Photo by ISIphotos.com
The 2009 Under-20 World Cup is still almost a year away but it isn’t too early to start thinking about the U.S. Under-20 team that will look to improve on the 2007 tournament performance that saw Michael Bradley, Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore lead the Americans to the quarterfinals.
U.S. Under-20 national team coach Thomas Rongen selected an 18-player roster for a training camp in Madrid in November. The list is chock full of many of the best prospects in the U.S. pipeline.
Here is the group:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Earl Edwards (San Diego, Calif.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas)
DEFENDERS (5): Gale Agbossoumonde (Syracuse, N.Y.), Anthony Arena (Kenmore, Wash.), Kyle Davies (Southampton FC), Zarek Valentin (Lancaster, Pa.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA), Gregory Garza (Sporting Lisbon), Josh Hernandez (Dallas, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Giuseppe Nazzani (Reggio Emilia, Italy)
FORWARDS (4): Vincenzo Bernardo (SSC Napoli), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles Galaxy), Abdusalam Ibrahim (Toronto FC), Jose Torres (Loros de Colima)
The group includes several intriguing prospects, including Bernardo, who is flourishing in Napoli’s youth system, and Arguez, who has been in uniform for some matches for Hertha Berlin this year. There are some less familiar names that will become very familiar in the coming years, such as Gregory Garza, Jared Jeffrey and Alfredo Morales.
The 18-player group will convene in Madrid from Nov. 15-23 and will play against area clubs. A schedule of matches is still being finalized.
What do you think of the group? Share your thoughts on the roster in the comments section below.