Eleven players from Major League Soccer have been named to the U.S. U-20 national team's 21-man roster for this summer's FIFA Under-20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Canada from June 30 to July 22. Head coach Thomas Rongen selected players from seven different MLS teams on Friday that will face Korea Republic, Poland and Brazil in Group D opening-round matches.
"We looked at about 80 players and narrowed it down to 21," said Rongen. "We feel that through playing games in qualifying and through camps, that we have a good handle on this age group and that we've made some great selections for this team to go forward and hopefully do something special during the World Cup."
Real Salt Lake midfielder Freddy Adu leads the MLS contingent, as the fourth-year professional will be taking part in his third U-20 world championship. He will become only the second player ever to accomplish that feat behind Saudi Arabia's Al Roomi (1985-1989). Adu will be joined on the roster by RSL goalkeeper Chris Seitz. Seitz has made two appearances with the RSL first team this season in his rookie campaign.
The Columbus Crew, who are coached by former U.S. U-20 head coach Sigi Schmid, will provide the greatest number of players to the roster of any MLS team, sending three players north of the border. Defender Tim Ward, midfielder Danny Szetela and forward Robbie Rogers have each been called up for the tournament.
FC Dallas will send two players to the U.S. camp, which is set to open Sunday in New Jersey. Midfielder Dax McCarty, who has played in all of the Hoops' 13 games so far this season will be accompanied by fellow FCD man Anythony Wallace. The developmental player has yet to see action for Dallas' first team in his rookie season.
D.C. United's Bryan Arguez, who was selected by the Black-and-Red with the 11th overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, is in the same boat. He has been called up by Rongen to take part in the tournament though he has yet to crack the D.C. lineup thus far. The same can be said for New England Revolution forward Amaechi Igwe, who made five appearances for the U-20s in 2006 before joining the Revs this year.
Completing the MLS contingent is a pair of players experienced both at the youth national team level and in the U.S. top flight. Defender Nathan Sturgis has made 23 appearances for the Los Angeles Galaxy over the last two seasons, while New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore has burst on the MLS scene six goals since joining the first team late last season. Altidore is the youngest player on the U.S. U-20 roster at just 17.
The USA will begin their World Cup quest on June 30 when they take on Korea in Montreal. They will then face Poland on July 3, also at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, before heading to Ottawa to face Brazil on July 6.
The 24-team field is divided into six groups of four, with the top two teams from each group and the top four (of six) third-place teams advancing to the round-of-16. The championship match is set to take place July 22 at the home of Toronto FC, BMO Field.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
Roster by position
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brian Perk (UCLA), Steve Sandbo (SMU), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (6): Tony Beltran (UCLA), Amaechi Igwe (New England Revolution), Ofori Sarkodie (Indiana University), Nathan Sturgis (Columbus Crew), Julian Valentin (Wake Forest), Tim Ward (Columbus Crew)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Freddy Adu (Real Salt Lake), Bryan Arguez (D.C. United), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Dax McCarty (F.C. Dallas), Danny Szetela (Columbus Crew), Anthony Wallace (F.C. Dallas)
FORWARDS (6): Andre Akpan (Harvard), Josmer Altidore (N.Y. Red Bulls), Gabriel Ferrari (Sampdoria), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Johann Smith (Bolton F.C.), Sal Zizzo (UCLA)
