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MLS Analysis

MLS Youth Report: Bombino on the rise, Habroune scores, Brennan draws PK, Cremaschi strong, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta walks you through his thoughts on the latest involving young American players in MLS. Which players are on the rise? Who has performed well? And more
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
July 15, 2025
2:50 PM

AS WE ENTER THE midseason summer games in MLS, it is time to revisit a popular topic regarding youth development and young domestic players who are making their way in the league. This becomes even more relevant in a year with two youth World Cups.

There are a lot of things to break down, namely – which players are breaking through? Which players should be breaking through but are still not getting the minutes? Which players should fans be following in terms of potential stars?

We will give our thoughts on the midweek games on Thursday, but for now we will issue one of our youth reports.

 

SDFC’s Bombino & Verhoeven are top risers

 

While 2024 was a mixed year for youngsters breaking out, 2025 has been much better and one of the big takeaways is that the fastest risers have been fullbacks. Philadelphia Union right back Frankie Westfield was the first young American to make breakthroughs to start the season. Then Peyton Miller, who is a top prospect, continued his upward trend from 2024 after he returned from injury.

But now we have both the right back and the left back at San Diego FC who are both eligible for the U.S. U-20 team.

Luca Bombino, 19, has been one of the best fullbacks in MLS over the past month for San Diego and the young left back picked up an assist in his team’s 2-1 win over Chicago on Saturday. In the game, he put up strong numbers cross the board in passing, duel winning (he won nine duels), and distance covered. He is at the club on loan from LAFC but San Diego holds an option to buy which seems like a mere formality at this point. He’s made 15 starts and has played 1293 MLS minutes.

Oscar Verhoeven, 19, is also impressing with San Diego while playing right back. He might not be playing at the same level as Bombino, but he’s doing well with eight starts and 749 MLS minutes under his belt this season. He went the distance over the weekend against Chicago.  

Both players are now starting for a team that is contending for first place in the MLS Western Conference and they now have an opportunity to play for silverware early in their careers – which only accelerates development. Many of the top young players who came through the league excelled when given the chance to win meaningful games.

There also needs to be discussion about the U.S. U-20 team and each player is in a different situation but one factor that they have in common is that they both play for San Diego and there should be optimism that the club will release them for the tournament if either is selected by Marko Mitrovic.

Bombino has the best shot because he is playing so well and he was involved in the team’s last camp in June. Peyton Miller has seemed like the logical starting left back but there are reason for pause. First, Mitrovic seems to prefer Miller as a left back. Also, Miller is dealing with an injury and Miller is very young – playing up a cycle. Nolan Norris is also a left back but hasn’t played nearly as much for FC Dallas and also fits into central defense.

It now seems likely that Bombino will be on the U-20 World Cup and will likely play a lot.

Verhoeven has a little bit of work to do. Frankie Westfield seems to be the clear starter and  Verhoeven hasn’t been with the U.S. U-20 team since October and there is more competition to be Westfield’s backup (Leo Duru at Blackburn and Reed Baker-Whiting at Seattle – who has played for Mitrovic a lot dating back to the U.S. U-19 team).

Regardless, both players are among the top young American players breaking out this year in MLS.

On the flip side in the game, Sergio Orgel had a tough game for Chicago and was pulled at halftime. But he still remains the U-20 player who has seen the most minutes in MLS at 1533. Given how many minutes Gregg Berhalter has given him and given where Chicago is in the playoff race, Orgel’s release for the U-20 World Cup is uncertain.

 

Habroune scores first Crew goal

 

Taha Habroune has been at all eight U.S. U-20 camps this cycle and has played well. But slowly his first team minutes with Columbus have been increasing – and this comes under one of the league’s best coaches in Wilfried Nancy.

On Saturday, the local homegrown came off the bench in the 78th minute with Columbus clinging to a 3-2 lead on the road against rivals Cincinnati. Then in stoppage time, Habroune scored his first MLS goal to seal the 4-2 win that moved Columbus into fourth place.



Habroune has a lot going for him right now. Nancy will likely continue to bring him along at a steady pace and he is surrounded by very good places in that team. That should give him a change to play in the playoffs.

Then there is the U-20 World Cup where Habroune should be a play who plays significant minutes in Chile.

 

Gozo and Raines meet up

 

Two potential U.S. U-20 teammates met up on Saturday night when Real Salt Lake defeated Houston 1-0 in Utah. Zavier Gozo started for RSL and played 67 minutes while Brooklyn Raines started for Houston and went 89 minutes.

This was a battle between two teams on the bubble of the playoffs and after this result, Houston is now in 10th place, one point out of the last playoffs pot while Real Salt Lake is in 11th, two points out of the last playoff spot.

Raines has been with the U.S. U-20 team all cycle and only began starting on April 13. He’s played very well with the U-20 team but his performances for Houston have been up and down but a lot of that can be attributed to a Houston team that is unbalanced and struggling. It is not the easiest environment to thrive, but it is a good learning experience for Raines who wants to be an anchor in possession – which is tough for a teenager.

Gozo is a very talented player who young, also eligible for the 2027 U-20 World Cup. He’s now at 1062 minutes with 12 starts on the season. He’s raw and hasn’t settled into one position (he plays on the wing for the U.S. U-20 team and as a “false nine” on RSL) but he also is a handful to defend. RSL is has been giving him more and more responsibility.

As for the U-20 team, Raines is a lock to be invited and Gozo is now more likely given the ACL injury to Kristian Fletcher. As for whether each player is released to play in the tournament, that will be a tough call on the coaches – Ben Olsen and Pablo Mastroeni, who both played for the U.S. national team.

 

Brennan draws penalty in sub appearance

 

Luke Brennan, 20, has been very good for the U-20 team this cycle but his lack of minutes with Atlanta United is likely disappointing for Mark Mitrovic as the U-20 World Cup draws closer. The fact that Atlanta has had such a poor season and Brennan has not played much makes it seem as if it is a lost season in terms of his development.

But on Saturday, Brennan entered the game for Atlanta in the 65th minute with his team trailing 1-0. Brennan ended up impressing as he drew a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time when he was fouled by Charlie Sharp. The ensuing kick was converted by Emmanuel Latte Lath for a 1-1 draw.

While there has been improvements with Americans developing well in MLS, not every club is the same as different coaches and front offices have different philosophies. With that said, it is typically tough for a young American to break through in attacking positions at the big-spending clubs, such as Atlanta. But with Atlanta struggling, there is an upside to play Brennan.

 

 Cremaschi strong in Miami win

 

Understandably, all the attention fell to Lionel Messi after he scored both of Miami’s goals in a 2-1 win over Nashville SC, which ended its 15-game unbeaten run.

But U.S. U-20 stalwart Benja Cremaschi went a full 90 and was very important to the win. In total, he went 43/45 in his passing, forced a tough save early, and was solid defensively and with his duels.

It is easy to see why U.S. Soccer rates him highly (he was on the Olympic team last year while playing up a cycle and should be on the next one as well). Cremaschi is growing as a two-way player in the midfield. He covers a lot of ground and makes smart runs – which is good on a team that has a lot of older players.

Despite playing in an increased role for Miami, I would expect Cremaschi to be released for the U.S. U-20 team. There is a lot of value for Miami to be able to flex is muscle in youth development at a time when they also have elite older players at the end of their careers.

 

Injury updates

 

Peyton Miller missed the weekend’s game for the New England Revolution after suffering an ankle injury last week. The left back/winger is one of the top American teenagers in the game with his pace (he has the eighth fastest foot speed in MLS this season) and is in the running to play a role on the U.S. U-20 World Cup team this fall while also being eligible for the 2027 U-20 World Cup.

The good news for Miller is that he was back to training today. He might not be available midweek, but it doesn’t appear as if he will miss much time.



Whether Miller is included in the World Cup roster will likely come down to whether he is released by New England. That will come down to their playoff standing. As of now, New England is four points out of the final playoff spot.

It was also good news for Frankie Westfield who returned from an ankle injury to play the final 17 minutes for the Philadelphia Union in a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls. There wasn’t much to say about his shift, but it was good news for both Philly and the U.S. U-20 team to have the starting right back on the field.

For the Red Bulls, Serge Ngoma remains out with a thigh injury and staying healthy continues to be a huge problem for the New Jersey native.

Nolan Norris was also injured for FC Dallas in the 2-0 loss to LAFC but the versatile defender (who was the captain for the U.S. at the U-20 World Cup qualifiers) is expected to return well ahead of the U-20 World Cup.

 

Other Notes

 

Niko Tsakiris played the final 21 minutes for the San Jose Earthquakes in a 4-1 loss to Minnesota, but it was generally a quiet shift – although he took four corner kicks. Due to injuries and form, Tsakiris has been limited to just 262 minutes so far this season for the Quakes.

Noah Cobb did not get into Atlanta Untied’s 1-1 draw with Toronto and minutes are tough to come by for the young homegrown central defender.

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