CHICAGO (Dec. 27, 2014) – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos has submitted his 35-player provisional roster for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and has gathered a group of players for one final camp before heading to Jamaica for the qualifying tournament.

The final camp will take place in Sunrise, Florida, located near Fort Lauderdale, and begins on Sunday, Dec. 28. Ramos will name the final 20-player roster on Friday, Jan. 2.

While there are 21 players in the final camp, all 35 players are available for selection to the final roster.

“I am looking forward to our last camp leading into U-20 World Cup qualifying, and there will be some very difficult selections in what we think is a very competitive, deep and united pool of players,” said Ramos. “They have performed well together over the past 18 months.”

The final camp, which will last until Monday, Jan. 5, when the U.S. leaves for Jamaica, will also set the groundwork for the team’s opening match for U-20 World Cup Qualifying against Guatemala on Friday, Jan. 9, at Independence Park in Kingston.

That match will be followed by Group A games against Panama (Jan. 11) and Aruba (Jan. 14) in Kingston, followed by games against host Jamaica (Jan. 18) and Trinidad & Tobago (Jan. 21) at the Montego Bay Sports Complex. The tournament will qualify four teams to the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

U.S. U-20 MNT’s 35-Player Provisional Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jeff Caldwell (Virginia), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg)
DEFENDERS (12): Michael Amick (UCLA), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur), Conor Donovan (N.C. State), Chase Gasper (UCLA), Luis Martir (Chivas Guadalajara), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Shaquell Moore (Unattached), Chris Odoi-Atsem (Maryland), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City), Tommy Redding (Orlando City), John Requejo (Club Tijuana), Tyler Turner (Orlando City)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Fernando Arce (Club Tijuana), Corey Baird (Stanford), Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC), Luis Felipe (Cruzeiro), Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union), Joel Soñora (CA Boca Juniors)
FORWARDS (8): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Alex Muyl (Georgetown), Andrija Novakovich (Reading), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Ben Spencer (Indy Eleven), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)

The following 21 players are currently set to join the USA in Sunrise, Florida:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg)
DEFENDERS (7): Conor Donovan (N.C. State), Chase Gasper (UCLA), Luis Martir (Chivas Guadalajara), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Shaquell Moore (Unattached), John Requejo (Club Tijuana), Tyler Turner (Orlando City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Fernando Arce (Club Tijuana), Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC), Junior Flores (Borussia Dortmund), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland)
FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Ben Spencer (Indy Eleven), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes)

The CONCACAF U-20 Championship format has changed for 2015 with two groups of six teams. Previous tournaments had featured four groups of three teams. Under the new setup, the first-place teams in Group A and Group B will automatically qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and advance to face each other in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship Final. The second- and third-place teams in each group (four teams) will be reseeded based on group-stage results. In this playoff stage, the top seed will play the No. 4 seed and the second seed will face the No. 3 seed. The two winners from these respective games will also qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

This year marks the 25th occasion in which the U.S. U-20 MNT is competing in the CONCACAF Youth Tournament or Championship. The USA has earned second place in the qualification tournament six times (1980, 1982, 1986, 1992, 2009, 2013), but has yet to win a CONCACAF U-20 Championship title.

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