10514_isi_miazgamatt_mlsml062714144 Mike Lawrence/isiphotos.com
U.S. U-23 Team

U.S. Soccer Names 21 U-23 Players to Face Brazil

While most American soccer fans will be checking in on the full national team's October 10 match with Ecuador, an American U-23 team will be facing of with Brazil's U-23 squad in Brasilia.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
October 05, 2014
2:55 PM
THE UNITED STATES UNDER-23 will meet during this international break for an October 13 friendly against Brazil’s U-23 team in Brasilia.

It is the third time this team has assembled this year as it prepares for qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. Historically, the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament takes place in the spring of the Olympic year although no tournament has been finalized this cycle.

The roster features four players who were called into the full U.S. national team for September’s friendly against Czech Republic: Rubio Rubin, Emerson Hyndman, Cody Cropper, and Jordan Morris. Of all the players on the roster, only Hyndman has been capped by the full national team.

The roster also includes seven players who were on the 2013 U-20 World Cup team—Cropper, Eric Miller, Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Oscar Sorto, Benji Joya, Alonso Hernandez, and Mario Rodriguez.

GOALKEEPERS (2)

Charlie Horton (Cardiff City; Cleveland, Ohio), Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.)

DEFENDERS (8)

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Matthew Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), William Packwood (Birmingham City; Concord, Mass.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (5)

Dennis Flores (León; Pasadena, Calif.), Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids; Jackson, Miss.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Benji Joya (Chicago Fire; San Jose, Calif.), Esteban Rodriguez (Dorados de Sinaloa; Bell Gardens, Calif.)

FORWARDS (6)

Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Sean Okoli (Seattle Sounders FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Rubio Rubin (Utrecht; Beaverton, Ore.), Ben Spencer (Indy Eleven; Albuquerque, N.M.)

The current roster also has several players who are eligible for the 2015 U-20 World Cup, as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Matthew Miazga, Emerson Hyndman, Rubio Rubn, and Ben Spencer all eligible for next year’s tournament in New Zealand. Carter-Vicker’s is particularly intriguing because at just 16, he is eligible for the 2017 U-20 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics. He has played just once for the United States and that came in August during a U-18 tournament in the Czech Republic.

The U.S. U-23 team will head to Brazil to train from October 10-12 and will play Brazil on October 13. It is possible that a few players might be with the full national team during the start of the international window and for the first friendly against Ecuador on October 10th in East Hartford, Conn.

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