Image Credit: Matt Ralph

The U.S. Men’s National Team announced its World Cup roster last week. The 2022 edition of the tournament kicks off on November 20, with the first U.S. game set for the day after.

Gregg Berhalter’s 26-player roster pulls from players with a variety of development backgrounds. Many have been covered by TopDrawerSoccer over the past decade and beyond.

Eight players have experience playing Division I men’s soccer; 15 of the 26 competed at a youth World Cup for the United States. Four grew up and were developed at clubs abroad. Sixteen played in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy; twelve played for U.S.-based professional academies.

Ahead of the World Cup, TDS dives into the development background of each player on the World Cup roster. Below is part one looking at each player.

M Brenden Aaronson
Current Club: Leeds United
Youth National Team Experience: U15
Youth Club: Philadelphia Union

The Medford, New Jersey native is an example of how varied development pathways can be. Despite being born in 2000 – which made him age-eligible for the 2017 World Cup – U.S. youth callups eluded him. After joining the Union Academy, he even committed to Indiana(m), eventually opting to turn pro ahead of the 2019 season. After playing for the Bethlehem Steel (Philly's USL side), that set him on course for moves to Salzburg, Leeds United and a spot on the World Cup team.

Aaronson scored a brace in 2017 at the Generation adidas Cup.

M Kellyn Acosta
Current Club: LAFC
Youth National Team Experience: U14, U15, U17 World Cup (2011), U18, U20 World Cup (2013, 2015)
Youth Club: FC Dallas/IMG Academy Residency

Part of the Residency Program down at IMG Academy and star at FC Dallas in the Development Academy, Acosta’s been a mainstay at various levels of the U.S. youth national team setup. At one point committed to Maryland, he signed with FC Dallas in 2012, going on to make more than 100 appearances before leaving for the Colorado Rapids. Acosta won MLS Cup with LAFC this season.

M Tyler Adams
Current Club: Leeds United (ENG)
Youth National Team Experience: U14, U15, U17 World Cup (2015), U18, U20 World Cup (2017)
Youth Club: New York Red Bulls/IMG Academy Residency

Joining the New York Red Bulls Academy back in 2011, Adams became one of the first players to prove the concept of moving a player directly from academy, MLS and over to Europe. Adams is one of four players from the 2015 U17 World Cup roster to get called into Qatar, as he was part of the Residency Program for that cycle. Adams is now a regular for Leeds United in the Premier League, anchoring Jesse Marsch’s midfield.

D Cameron Carter-Vickers
Current Club: Celtic FC (SCO)
Youth National Team Experience: Under-20 World Cup (2015), U23
Youth Club: Tottenham (ENG)

Part of the quartet of players to be born and grow up overseas, Carter-Vickers has been part of the U.S. youth setup since 2014. Coming through the Tottenham Academy in London, he was part of U18 national team camps and played for the United States at the U20 World Cup. After seven different loans out from Spurs, Carter-Vickers found a home last season at Celtic, joining the Scottish powerhouse this summer.

M Luca de la Torre
Current Club: Celta Vigo (ESP)
Youth National Team Experience: U14, U15, U17 World Cup (2015), U20 World Cup (2017)
Youth Club: Nomads SC/San Diego Surf/Fulham FC (ENG)

Armed with a Spanish passport, the SoCal native was able to move to London and join Fulham’s Academy. Along the way, he was a regular callup into U.S. youth camps, part of the World Cups for his age group (1998). It took him a decent amount of time to find his feet at the first-team level, moving to Heracles in the Eredivisie in 2020. De la Torre moved to Celta Vigo this summer, where he’s yet to breakthrough with the first team.

D Sergino Dest
Current Club: AC Milan (ITA)
Youth National Team Experience: U17 World Cup (2017), U20 World Cup (2019)
Youth Club: Ajax

Growing up in the Netherlands, Dest popped onto the U.S. radar ahead of the 2017 Under-17 World Cup cycle. He played in two straight youth World Cups, moving from Ajax to FC Barcelona in the process. This summer, he was loaned out to AC Milan where he’s been fighting for minutes ahead of the World Cup.

F Jesus Ferreira
Current Club: FC Dallas
Youth National Team Experience: U17, U23
Youth Club: FC Dallas

Born in Colombia, Ferreira moved to Dallas when his father David signed with the MLS side. Emerging from the academy, he signed with the team in 2017. The forward earned his U.S. citizenship in 2019, though had been called into previous U.S. youth camps (not an uncommon occurrence). The 21-year-old is coming off a Best XI season in MLS, scoring 18 goals and notching six assists. 

A Jesus Ferreira goal from 2016 in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs.