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U-18 USMNT assemble 24-man roster for April friendlies with Mexico and Canada

Mukwelle Akale

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By RYAN TOLMICH

U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Javier Perez released his roster of 24 players to participate in a domestic training camp in Carson, Calif., that includes friendlies with CONCACAF rivals Mexico and Canada.

The camp, which will run from April 4-13, will be the first action for the U-18 side since February’s Copa Atlantico in the Canary Islands.

The roster features seven players from the aforementioned tournament, including Minnesota Thunder product Mukwelle Akale, who was recognized as the tournament’s best player. The camp will also feature three newcomers to the U.S. Youth National Team setup in Patrick Jean-Giles, Stephen Payne and Mauricio Pineda.

Perez’s squad will also feature goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, son of Jurgen Klinsmann, who will join the team for the first time since participating in a U-15 Boys’ National Team camp in October 2011.

The team will face off with Canada and Mexico on April 8 and April 12 respectively, while the two opposing sides will compete the round robin with a friendly on April 10. Following the camp, the team’s next action will take place in Lisbon, Portugal when they head to May’s Lisbon International Tournament.

Here’s a closer look at the U-18 squad for their April camp:

U.S. UNDER-18 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD FOR APRIL CAMP

GOALKEEPERS (3): Christian Herrera (Real Salt Lake AZ; Las Cruces, N.M.), Jonathan Klinsmann (Irvine Strikers; Newport Beach, Calif.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; Alamo, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (8): David Chavez (De Anza Force; Redwood City, Calif.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake AZ; Tucson, Ariz.), Malcolm Jones (LA Galaxy; Chino Hills, Calif.), Quentin Pearson (Colorado Rapids; Longmont, Colo.), Pablo Pelaez (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Alex Ramos (LA Galaxy; Reseda, Calif.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Mukwelle Akale (Minnesota Thunder; Minneapolis, Minn.), Kyle Scott (Chelsea; Bristol, England), Collin Fernandez (Chicago Fire; Downers Grove, Ill.), Patrick Jean-Giles (D.C. United; Lorton, Va.), Cameron Lindley (Chicago Fire; Carmel, Ind.), Stephen Payne (Chicago Magic PSG; Birmingham, Ala.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake AZ; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Ben Swanson (Crew Soccer Academy; Grove City, Ohio), Jackson Yueill (Minnesota Thunder; Bloomington, Minn.)

FORWARDS (4): Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Sebastian Elney (Boca United; Boca Raton, Fla.), Christian Lucatero (Houston Dynamo; Pasadena, Texas), Jorge Ruiz (LA Galaxy; Mission Hills, Calif.)

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What do you think of the squad? Which player are you most excited to see? Who do you expect will be the biggest standout?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. So no follow up reporting on the match with Mexico! I really dislike half-assed coverage that doesn’t complete the news cycle. Come on Ives! no excuses.

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  2. Interesting that only 2 players are from east of Illinois, one from FL and one from OH. (I guess the Chelsea kid is too, but…)

    Did VA, NJ, NY, PA, etc. suddenly stop producing players?

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  3. Correction: “first action since they lost 3-2 to the Canary Islands.” That’s pretty pitiful, regardless of who composed the side.

    The roster seems to reflect that we are wisely letting the Germans develop the dual national youth players we will later swoop in for (Klinsmann’s kid probably grew up here and has a California youth club affiliation….interesting that he’s a GK).

    I second the comment about the domestic Palmer-Brown. He hasn’t played a minute yet for the Sporting Wizards. I’d assume Hyndman and the other guy have games remaining and some wear and tear. Those two I’m less upset about.

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  4. no Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Rubio Rubin (Utrecht), or Erik Palmer-Brown (SKC..Juve one day!)? any insight as to why not?

    looking forward to seeing Kyle Scott, Tommy Redding, and Mukwelle Akale though.

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    • No kidding. Does he have any other kids? Somebody with half the ability of JK in his prime would still be pretty darn good.

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      • A daughter who is about 13. I don’t think she is a soccer player.

        That’s the curse of being one of the best. The next generation regresses to the mean.

    • Think about it. A world class striker has a kid. And when they start playing in the yard, of course JK is going to stick him in goal so he has someone to shoot at!

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    • Here we go again. After a nationwide search, the NAT Head Coach’s son was located as a GK. Kinda reminds me of how Mikey got started.

      Also it’s amazing that not one player from the North East was selected. The closest is Virgina… SO there are no players in Maryland, NJ, PA, NY, Conn, RI, or MA huh? Wow

      Reply

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