball better, looks for his teammates better. He’s played with and against better players and it shows.

“I think the lesson is that kids develop at different times and that when we see them they aren’t the finished product and what we see today isn’t what we’ll have a year from now or two or three years from now. That’s a lesson for us as coaches but there’s also a lesson for the players—that if they don’t have a good camp and don’t get asked back right away to continue working and getting better and you can be brought back and pass a lot of the players who were ahead of you.”

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Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter.