If it’s a new year, that means it’s camping time. US Soccer on Monday released the 36 names called in by Tab Ramos for the first US Under-20 men’s national team camp of the year, held from Monday until Jan. 9 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Re-joining the team are six players who participated in Ramos’ first camp in charge in November in Duisberg, Germany: Vancouver’s Omar Salgado (above), Real Salt Lake’s Luis Gil, recently signed LA Galaxy Home Grown product Jose Villarreal and Europe-based trio Sean Cunningham, Tyrone McCargo and Caleb Stanko.
Ramos’ roster also includes Galaxy forward Jack McBean, as well as another five MLS Academy products. Other notable names include Liverpool academy forward Villyan Bijev (on loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf of the 2.Bundesliga) and Tigres UANL academy products Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Uvaldo Luna Martinez and Daniel Medina Meza.
In total, the roster features 14 current professionals – four from MLS, four based in Europe, six in Mexico. The squad also features nine players who are current USSF Development Academy players, 17 Academy alumni and 15 college players.
Ramos is preparing the squad for the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup qualifying tournament, which will likely begin in early 2013. The World Cup will be held in Turkey in 2013, and every player on the roster is age-eligible for the competition.
FULL US UNDER-20 ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (4): Jesus Guzman (Santos Laguna; Dallas), Daniel Medina Meza (Tigres UANL; El Paso, Texas), Tyler Miller (Northwestern Univ.; Woodbury, N.J.), Andrew Wolverton (Penn State; Snellville, Ga.).
DEFENDERS (12): Bolu Akinyonde (Seton Hall Univ.; Brooklyn, N.Y.), Mikey Ambrose (FC Dallas Academy; Frisco, Texas), A.J. Cochran (Univ. of Wisconsin; St. Louis), Sean Cunningham (Molde FK; Troy, Mich.), Phanuel Kavita (Clemson Univ.; Salt Lake City), Eric Miller (Creighton Univ.; Woodbury, Minn.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Tigres UANL; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (Univ. of North Carolina; Edmund, Okla.), Jalen Robinson (D.C. United Academy; Cantonsville, Md.), Matt Wendelken (Marist College; Massapequa, N.Y.), DeAndre Yedlin (Univ. of Akron; Seattle), Walker Zimmerman (Furman Univ.; Lawrenceville, Ga.).
MIDFIELDERS (12): Seth Casiple (Univ. of California; Rocklin, Calif.), Daniel Cuevas Granados (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), Hector Delgado Cha (Club América; Indio, Calif.), Christian Duarte (Texans SC Houston; League City, Texas), Daniel Garcia (FC Dallas Academy; Dallas), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Flavio Guzman (FC Dallas Academy; Dallas), Collin Martin (D.C. United Academy; Chevy Chase, Md.), Tyrone McCargo (FC Nürnberg; Nürnberg, Germany), Caleb Stanko (SC Freiburg; Holly, Mich.), Wil Trapp (Univ. of Akron; Gahanna, Ohio), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.).
FORWARDS (8): Villyan Bijev (Fortuna Düsseldorf; Fresno, Calif.), Amadou Dia (Clemson Univ.; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Alfred Koroma (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Texas), Duke Lacroix (Univ. of Pennsylvania; New Egypt, N.J.), Uvaldo Luna Martinez (Tigres UANL; Houston), Jack McBean (LA Galaxy; Newport Beach, Calif.), Sean Okoli (Wake Forest Univ.; Federal Way, Wash.), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps; El Paso, Texas).
