JUST DAYS BEFORE the first camp of the team’s first camp of the new cycle, U.S. Soccer has announced that Mikey Varas will be the head coach of the United States U-20 national team. Along with his announcement, U.S. Soccer announced the U-20 roster for the upcoming Revelations Cup in Mexico that will feature the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

Here are some thoughts about Varas getting the job and the upcoming roster that was assembled before Varas took the job.

The Varas hire

While this is a big step up for Mikey Varas, he hails from the FC Dallas system where he was the assistant coach for Luchi Gonzalez and had a hand in working with many top young American players like Ricardo Pepi, Tanner Tessmann, Jesus Ferreira, Jonathan Gomez, and Justin Che.

The decision to look at the FC Dallas organization makes sense. The club’s first team might have had a tough season where it will finish way out of the playoff positions, it still made the playoffs the past two seasons. But without a doubt, Dallas has been very impressive in developing top American players – many of which feature on the U.S. national team. Even if it wasn't Gonzalez, hiring someone from that organization who has had a hand in their youth development is a good place to go. FC Dallas right now looks good on the resume of a coach for a youth national team position. As an added bonus, Varas is also fluent in Spanish.

“I am excited for him,” FC Dalls and U.S. international Jesus Ferreira said on Friday. “He was a great coach. When he was here at Dallas, he would always show me little clips, five or six, after each game we had. That would always help me see what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong... it really improved my game. That is positive for young guys to increase their level. You don't want to get older and then think you were doing things right, and later learn it was wrong the whole time. That's a very positive thing he brings to the table. Having him as the U-20 national team head coach, where pretty much everyone is at a professional level now, it helps with that feedback.”

U.S. Soccer interviewed several people including FC Cincinnati Director of Player Development Larry Sunderland, LA Galaxy II head coach Junior Gonzalez, and Luchi Gonazalez. U.S. was speaking to Gonzalez as recently as earlier this week but could not agree to terms in time for a deadline. Soon after, the decision was made to offer Varas the job.

Varas has worked hard within the Dallas organization and with many of the club’s top players. It remains to be seen how Varas will handle the step to becoming a head coach but if U.S. Soccer is going to take a chance on an inexperienced coach but one that is also young and promising, Varas checks a lot of boxes as a smart hire.  

The Revelations Cup is a tough ask as most of the players are unfamiliar with each other, Varas didn’t have a hand in picking the team, and the competition is very difficult. But it should at least help him plan for a critical 2022.

Next year, Varas will not only be tasked with qualifying the team for the 2023 U-20 World Cup, but also the 2024 Olympics – which will decided at the same tournament next summer (Semifinalists qualify for the World Cup while the finalists also qualify for the Olympics). If his team is successful at ending U.S. Soccer’s Olympic drought, his personal stock will soar and he will indeed have bigger opportunities down the road.

The U.S. U 20 roster

GOALKEEPERS (2): Alexander Borto (Fulham/ENG.; South Plainfield, N.J.), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire FC.; Addison, Ill.)

DEFENDERS (7): Justin Che (FC Dallas; Richardson, Texas), Jacob Greene (D.C. United; Crofton, Md.), Kobi Henry (Orange County S.C.; Lake Forest, Calif.), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.), Kayden Pierre (Sporting Kansas City; Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Casey Walls (Mill Valley, Calif.; San Jose Earthquakes), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United F.C.; Atlanta, Ga.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls; Wayzata, Minn.), Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.), Jeremy Garay (D.C. United; Crofton, Md.), Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders F.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.), Diego Luna (El Paso Locomotive; Redwood, Calif.), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.)

FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.), Brian Gutierrez (Chicago Fire F.C.; Chicago, Ill.), Missael Rodriguez (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Malick Sanogo (1. FC Union Berlin/GER; Berlin, Germany), Dante Sealy (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Frisco, Texas), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.)

Revelations Cup schedule

• Wednesday, Nov. 10 - USA vs. Brazil - 6:00 p.m. ET
• Saturday, Nov. 13 - USA vs. Colombia - 4:30 p.m. ET
• Tuesday, Nov. 16 - USA vs. Mexico - 6:00 p.m. ET

Great starting point

Typically, previous U-20 cycles would start mostly with most players playing at youth levels at the clubs and then as the U-20 World Cup approached, a decent number of players would begin to break through at the first team club level.

This cycle is far more advanced. Many players already have substantial first team minutes and a few area already very important contributors to their clubs. Ricardo Pepi is already a starter for the U.S. national team. Kevin Paredes is a regular starter for DC United but is now injured and will miss this tournament for the U-20s and possibly the playoffs for DC United as well. Cade Cowell, Caden Clark, Gabriel Slonina, Justin Che, and the three Union players of Paxten Aaronson, Jack McGlynn, and Quinn Sullivan have all played significant minutes this season.

Obviously, more will break through throughout 2022 (and assuming the team qualifies for the U-20 World Cup) and by 2023, it will be a team the consists entirely of players who have substantial first team minutes. This is definitely the best starting point the U.S. U-20 team has ever had.

Offensive firepower

The U.S. U-20 roster is impressive on the offensive side – from the attacking midfielders, to the wingers, to the center forwards.

Paxten Aaronson and Caden Clark are very effective attacking midfielders at the starting point of a U-20 cycle. Quinn Sullivan and Jack McGlynn are versatile midfielders who can help in a number of different ways. The wings are also in great shape with Dante Sealy and Cade Cowell all playing impressive soccer (although the injury to Kevin Paredes is a big loss). Malick Sanogo is a rated forward at Union Berlin although it remains to be seen how he will adjust to older age groups after dominating the U-17 Bundesliga last season. Sanogo is the next player up after Ricardo Pepi who likely won’t play with this team (although maybe he helps this team next summer since Olympic qualifying is also on the line and senior team World Cup qualification is over at that point).

Defensive concern

Goalkeeping is solid and Gabriel Slonina is one of the most exciting young American goalkeeping prospects in a long time. He has publicly said he would be interested in playing for Poland so it is important for U.S. Soccer to keep him in the mix with the U-20 team to allow him to bond with the program.

After goalkeeping, his team’s biggest weakness is on the defensive side. Justin Che is a very good defender and probably the biggest defensive prospect on the team. He should eventually settle into central defense but at FC Dallas, he has been playing as a right back. Varas knows Che well and where he should fit at this level, but Che can only cover in so many players. He probably will play right back in this camp.

Finding a central defense combination is critical for Varas early on. It is probably his biggest task. Maybe not in this camp, but in January and March he is going to need to find a good tandem and build up its chemistry. The offense will take care of itself.

Defensive midfield will be interesting. Daniel Leyva has been a good passer with the Seattle Sounders from a deeper position but it is a question mark whether he can fill the defensive need for that position. Daniel Edelman, meanwhile, has yet to break through at the first team level with the New York Red Bulls but he has looked promising for the second team in USL. He might turn out to being an important players this cycle in shielding the backline.

What Varas will want is someone who can play like Tyler Adams – cover tons of ground in the deep part of the midfield, make intelligent runs into the attack, get a lot of touches, and shield the backline. Those players are rare, but so valuable in that they make everyone else better.

Overall thoughts

It’s a decent roster although preparing for the level of opponents that await in Mexico is tough ask. This team just hasn’t played together very much and despite solid professional minutes, this team needs to hope that the develops instant chemistry. It will be a challenge, but a nice learning experience for both Varas and the players.

The best takeaway, however, is that it is a huge boost to U.S. Soccer to have the U-20 team back. The 2003 and 2004-born age group is talented and unless they were Ricardo Pepi playing for the full national team, these players have not been able to get involved with U.S. Soccer. That has changed. If they’re successful next summer, that will open the door to the 2001 and 2002 born players to rejoin the program for the Olympics.

It has been 21 months since the last U-20 camp. This is a big step towards having the men’s side full back and firing on all cylinders.