The United States U18 Men’s National Team recently returned from Tel Aviv, Irsael, where it competed in a four-team round-robin tournament against France, Germany, and host Israel.

Mike Matkovich’s U.S. squad fell against France and Germany, 3-0 and 2-1 respectively, and finished with a scoreless draw against Israel.

“Anytime you can play France and Germany in one week, it’s going to be a good experience for the guys,” he said. “Toward the end of the week we moved along pretty well.”

For a team who hadn’t played together for a long period of time, and on which 10 members have never played internationally, Matkovich was enthused that the U.S. progressed with every game.  The loss against France was a reality check for these kids, and the draw against Israel helped their confidence going into the last match against Germany.

“A lot of being here is just the experience of being here and the exposure. You just don’t get that many games where everything you do matters,” Matkovich explained. “We were up 1-0 with 25 minutes left against Germany. If we were a team that had been playing together and for a long time, we could have gotten a point or a win.”

Matkovich also pointed out three players that stood out to him more than the rest of the team throughout the week.

GSA Phoenix defender Walker Zimmerman was named the Most Valuable Player for the United States. New York Red Bulls defender Bryan Gallego and FC Richmond Magic forward Luis Rendon also caught the attention of Matkovich.

“Those three guys had a better week and were further along than the rest,” he said.

Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler was the only player to find the back of the net for the U.S. In the 62nd minute, against Germany, he shot the ball past the German keeper from the top of the 18-yard box. It was the only time that the Americans led in any of the three matches, a period that ended when Germany tied five minutes later.

The disparity of the U18 European squads and the U.S. was apparent after this short trip. For Matkovich, it comes from the upbringing of these young players.

“What we need to get better is in the overall technical play. It’s a lot of hit or miss, and more often it’s a miss than a hit. It goes back to the environment,” he emphasized. ”And the things they have done since they were 10 years old. We have to be able to hang on to the ball more, and when that happens we rely on the technical ability of our players.”

The U18 age group might be somewhat of a group in limbo. There are no international competitions similar what the U17s or the U20s participate in, so the team’s mission focuses on the development of these players. This is the most important factor for Mattkovich and his coaching staff.

“First priority is development and giving these guys the necessary experience. Winning is not our main focus but instead we try to develop the guys for the next cycle,” he said. “We will keep pushing and going, try to keep everything in perspective. We’ll just keep going forward and develop more players.”

Starters vs. France (Courtesy of U.S. Soccer)
Goalkeeper: Andrew Wolverton;
Defenders: Boyd Okwuonu, Bryan Gallego, Walker Zimmerman, Juan Ocegueda
Midfielder: Khiry Shelton (Sean Okoli, 62), Jordan McCrary, Michael Ambrose (Will Trapp, 62), Daniel Metzger (Jonathan Top, 75), Victor Pineda (Connor Hallisey, 66)
Forwards: Luis Rendon (Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler, 66)

Starters vs. Israel (Courtesy of U.S. Soccer)
Goalkeeper: Jonathan Kempin
Defenders: Boyd Okwuonu, Walker Zimmerman, Bryan Gallego, Juan Ocegueda
Midfielders: Victor Pineda (Marcus Salandy-Defour, 78) , Jordan McCrary, Daniel Metzger (Jonathan Top, 49), Luis Rendon (8-Villyan Bijev, 80), Michael Ambrose;
Forwards: Khiry Shelton (11-Will Trapp, 57)

Starters vs. Germany (Courtesy of U.S. Soccer)
Goalkeeper: Jonathan Kempin
Defenders: Boyd Okwuonu, Jonathan Campbell, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Ambrose
Midfielders: Sean Okoli (Connor Hallisey, 54), Will Trapp (Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler, 38), Jordan McCrary, Bryan Gallego, Marcus Salandy-Defour (Khiry Shelton, 75)
Forwards: Jonathan Top (Villyan Bijev, 64)

Complete U18 MNT Roster for Israel trip – Courtesy U.S. Soccer

Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Kempin (Sporting Kansas City; Leawood, Kan.), Andrew Wolverton (Concorde Fire; Snellville, Ga.)

DEFENDERS (5): Michael Ambrose (FC Dallas Academy; Frisco, Texas), Jonathan Campbell (North Carolina Fusion; Greensboro, S.C.), Bryan Gallego (NY Red Bulls Academy; Kinnelon, N.J.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (UANL Tigres; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (FC Dallas Academy; Edmund, Okla.), Walker Zimmerman (GSA Phoenix; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Connor Hallisey (California Development Academy; Granite Bay, Calif.), Jordan McCrary (Concorde Fire; Marietta, Ga.), Daniel Metzger (NY Red Bulls Academy; Holmdel, N.J.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Marcus Salandy-Defour (DC United Academy; Kensington, Md.), Will Trapp (Columbus Crew Academy; Gahanna, Ohio), Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler (CASL Chelsea; Cary, N.C.)

FORWARDS (5): Villyan Bijev (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Sean Okoli (Seattle Sounders Academy; Federal Way, Wash.), Luis Rendon (FC Richmond Magic; Chesterfield, Va.), Khiry Shelton (Lonestar SC Academy; Leander, Texas), Jonathan Top (FC Dallas Academy; Forth Worth, Texas)