The U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team will kick off play at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in two weeks time.
Friday saw Tab Ramos announce his 21-player roster for the tournament which includes PSG’s Timothy Weah, Freiburg’s Alex Mendez, and Hannover’s Sebastian Soto.
“I am excited for the players who will get the chance to be able to participate in a World Cup. It’s an unforgettable experience and one that they will value forever,” Ramos said. “This is always an extremely tough decision to make as a coach. There were an additional four or five players who also really deserve to go this time.”
Weah comes in after numerous senior appearances in 2018 but none to his name under new head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Several players were a part of the U-20 side that lifted the Concacaf U-20 Championship over Mexico last December.
Mendez scored a brace in the 2-0 success over El Tri and won the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament.
Ten players have current MLS ties, including FC Dallas midfielders Paxton Pomykal and Edwin Cerrillo and Philadelphia Union defenders Mark McKenzie and Matt Real.
Brady Scott and David Ochoa will be the likely goalkeepers fighting for the starting spot with C.J. Dos Santos on the outside looking in.
The U.S. U-20s were drawn with Nigeria, Qatar, and Ukraine in Group D and will open group stage play against Ukraine on May 24th in Bielsko-Biala.
Here’s the final 21-player U.S. U-20 roster:
GOALKEEPERS:C.J. Dos Santos (Benfica/POR; Foxchase, Pa.), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.), Brady Scott (Köln/GER; Petaluma, Calif.)
DEFENDERS: Sergino Dest (Ajax/NED; Almere-Stad, Netherlands), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96/GER; Montclair, N.J.), Aboubacar Keita (Richmond Kickers; Columbus, Ohio), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union; Drexel Hill, Pa.), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; Birmingham, Ala.)
MIDFIELDERS: Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Chris Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Phoenix, Ariz.), Alex Mendez (Freiburg/GER; Los Angeles, Calif.), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas)
FORWARDS: Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC/CAN; Brampton, Ont.), Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; Miami, Fla.), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; Lynwood, Calif.), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution; South Hamilton, Mass.), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96/GER; San Diego, Calif.), Tim Weah (Celtic FC/SCO; Rosedale, N.Y.)