U-20 Update
Villarreal, Yedlin, Joya Headline U-20 Camp Roster
United States U-20 soccer coach Tab Ramos named 24 players to an April training camp ahead of this summer's youth World Cup competition. It's a potent collection of young American talent.
In preparation for this summer’s U-20 World Cup, U.S. under-20 men’s national team head coach Tab Ramos has assembled a 24-man roster currently engaged in a week-long training camp at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Among the names released are several veterans of the squad who finished runner-up in the recent U-20 CONCACAF Championships. This includes the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Jose Villarreal, Sporting KC’s Mikey Lopez, Colorado Rapids’ Dillon Serna, Columbus Crews’ Wil Trapp, and the Santos Laguna pair of Benji Joya and Daniel Cuevas.
The most striking invite of the group is certainly Seattle Sounders defender DeAndre Yedlin. Currently in the midst of a breakout freshman campaign, the 19-year old homegrown product was last called by Ramos in January 2012. Since securing a place in Sigi Schmid’s starting XI he has rocketed up the depth chart with his stellar play and performed well for the Emerald City faithful.
Other notable inclusions to the roster are Molde’s Sean Cunningham, Akron commit Alfred Koroma, and Jeffrey Payeras, a former LA Galaxy academy prospect who is currently featuring for C.D.S Municipal in Guatemala. All three have been previously called by Ramos, but have not featured for the squad since early in the cycle.
The striking tandem of Victor Pineda and Omar Salgado will also attend the camp. Both were recovering from injuries during the squad’s World Cup qualification campaign.
University of Louisville midfielder Marlon Hairston, Seattle Sounders academy product Jordan Morris, and FC Dallas’ Kellyn Acosta, will all be attending their first under-20 camp.
Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton FC; Maple Grove, Minn.), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Rosa, Calif.) DEFENDERS (8): AJ Cochran (Wisconsin; St. Louis, Mo.), Sean Cunningham (Molde FK; Troy, Mich.), Eric Miller (Creighton; Woodbury, Minn.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (C.D. Guadalajara; Riverside, Calif.), Jeffrey Payeras (C.S.D. Municipal; Hawthorne, Calif.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Javan Torre (UCLA; Santa Monica, Calif.), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.) MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; Plano, Texas), Marlon Hairston (Louisville; Jackson, Miss.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Mikey Lopez (Sporting Kansas City; Mission, Texas), Collin Martin (Wake Forest; Chevy Chase, Md.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew; Gahanna, Ohio) FORWARDS (7): Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), Daniel Garcia (North Carolina; Dallas, Texas), Alfred Koroma (Akron; Southlake, Texas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders Academy; Mercer Island, Wash.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps; El Paso, Texas), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.) The U-20 World Cup will take place from June 21-July 13 in Turkey. Who on this list excites you the most? Did Ramos leave anybody off who deserves to be in camp? Give your take in the Comments section below. Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton FC; Maple Grove, Minn.), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Rosa, Calif.) DEFENDERS (8): AJ Cochran (Wisconsin; St. Louis, Mo.), Sean Cunningham (Molde FK; Troy, Mich.), Eric Miller (Creighton; Woodbury, Minn.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (C.D. Guadalajara; Riverside, Calif.), Jeffrey Payeras (C.S.D. Municipal; Hawthorne, Calif.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Javan Torre (UCLA; Santa Monica, Calif.), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.) MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; Plano, Texas), Marlon Hairston (Louisville; Jackson, Miss.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Mikey Lopez (Sporting Kansas City; Mission, Texas), Collin Martin (Wake Forest; Chevy Chase, Md.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew; Gahanna, Ohio) FORWARDS (7): Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), Daniel Garcia (North Carolina; Dallas, Texas), Alfred Koroma (Akron; Southlake, Texas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders Academy; Mercer Island, Wash.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps; El Paso, Texas), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.) The U-20 World Cup will take place from June 21-July 13 in Turkey. Who on this list excites you the most? Did Ramos leave anybody off who deserves to be in camp? Give your take in the Comments section below. Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.
