By AARON CRANFORD
With the 2016 Olympics a year away, the U.S. National Team is looking in their youth system to find pieces to add to the puzzle.
Andi Herzog called up 18 players into the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team camp while Tab Ramos selected 20 players for his U.S. Under-20 side. Only ten of the 20 players on the Ramos’ roster were on his side that competed in the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship months ago.
Meanwhile, Herzog’s team has a bit more experience with three of his players, including Luis Gil, Wil Trapp and Jordan Morris, having been called up to the senior side in the past. Khiry Shelton, a rookie forward for New York City FC, also received his first call-up to the U-23s.
The U-23 team will play Bosnia’s U-23 National team March 27th and then take on Denmark on March 31st. Meanwhile, the U-20 side will face the Tottenham U-21s in a closed door match on March 27 and play England’s U-21 Men’s national Team on March 29th in Plymouth, England.
Take a look at the U.S. U-23 and U-20 rosters below:
U.S. UNDER-23 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2): Charlie Horton (Cardiff City; Cleveland, Ohio), Tyler Miller (Zweibrücken; Woodbury, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (5): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Birmingham City; Concord, Mass.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Benji Joya (Chicago Fire; San Jose, Calif.), Ariel Lassiter (LA Galaxy II; Temecula, Calif.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; Gahanna, Ohio)
FORWARDS (6): Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Alfred Koroma Shams (Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC; Leander, Texas)
U.S. UNDER-20 MARCH CAMP ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jeff Caldwell (Virginia; Todd, N.C.), Thomas Olsen (University of San Diego; Las Vegas, Nev.)
DEFENDERS (6): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Conor Donovan (Orlando City SC; Fuquay-Varina, N.C.), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Desevio Payne (Groningen; Greenwood, S.C.), John Requejo (Club Tijuana; Carpinteria, Calif.).
MIDFIELDERS (6): Russell Canouse (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim; Lancaster, Pa.), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC; Glendora, Calif.), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; Santa Cruz, Calif.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Ethan Sonis (SC Freiburg; Coral Springs, Fla.), Joel Sonora (Boca Juniors; Buenos Aires, Argentina).
FORWARDS (6): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Andrija Novakovich (Reading; Muskego, Wis.), Maki Tall (Red Star; Washington, D.C.), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes; Loomis, Calif.), Dembakwi Yomba (Atlético Madrid; Lithonia, Ga.).
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What do you think of these squads? Like the inclusions of both Herzog and Ramos? Excited to see some new faces?
Share your thoughts below.