US Under-18 national team head coach Javier Perez on Friday tabbed 24 players, highlighted by Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown (above) and players from nine MLS youth academies, for a week-long training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
The camp runs from Saturday to Jan. 11 and is in preparation for the Copa del Atlantico, scheduled for Feb. 4-7 in the Canary Islands.
Of the nine MLS academies represented, Real Salt Lake AZ led the way with three players receiving call-ups: defender Justen Glad, goalkeeper Christian Herrera and midfielder Sebastian Saucedo. Twenty-one of the 24 players currently play for U.S. Soccer Development Academy teams, while the remaining three also play for domestic-based clubs.
Five players – Mukwelle Akale, J.T. Marcinkowski, Palmer-Brown, Tommy Redding and Ben Swanson – saw playing time for the US U-18 team that took second place at the Limoges Tournament in France in October. Palmer-Brown started all three matches at the tournament and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 US win over the Czech Republic, while Akale and Marcinkowski earned starts in two games.
The squad announcement comes on the same day U.S. Soccer announced rosters for both Jurgen Klinsmann's senior national team and Tab Ramos' Under-20 national team.
FULL US U-18 NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Christian Herrera (Real Salt Lake AZ; Las Cruces, N.M.), J.T. Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; Alamo, Calif.), Justin Vom Steeg (Real So Cal; Santa Barbara, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (8): David Chavez (De Anza Force; Redwood City, Calif.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake AZ; Tucson, Ariz.), Malcolm Jones (LA Galaxy; Chino Hills, Calif.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Quentin Pearson (Colorado Rapids; Longmont, Colo.), Pablo Pelaez (San Diego Surf; San Diego), Tommy Redding (Chicago Magic PSG; Oviedo, Fla.), Peter Schropp (Omaha FC; Omaha, Neb.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Mukwelle Akale (Minnesota Thunder; Minneapolis), Collin Fernandez (Chicago Fire; Downers Grove, Ill.), Cameron Lindley (Indiana Fire; Carmel, Ind.), Maduabuchi Obinwa (Chicago Magic PSG; Orlando, Fla.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake AZ; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Ben Swanson (Crew Soccer Academy; Grove City, Ohio), Jackson Yueill (Minnesota Thunder; Bloomington, Minn.)
FORWARDS (6): Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Sebastian Elney (Boca United; Boca Raton, Fla.), Gerves Fagan (Sereno SC; Peoria, Ariz.), Christian Lucatero (Houston Dynamo; Pasadena, Texas), Jorge Ruiz (LA Galaxy; Mission Hills, Calif.), Kendall Stork (Chicago Magic PSG; Barrington, Ill.)
