Luis Gil, Jose Villarreal, Marc Pelosi and Benji Joya were among the bigger names called up by Tab Ramos on Monday to the latest US Under-20 squad.
The US continue their efforts to qualify for their first U-20 World Cup since 2009, and the 19 names picked by Ramos will gather for friendly matches against Canada, Scotland and Azerbaijan as part of the Marbella Cup in Spain from Oct. 6-17.
Real Salt Lake midfielder Gil (above) and LA Galaxy Homegrown striker Villarreal are among four representatives from Major League Soccer; the others are FC Dallas Homegrown striker Jonathan Top and recently signed Colorado Rapids Homegrown midfielder/defender Shane O’Neill.
That quartet is among 10 US-based players. Three come from Mexican clubs, including Joya of Santos Laguna, fellow Santos academy product Daniel Cuevas and Juan Pablo Ocegueda of Tigres UANL.
Pelosi, the highly touted midfielder who signed for Liverpool last November, will join his first U-20 camp after his run with the US at last year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup. He’s joined on this roster by World Cup teammates Kendall McIntosh and Mario Rodriguez.
US UNDER-20 SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS (2): Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Zackary Steffen (FC Delco Academy; Downington, Pa.).
DEFENDERS (7): John Anthony Brooks (Hertha BSC; Berlin), Eric Miller (Creighton; Woodbury, Minn.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Tigres UANL; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (North Carolina; Edmund, Okla.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Birmingham City FC; Concord, Mass.), Walker Zimmerman (Furman; Lawrenceville, Ga.).
MIDFIELDERS (5): Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Mikey Lopez (North Carolina; Mission, Texas), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool FC; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Caleb Stanko (SC Freiburg; Holly, Mich.).
FORWARDS (5): Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin), Mario Rodriguez (FC Kaiserslautern; North Hollywood, Calif.), Jonathan Top (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.)
