THE 2025 U-20 WORLD CUP in Chile is fast approaching and one of the top young players to watch at the tournament could be Borussia Dortmund winger Cole Campbell who would be representing the United States for the first time in an official competition.

Campbell, 19, has been part of several important camps this U-20 cycle and was integral to wins in friendlies over England, Fance and most recently Morocco. But the U-20 World Cup is a different test beyond friendlies.

“I'm really looking forward to it,” Campbell told American Soccer Now. “Since I was young, it was a dream to play in a World Cup, it would an amazing experience and opportunity to get to showcase on the world stage and get to play with this team. For the expectations, I'm not really going to say, I think everyone knows what you’re there to do. I think if we work hard and we work as a team - I think we have a good group of guys and I think we'll do very well.”

The U.S. U-20 World Cup roster will be announced on Friday and Campbell is expected to be a key part of head coach Marko Mitovic’s plans. The issue is whether Borussia Dortmund agrees to release him for the tournament, but Mitrovic said recently that, while clubs can change their minds, he was optimistic from his discussions with clubs that players at the last camp would be released for the tournament.

The U.S. team was given a challenging but doable draw for the World Cup where it will open against New Caledonia on September 29 before taking on the always challenging French team on October 2. Finally, the team will conclude group play against African U-20 champions South Africa on October 5.

The U.S. team defeated France 2-1 last November in Spain and Campbell scored the opening goal.

And it’s Cole Campbell! The Dortmund winger puts the U.S U-20 team up 1-0 on France in the 15th minute. Really nice work from the team on this goal pic.twitter.com/nkt0YmzpQu

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) November 18, 2024

“France is France and we played them also in the friendlies,” Campbell said. “It's a friendly, yes, but we won. I think you see these teams, yes, they're good, but I think at the end of day, when we play together and when we perform, I think we can do well against pretty much any team. We'll be good and I'm looking forward to it.”

Campbell has already appeared with Borussia Dortmund’s first team. Last season he made four Bundesliga appearances, one in the DFB Poka, as well as one in the Champions League. This past weekend he made his season debut coming off the bench in a 2-0 win over Heidenheim.

The transition from the youth levels to the first team is always the hardest jump for young players and Campbell was able to make that transition with the help of his elite speed. Per the Bundesliga website, Campbell posted the 13^th fastest sprint speed during the league’s 2024/25 season – despite his limited minutes.

But breaking into the first team from the youth levels is a test for a player on many different levels.

“Changing from the academy side to the first team is definitely a difficult, difficult thing with the mentality, the pressure - all of these things,” Campbell said. “The quality obviously is much, much higher and you have to be able to compete and making that step is not easy. Mentally, it's not easy to do that. It's very difficult. And as far as myself, I've learned that no matter what happens, I can keep fighting and keep pushing through. That's kind of what I'm still trying to do, keep pushing and training hard and hopefully this season get some more minutes.”

During the summer, Campbell was linked with a possible move away from Borussia Dortmund. VfB Stuttgart was just one of the clubs closely linked with the player. Campbell admits that he seriously thought about moving but in the end his heart was with Borussia Dortmund.

“I was definitely considering a change, trying to figure out if I saw if there was going to be a future with the club or not,” Campbell explained. “For me in my heart, I'm not finished with Dortmund. So having the discussions with the coach, I feel like now something is changing. And I feel that if I really push and I work hard and I earn my way, I think that there could definitely be a possibility for me there. So I decided in the end to stay and to fight and work through. Because nothing is easy, nothing worth attaining is easy so I'm ready for that challenge to fight and to earn my way.”

Campbell joined Borussia Dortmund in 2022 after beginning his professional career in Iceland, first with Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar (FH) and later with Breiðablik.

Born in Texas, Campbell grew up in a soccer family. His father, Lance, played college soccer at Texas Lutheran. His mother Rakel Karvelsson played for Iceland’s national team after playing college soccer for the University of North Carolina. Campbell and his parents returned to live in Iceland in 2020 to spend time with his grandfather, who was battling an illness. During his time with FH is when he first began playing for Iceland’s youth national teams.

Prior to that, Campbell was with Atlanta United’s youth academy which he joined after his family relocated to Peachtree City, Georgia. It was there in a professional environment where Campbell made important strides in his game, often making the 31 mile commute daily with his father.

“When I was younger I was kind of playing for fun -  nothing like a professional environment,” Campbell said of his time in Atlanta United’s youth academy. “When I went to Atlanta it was my first professional pressure which you need to play well and develop. Mentally, it made me stronger - 'hey you need work on this or 'you had a terrible game and you need do better.' It's a professional type of environment. Whereas before it was just going out there and playing. Atlanta was definitely a key part of my development.”

It was also in Atlanta where he met Luke Brennan and Noah Cobb, who have both been with him on the United States U-20 national team. Over the last year, he has been able to reconnect with both players, especially Brennan, who could start with him at the U-20 World Cup on the opposite wing. The two have become close friends and their chemistry could be important to the U.S. team’s attack in Chile.

In February 2024, Campbell formally filed his one-time change of association with FIFA to leave Iceland’s federation and represent the United States internationally. Just a few weeks later, he represented the U.S. U-19 team in a camp where he scored two goals in a 3-2 win over England.

That camp essentially kicked off the U.S. U-20 cycle and Campbell has been with that group for the past 18 months.

“It's a great group of guys,” Campbell said. “Everyone gets along. There's not really any tension or anything like that, which is kind of normal - you have different type of groups and some people you don't get along with. But for me, I get along everyone and I'm very happy I made the switch because it's kind of like a family type environment.”

But in the coming weeks, the U-20 World Cup will open and Campbell could be a key player in the tournament.  If he goes, he is hoping that it is the start of a long career with the United States that could include the 2028 Olympic team and the full national team as well.

“It is my first major competition that I'm playing for my country,” Campbell said. “But for me, it's amazing to get to represent my country on a World Cup stage. Other tournaments, yes, they're amazing as well, but a World Cup is the biggest one. And it means a lot to get to represent my country and to play on that stage. It's going to be great, so I'm looking forward to it.”