Young up-and-coming stars headlined the 24-man roster named on Monday by Tab Ramos ahead of this month's US Under-20 national team camp as the squad ramps up for this summer's U-20 World Cup.
As he told MLSsoccer.com last month, Seattle Sounders right back DeAndre Yedlin returns to the US fold as one of seven MLS Homegrown signings to headline the squad, including LA Galaxy striker Jose Villarreal – who helped the U-20s qualify for the World Cup with their second-place finish at last month's CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Vancouver Whitecaps forward Omar Salgado also returns for the first time since suffering the first of two broken foot injuries last spring.
Other MLS-based players summoned for the camp include Sporting Kansas City rookie midfielder Mikey Lopez, and a quintet of other Homegrown players: Columbus' Wil Trapp, FC Dallas' Kellyn Acosta, Colorado's Dillon Serna, Chicago's Victor Pineda and LA's Oscar Sorto.
Half of the 24-man squad comprise players who featured for Ramos during the U-20 Championship, including Santos Laguna forward Benji Joya, who captained the USA’s final two matches of the World Cup qualifying tournament and scored a big penalty kick goal against Mexico in the title game.
“This is a very important camp for us and is a segue toward selecting our final group for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup,” Ramos said in a statement from U.S. Soccer. “Because it is a domestic camp, we get to have 24 players on hand. We have some players who haven’t been seen and others who were part of the tournament, so we’re really looking forward to seeing how they perform.”
READ: What does Landon Donovan think of US U-17s failure to qualify for World Cup?
The camp runs from April 22-29 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and includes a scrimmage with Chivas USA's reserves on April 28.
The US drew Spain, France and Ghana in a difficult group stage at the U-20 World Cup in Turkey, which runs from June 21 to July 13.
COMPLETE US UNDER-20 NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton FC/Englad), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara Univ.)
DEFENDERS (8): A.J. Cochran (Univ. of Wisconsin), Sean Cunningham (Molde/Norway), Eric Miller (Creighton Univ.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (CD Guadalajara/Mexico), Jeffrey Payeras (CSD Municipal/Guatemala), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy), Javan Torre (UCLA), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Marlon Hairston (Univ. of Louisville), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna/Mexico), Mikey Lopez (Sporting Kansas City), Collin Martin (Wake Forest Univ.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (7): Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna/Mexico), Daniel Garcia (Univ. of North Carolina), Alfred Koroma (Univ. of Akron), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders Academy), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy)
