The U.S. Under-20 men’s national team is only one week away from kicking off play at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras and new head coach Mikey Varas now has his final roster for the tournament.
Cade Cowell, Caden Clark, Quinn Sullivan, and Obed Vargas headline the 20-player roster for this summer’s tournament, which will kick off on June 18. Vargas will join the team following the three-match group stage while Alexander Borto, Jaziel Orozco, Jackson Hopkins and Tarun Karumanchi will train with the team before departing ahead of the group stage.
Both Clark and Cowell have previous experience with Gregg Berhalter’s senior national team, with Cowell making his senior debut in December 2021. Alejandro Alvarado Jr. is the lone player receiving his first USMNT U-20 call-up while every other player on the roster has featured in at least one training camp since November 2021.
The Concacaf U-20 Championship will serve as qualification into the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics. This tournament will be Varas’ first as head coach of the USMNT U-20’s and the first competitive action for many of the players in the squad.
The Americans will face off with Canada, Cuba, and Saint Kitts and Nevis in group stage play in Honduras, opening against Saint Kitts and Nevis on June 18 in San Pedro Sula.
Here is a closer look at the USMNT U-20 roster:
U.S. Under-20 men’s national team roster
GOALKEEPERS: Chris Brady, Antonio Carrera.
DEFENDERS: Noah Allen, Brandan Craig, Mauricio Cuevas, Marcus Ferkranus, Michael Halliday, Jalen Neal.
MIDFIELDERS: Paxten Aaronson, Alejandro Alvarado Jr, Caden Clark, Daniel Edelman, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, Rokas Pusktas, Nikolas Tsakiris, Obed Vargas.
FORWARDS: Cade Cowell, Quinn Sullivan, Tyler Wolff.
Very important tournament. The two finalists are chosen for the Olympics.
A little light on CBs and CFs. Concacaf again missed the chance to have its biggest youth players involved by scheduling a youth championship outside of a FIFA window. Teams technically wouldn’t have had to release anyway but you would have had more. Add in the truly bizarre knockout set up where every quarterfinal is likely to be a rematch of the top 2 teams in each group a week after facing off in the group stage.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a FIFA window or not. Clubs don’t have to release for youth tournaments.
I know it doesn’t officially matter but teams would have been more inclined especially MLS that was on break these last two weeks. That would have given you Wiley, Slonina, Gutierrez. Euro clubs might have allowed players if it wasn’t running into the start of training Sealy, Paredes, Che.