Photo by John Dorton/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Richie Williams is going to be getting a nice, long look at several of the players in the Under-17 U.S. Men’s National Team pool.
Williams named two separate rosters for a pair of upcoming international competitions on Tuesday afternoon, summoning 18 players for the Open Nordic Tournament in Denmark and selecting a 20-man squad for the Copa Mexico de Naciones that starts in Mexico City.
The tournaments overlap, but four players were chosen to represent the U.S. in both of them: goalkeeper William Pulisic, defender Edwin Lara and forwards McKinze Gaines and Elijah Rice.
The Americans that were chosen for the Open Nordic Tournament begin their campaign on July 28 with a game against Denmark. The U.S. faces Norway a day later and the Faroe Islands on July 31 before closing with a placement match on Aug. 2.
Williams’ other squad opens its Copa Mexico de Naciones that same August day, going up against China PR. The U.S. follows that up with showdowns against Argentina and Paraguay on Aug. 3 and 4, respectively, and will then square off with teams that have yet to be determined on Aug. 6 and 8.
The tournament ends for the Americans with a placement match on Aug. 10.
Here are the two complete rosters that Williams has selected:
Open Nordic Tournament:
Goalkeepers (2):Â Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy Academy; Westminster, Calif.), William Pulisic (Richmond Strikers; Mechanicsville, Va.)
Defenders (6): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls Academy; Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Nikkye DePoint (Revolution Empire; Rochester, N.Y.), Edwin Lara (Juventus; San Leandro, Calif.), AJ Palazzolo (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallon, Mo.), Logan Panchot (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri; St. Louis, Mo.), Miles Stray (Real Salt Lake AZ; Point Reyes, Calif.)
Midfielders (6):Â George Braima (Crew Soccer Academy; Columbus, Ohio), Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Kyle Gurrieri (NJCSA; Totowa, N.J.), Keegan Kelly (Baltimore Celtic; Baltimore, Md.), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas Academy; Little Elm, Texas), Brian Zelaya (De Anza Force; San Mateo, Calif.)
Forwards (4):Â McKinze Gaines (Lonestar SC; Austin, Texas), Kai Koreniuk (Vitesse; Ormond Beach, Fla.), Eric Matzelevich (Bethesda-Olney; Washington, D.C.), Elijah Rice (Chicago Magic PSG; Highland Park, Ill.)
Copa Mexico de Naciones:
Goalkeepers (2):Â William Pulisic (Richmond Strikers; Mechanicsville, Va.), Kevin Silva (PDA; Bethlehem, Pa.)
Defenders (7):Â Hugo Arellano (Chivas USA Academy; Norwalk, Calif.), Daniel Barbir (West Bromwich Albion; Allentown, Pa.), Tanner Dieterich (Unattached; Nashville, Tenn.), Edwin Lara (Juventus; San Leandro, Calif.), John Nelson (Internationals; Medina, Ohio), Matthew Olosunde (New York Red Bulls Academy; Trenton, N.J.), Alexis Velela (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.)
Midfielders (5):Â Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal; Palmdale, Calif.), Luca de la Torre (Fulham; San Diego, Calif.), Thomas McCabe (PDA; South Orange, N.J.), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics; Hershey, Pa.), Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas Academy; El Paso, Texas)
Forwards (6):Â Pierre Da Silva (New York Soccer Club; Port Chester, N.Y.), McKinze Gaines (Lonestar SC; Austin, Texas), Joe Gallardo (Monterrey FC; San Diego, Calif.), Josh Perez (Unattached; La Habra, Calif.), Elijah Rice (Chicago Magic PSG; Highland Park, Ill.), Haji Wright (Unattached; Los Angeles, Calif.)
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What do you think of these rosters? Is there anyone missing from either of these squads that you feel should have been included? Which prospects are you most intrigued by?
Share your thoughts below.
As a nation we need better coaches/ managers at these youth levels. No disrespect towards Williams, much respect for him as he was a solid MLS player… but we need international experience, period…
It’s good to see that they are splitting up into more teams to compete with one another.
A good way to develop and look at more players.
Men and Women’s, soccer has plenty of talent and quality to do this.
PS Garrincha and the ghost of Frank Zappa, are looking for Pele in Montana, also Detroit, and East St.Louis.
There’s a US youth international at Juventus?
yes if you mean Juventus sport club of California
We’ve got a kid at Juventus?
No, but do have one at Barcelona and Valencia in younger age groups.
I was a little surprised by that one. If Lara is with Juventus, I think that would be breaking news, at least as far as the internet is concerned. OTOH, you’d think the USSF people would know about such things — but then again, they still have Pulisic listed with his local team.
will be fun to watch both. i’d say the team going to Mexico is the stronger of the two.
No Eric Palmer-Brown?
He may be too old?
Probably still needed by his club.
he is u-20 lol
he was fast track to the U-20 but he is also U-17… born 4/24/97…
There’s your answer, though — He’ll be playing for the U20s, not the U17s.
per his own twitter, Christian Pulisic has signed with Borussia Dortmund
so, the Euros got him for zero dollars!!…. is Pulisic a dual citizen?
Croatian passport.
When you only dress two goalkeepers, it seems like that’s an odd place to have a player doing double duty. You’re guaranteeing one of the teams will not have a backup during the overlap.
Is Haji Wright close to a move? I thought he was with the LA Galaxy Academy.
Oh, yeah. Forgot him.
he has rejected them thus far and is looking overseas.
schalke
So is that 8 from 24 from MLS academies? Kinda sad that number isn’t higher. Obviously there are some from traditional power clubs that are in the USSDA, but.
It’d be interesting to see what that number turns into if/when this team is combined into one. Also, it looks like a lot of the players not associated with an academy are in areas w/o MLS teams. Not all, but quite a few.
“Also, it looks like a lot of the players not associated with an academy are in areas w/o MLS teams. Not all, but quite a few.”
True, true
Several have been in MLS academies, but have switched or are unattached.