U.S. names final squad for Under-20 World Cup
The U-20 World Cup runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 16 and the U.S. plans to put on a strong showing.
Thomas Rongen, the coach of the U-20 squad, has named the 21 players he plans on bringing to the tournament, a process that he says has taken over two years to complete.
"It's a culmination of two years of investing and looking at players through a good training environment and playing high level games and trying to figure out which 21 eventually would represent the United States well in Egypt.," said Rongen, who will be at the helm of his third U-20 World Cup squad, in a press release. "It's a long process and the coaches take great pride in making sure we select the right players, and we have come to the conclusion that the 21 players we have selected are the guys that will do a great job for our team."
The U.S. team will depart for Larnaca, Cyprus, on Sept. 14 and play a final tune-up against Australia before traveling to Suez, Egypt, on Sept. 21.
The U.S. will open against Germany on Sept. 26 before facing Cameroon on Sept. 29 and rounding out group play against South Korea on Oct. 2.
All three of the U.S.' group matches will be played at the brand new Mubarak Stadium in Suez.
All of the U.S. games will be featured on ESPN networks.
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Defenders: Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)
Midfielders: Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)
Forwards: Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.) --Goal.com
