U.S. U20 MNT roster for Dallas Cup

by U.S. Soccer

March 14, 2016

U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos has named a 22-player roster that will compete Group A of the Gordon Jago Super Group at the 2016 Dallas Cup set to take place March 20-26. The USA begins the tournament on March 20 vs. CF Monterrey Rayados (MEX), before tackling Fulham FC (ENG) on March 21 and finishing group play against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (GER) on March 23.

The roster is made up of players, all of whom have come through U.S. Soccer’s Youth National Team program. The squad has a broad mixture of experience with 11 players currently at the collegiate level, four signed with MLS clubs, three playing with Development Academy teams and four playing professionally with club teams abroad. Four players – John Nelson, Matt Olosunde, Joshua Perez and Auston Trusty – were born in 1998, while the other 19 were born in 1997.

“The Dallas Cup will provide us a great opportunity to see all of these players in meaningful international games,” said Ramos. “We will see which players stand out and what combination of players work well together as we build towards U-20 WC Qualifying in early 2017.”

This will be the first tournament of 2016 for the U20s after holding a January training camp in Miami, Florida, where they won two matches against local club teams. Nelson, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo are the only players on the roster who did not participated in the January camp.

The Dallas Cup is the first step in the process of forming the roster for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Men’s Championship from which four teams will earn a berth to the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup from in South Korea.

The USA achieved its best tournament finish recently in 2014 by going undefeated through group play and dispatching Brazilian U-20 club side Fluminense, before advancing to the championship match, where it lost against the U-20 side of traditional Argentina power club, Rive Plate.

U.S. U-20 MNT Gordon Jago Super Group A Schedule:
March 20
U-20 MNT vs. CF Monterrey Rayados
Cotton Bowl at 6:30 p.m. CT

March 21
U-20 MNT vs. Fulham FC
Richland College at 4 p.m. CT

March 23
U-20 MNT vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
TBD

ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), James Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (8): Marcello Borges (Michigan; Kearny, N.J.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.), Aaron Herrera (New Mexico; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Andrew Lombard (Northeastern; Montclair, N.J.), John Nelson (Internationals SC; Medina, OH), Matthew Olosunde (Manchester United; Trenton, N.J.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Miles Robinson (Syracuse; Arlington, Mass.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Danilo Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, UT), Amir Bashti (Stanford; Cupertino, Calif.), Brooks Lennon (Liverpool; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Cameron Lindley (Indiana Fire; Carmel, Ind.), Joshua Perez (AFC Fiorentina; La Habra, Calif.), Eryk Williamson (Maryland; Alexandria, Va.), Jackson Yueill (UCLA, Minneapolis, Minn.)
FORWARDS (5): Jeremy Ebobisse (Duke; Bethesda, Md.), Sebastian Elney (Maryland; West Chester, Pa.), Victor Mansaray (Seattle Sounders; Des Moines, Wash.), Emmanuel Sabbi (Chicago Magic; Libertyville, Ill.), Sebastian Saucedo (Veracruz; Casa Grande, Ariz.)