By FRANCO PANIZO
The talent was evident, but so too were the surprise decisions.
U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos revealed on Thursday morning 20 of the 21 players he will take to New Zealand later this month for the U-20 World Cup. Ramos called in a strong team of mostly professionals who will look to maneuver out of a manageable Group A, a team that includes promising prospects like Fulham midfielder Emerson Hyndman and SC Freiburg goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
Leaving one spot open might seem odd, but not when U.S. Soccer is still in the midst of a waiting game with FIFA over the eligibility of Arsenal prodigy Gedion Zelalem. Rosters do not have to be officially submitted until May 15, so Ramos can hold off until the very last second to decide on whether he makes Zelalem that 21st player or, as has been reported, someone like Philadelphia Union midfielder Zach Pfeffer.
As loaded as the U.S. roster is even without Zelalem’s inclusion, there were a few talented casualties for whom a case could be made. Midfielders Romain Gall of the Columbus Crew and Borussia Dortmund’s Junior Flores surprisingly failed to make the cut despite their constant roles throughout this U-20 cycle and in January’s far from smooth but ultimately successful World Cup qualifying campaign.
Gall was arguably the bigger omission of the two. He not only led the U.S. in scoring during the qualifying campaign in Jamaica en route to making the tournament’s Best XI, but also netted the winner in last month’s friendly victory against Croatia.
But Ramos may have left Gall off the World Cup roster because of how the midfielder struggled at times during the run of play in qualifying. Gall scored a joint-tournament-high five goals, but three of those came from the penalty spot, and three of them were netted in a rout of lowly Aruba. The stretches of rough play may have been too much for Ramos to overlook, especially with midfielder Jordan Allen now healthy again and earning minutes at Real Salt Lake.
Flores’ absence could be explained similarly. He had a rough time in qualifying, failing to make much of an impact when used as a starter. Flores never really imposed himself on the other teams, and that inability to produce saw him fall out of the lineup and quite possibly out of the World Cup picture.
There were other notable omissions from Thursday’s announced squad, such as Reading forward Andrija Novakovich, Orlando City centerback Conor Donovan and Club Tijuana attacker Amando Moreno. The former is reportedly not being released by Reading for the tournament — FIFA does not mandate clubs to release players for the U-20 World Cup — and the latter two seem to have missed out purely due to the amount of talent in the pool.
As for the the actual squad that is heading to New Zealand, there are not many weaknesses. Size isn’t something the team has in abundance but the U.S. boasts impressive prospects and versatility throughout the field, including in defense where the projected center back duo of Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham) is complemented by a U.S. newbie like Desevio Payne (FC Groningen), who can play anywhere across the back line.
The U.S. is even more talented in the midfield and up top, especially with the addition of FC Utrecht and U.S. senior team forward Rubio Rubin. There’s a healthy balance of different options, including FC Dallas’ versatile Kellyn Acosta, LA Galaxy wunderkind Bradford Jamieson, Boca Juniors midfielder Joel Sonora, and technical San Jose Earthquakes winger Tommy Thompson.
Overall, Ramos’ roster is strong and should have no real problem getting out of a group that includes Myanmar, New Zealand and Ukraine. Reaching the knockout phase of the World Cup and trying to make a deep run should be the goal, as anything less than that with this pool of talent would be severely disappointing.