The U.S. Under-20 men’s national team continues its preparation for a busy summer with a pair of international friendlies at the end of March.
Justin Che, Kevin Paredes, and Caden Clark headline Mikey Varas’ 20-player roster for matches in Argentina against Argentina’s Under-20 national team and Primera Division side River Plate on March 26 and 29th respectively. It will be the third camp in the Varas-era as head coach and serve as preparation for this summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship.
Ten players have been a part of both of the first two camps this cycle, while two are making their first appearance with the team (Chris Brady, Kevin Paredes). Several MLS clubs are represented in the squad with the Philadelphia Union, Seattle Sounders, and New York Red Bulls all having players chosen.
Six players will look to pick up their first U-20 international caps in Argentina after 14 made their debuts at the Revelations Cup. Che, Paredes, Clark, and Henry all earned senior call-ups in 2021, but did not feature in friendly matches under senior head coach Gregg Berhalter.
The USMNT U-20’s will face Canada, Cuba, and Saint Kitts and Nevis in group stage play later this summer in Honduras.
Here is a closer look at the full roster:
GOALKEEPERS): Alexander Borto (Fulham/ENG; South Plainfield, N.J.; 1/0), Christopher Brady (Chicago Fire FC; Naperville, Ill.; 0/0)
DEFENDERS): Justin Che (Hoffenheim/GER; Richardson, Texas; 3/0), Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 0/0), Mauricio Cuevas (Club Brugge/BEL; Los Angeles, Calif.; 0/0), Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy; Santa Clarita, Calif.; 0/0), Kobi Henry (Orange County; Lake Forest, Calif.; 2/0), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.; 3/0), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United; Atlanta, Ga.; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS): Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.; 2/0), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls; Wayzata, Minn.; 2/1), Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.; 2/0), Diego Luna (El Paso Locomotive; Redwood, Calif.; 2/1), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.; 2/0), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.; 2/0), Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders; Anchorage, Alaska)
FORWARDS: Brian Gutierrez (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.; 3/0), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Va.; 0/0), Dante Sealy (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Frisco, Texas; 2/0), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 1/0)
Alaska represent! Man, the US pulling from ALL fifty states these days…
That kid must be very athletic, the soccer season in Alaska is pretty short. When my son’s team form NJ played in a big mid July tournament in Minnesota, While he did not play a team from Alaska, we did share some housing with one. When talking to the coach, I learned that they were just 5 or 6 weeks into their season. My son’s team had been playing outdoors since late February or roughly 24 weeks.