photo by ISIphotos.com
by FRANCO PANIZO
Jack McInerney, Stefan Jerome and Luis Gil headline the U-20 national team roster released by head coach Thomas Rongen for the first U-20 camp of the 2011 cycle.
The roster also includes defender Gale Agbossomounde and midfielder Dillon Powers, both of whom played in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt earlier this year. Midfielder Sebastian Lletget, who missed out on the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria back in the fall, was also called up.
The camp will be held in Chula Vista, California and will run from Dec. 16 to Dec. 23.
Here is the full roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Earl Edwards (Nomads SC), Justin Luthy (Boston College), Spencer Richey (Crossfire Premier)
DEFENDERS: Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC), Paolo Del Piccolo (Louisville), Moises Hernandez (FC Dallas Juniors), Zachary Herold (West Pines United), Perry Kitchen (Chicago Magic), Tyler Polak (CSA Legacy), Kofi Sarkodie (Akron), Zarek Valentin (Akron), Jared Watts (North Meck SC; Statesville, N.C.), Ethan White (Maryland), Cesar Zamora (Chivas USA), Eriq Zavaleta (FC Pride)
MIDFIELDERS: Jose Altamirano (San Diego State), Christian Castaneda (Hertha Berlin), Marlon Duran (Latino Americana), Luis Gil (Pateadores), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United), Andrew Lubahn (Wake Forest), Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Jrs.), Colin Murphy (Boston College), Amobi Okugo (UCLA), Will Packwood (Birmingham City), Nicholas Palodichuk (Washington Premier FC), Fabrice Picault (Cagliari Calcio), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame)
FORWARDS: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Will Bates (Virginia), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles Galaxy), Victor Chavez (Real So Cal), Ryan Finley (Duke), Stefan Jerome (West Pines United), Jack McInerney (Cobb SC), Dominick Sarle (BW Gottschee)
What do you think of this roster? Surprised by anyone's inclusion? Anyone else you would have like to seen called up?
Share your thoughts below.
It’s nice to see some players that are attached to pro clubs. Hopefully that number continues to grow.
he’s not well known but erik benjaminson (17) from stabaek would have been a good call-up
well colombians are usually good tacticianists as coaches. rongen is dutch but americanized which is y he sucks.
This is just the beginning of the cycle. I’m sure they’ll get looks.
It is terribly sad for the players that Rongen is still in charge. See earlier comment.
Rongen and Sunil both cruelly blamed the US players for the results. Paraphrase, they the US players can’t compete with the big soccer nations. They made this comment before big soccer nations Korea, and Switzerland kicked some butt.
Why would you want this man coaching our youth?
Because he managed a US team that played the prettiest football people who have ever seen a US team play.
im glad he was brought… i would have like it if he got some time with the U17’s, but glad to see he’s getting some looks at the U20’s so early…
true, since he’s young he’s more likely to heal quicker, but it was truly unfortunate he’s been so injured. Once healthy im sure we’ll see more of this kid. He’s quite the talent and loads are rather high on him
it is early in the cycle.
on top of that there has been a couple fire players brought into the U17’s over the past couple months…
either way the academies are young and will take some time before they can truly develop young professionals. Though NJRB and FCD have proven this false. Perhaps they are better at scouting talent
Rongen has to evaluate talent from all across the world. 2011 is the next WC, so he’s got less then 2 yrs to figure out who is the best U20’s and figure out who has the best chemistry together.
lol, wow, are you really asking this so early in the cycle??
you do not focus on current 19-20 yr olds at this point b/c they wont be available come U20’s.
this squad looks quite impressive, dont know if you actually follow youth nats
agreed, this kid has his head on straight. Hopefully he continues to impress and grow at Cagliari
I’m glad WILL PACKWOOD made the squad. He’s a midlands boy who really packs heat.
Ok, stupid question. Are the U-20’s actually playing any friendlies after this camp?
Like a boss
Gale what? That’s a ridiculous name. Can’t he just shorten it to Monde or Boss
In fact, he only missed out being age eligible for the U-17’s by a month or so. He is a child in a man’s body.
I’d still like to see Gyau included. I wasn’t impressed with our strikers in Nigeria.
I think our defense should be stellar, and I think Edwards has lots of potential in goal. The midfield could be another strength with Gil, Duran, Powers, Palodichuk, joined by Lletget and Picault. However, this team will still struggle to score, unless the strikers really make a big step-up in the level of their play. By all accounts, Gyau has the goods…
Kind of crazy actually. Son of a honduran immigrant father and amish mother. talk about having a diverse pool of players.
Awsome player. Unreal for a freshman, but you never know what is going to happen.
Having 2 ACL tears and surgical repairs doesn’t bode well for anyone, regardless of age. In this case, his youth is on his side….
My bad — I thought Gale Agbossoumonde was older. If I’d known he was a 17 yr. old kid, I would have been less harsh in assessing his play for the last edition of hte U20s.
On Charles Renken; It doesn’t bode well for him that he’s constantly injured at such a young age. One of the reasons Preki was around for so long was that he was almost always healthy. I hope he doesn’t become another John O’Brien.
where is freddy adu??.. Joking!.. but kind of not…
Fischy and Yossarian,
From US Soccer:
“The camp is the first for Rongen that is made up exclusively of players born in 1991 or later, making them age-eligible for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. ”
just like the U17 tournament the US just played – actually all guys eligible for U17’s in 2011. Early prep, a chance to see some guys play, not a big deal, IMO.
For those wanting to fire Rongen because of this (as opposed to his previous transgressions that have you all fired up), get a life. It’s an early camp which says very little about who will be on the U20 team in 2 years.
I find the youth camps to be a good yardstick to measure MLS youth academies. No one from DC UTD & Fire? Two academies that are said to take a more serious approach.
It will probably be years before we see more MLS developed players compared to the traditional youth clubs and college teams.
huh.
Welcome back, Sebastien.
He was a better player. For a foreign country that doesn’t really do any better than we do in international competitions.
Mostly, I’m surprised that there is a U20 camp. When’s the next U20 Cup? It’s a curious assemblage. Some good young players, and some who will be too old to play in the next round….
i was as unimpressed with the U-20’s and Rongen as everyone else but after watching th U-17 tournament I’m really perplexed at the infatuation with Cabrera. I’m not calling for his head or anything but I didn’t see anything from his team (besides Luis Gil having a few moments of trickery) that made me recognize him as a vastly superior coach to Rongen or even Bradley which I had heard before the U-17 world cup. I’m NOT trying to sully the guy, as I’m not familiar enough with all of his work to make a real evaluation of the guy, but I do want to know (this is not sarcastic) what other work he’s done that has given him a level of respect above Rongen (for most) and for Bradley (a very select few)
Interesting question….
I saw Roengen a couple of days after the failure in Egypt. Really wanted to ask him about that….
Speaking of Van Persie — I got a kick out of reading the description on Verizon’s channel guide for the Arsenal-Liverpool match. Someone wanted to do more than just list the teams and stadium for once — I guess to show off. So, there’s mention there of how Torres will hope to help Liverpool regain form after disappointment in Champions League — but, the description starts out by saying “Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie”…. I guess the writer didn’t know he’s had ankle ligament surgery.
I’m hoping he doesn’t “except”. However, if he accepts the invitation (and, I”m assuming he already did, or else his name would not have been released), I’ll be quite pleased.
Not sure what hassle you mean. Calling him to ask if he’s interested?
Rather, who is Justin Irias? A cursory google search suggests a freshman high school kid in Ohio. Should we be more familiar with him? Even if he was an amazing diamond in the rough, probably a bit too young.
At first glance, the team looks pretty weak. If the headliners are 3 guys from the U-17 team that did not look very good in the recent cup, doesn’t that bode ill? There’s no one in the 18-20 range that’s better?
I think captions on photos are always a good idea.
Where is Justin Irias?
Next to mi casa. I will be there with a “FIRE RONGEN” sign! He sucks!
My read is that this is the list of attendees, not the list of the invitees. I have never seen ussoccer.com publish a preliminary list.
Wait where is Gyau or Alex Molano we dont need Chavez or Powers switch them!
I would have really liked to see Cabrera graduate up to the U-20s and find someone new to take over the U-17s…but maybe it’ll be better to have Cabrera developing the youngest possible players.
Is there any assurance he’ll except (Lletget)? I don’t really know enough about the kid to even know if he’s worth the hassle.
How does Rongen still have a job……
Will these lads play any games, or is this just a training session?
Tyler Polak is a good left back prospect. Sebastian Lletget reminds me of Robin Van Persie for some reason.
Is Renken still injured?
Renken still Injured huh too bad but I see cant wait to see how well Luis Gil will start to mature as a player.I bet we can do well next U-20 World cup
Ah good Picault from Cagliari was called in.
With the invitation of Lletget, hopefully everyone will breathe a temporary sigh of relief?
Does anyone know anything about Castaneda (at Hertha?)?