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Morning update

U.S. U-20 prepares for qualifying, Milan courts Poch, Carnell out, Paredes free agent, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta gives his thoughts on the day's top stories in American soccer apart from World Cup preparations, including youth national team updates and more
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
May 29, 2026
6:05 AM

WE ARE AT THE END of a final week in May and most of the news is centered around the coming World Cup that is now two weeks away. But there is a lot of other news to break down in the world of American soccer.

For now, let’s start with the U.S. youth national teams.

 

Segares Names U-19 Roster

 

The United States U-19 team is essentially what used to be called the U.S. U-20 team. It will assume the U-20 label in the fall when all players “age up.” But this is the team that is led by head coach Gonzalo Segares and will take part in the CONCACAF U-20 World Cup qualifying this summer. The tournament will take place in Mexico from July 25 through August 9.

The United States was drawn into Group A with Cuba, El Salvador, and Haiti with all games from this group taking place in Puebla. The schedule is as follows.

  • July 25: USA vs. Haiti
  • July 28: USA vs. El Salvador
  • July 31: USA vs. Cuba
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 Should the U.S. team advance, as expected, the team will face a one-game quarterfinal to determine if it qualifies for the 2027 U-20 World Cup.

Starting next week, the U-19 team will hold a training camp June 1-9 at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Atlanta. To conclude camp, the U.S. team will face Japan on June 9. It will be team’s final gathering before World Cup qualifying.

The roster for the camp is as follows.

 

Goalkeepers (3): Giorgio De Marzi (Roma/ITA; Rome, Italy), Lucas McPartlin (St. Louis City; St. Louis, Mo.), Aidan Stokes (Red Bull New York; Totowa, N.J.)

Defenders (8): Tristan Brown (Columbus Crew; Novi, Mich.), Dominik Chong-Qui (Atlanta United; Alpharetta, Ga.), Christopher Cupps (Chicago Fire; Chicago, Ill.), Braden Dunham (Furman University; Peachtree City, Ga.), Ramiz Hamouda (Birmingham Legion; Lincoln, Neb.), Harbor Miller (LA Galaxy; Brea, Calif.), Javaun Mussenden (New England Revolution; Dallas, Ga.), Neil Pierre (Lyngby/DEN; Hersey, Pa.)

Midfielders (6): Snyder Brunell (Seattle Sounders; Kirkland, Wash.), Colin Guske (Orlando City; Saint Johns, Fla.), Santiago Morales (Inter Miami; Weston, Fla.), Axel Perez (Castellon/ESP; Miami, Fla.), Cooper Sanchez (Atlanta United; Holly Springs, Ga.), Jonny Shore (New York City FC; New York, N.Y.)

Forwards (7): Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; High Point, N.C.), Marvin Dills (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Frankfurt, Germany), Justin Ellis (Orlando City; Wellington, Fla.), Aiden Hezarkhani (Real Salt Lake; Irvine, Calif.), Daniel Pinter (Inter Miami; Boca Raton, Fla.), Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy; La Puente, Calif.), Colton Swan (Charleston Battery; Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Here are a few thoughts on the roster:

Brunell, Hezarkhani, Ellis: The three players on this team who have impressed the most over the past few months are Snyder Brunell, Aiden Hezarkhani, and Justin Ellis. All three players have been earning regular first team minutes with their MLS clubs. Brunell has been the most impressive as he has done a great job helping to minimize the departure of Obed Vargas, who was sold to Atletico Madrid.

Big names missing: This roster doesn’t include the all the best possible age-eligible options as several top players are missing. Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia, Mathis Albert of Borussia Dortmund, and the New York Red Bull duo of Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti are all not included. It is possible that these players could be on the U.S. U-21 roster that will be released on Friday. That team is geared for the U-23 age group that is preparing for the 2028 Olympics.

Gozo and Miller: In addition to the players mentioned above, Zavier Gozo and Peyton Miller are also not on this roster despite being age-eligible for the U-20 team. These two players are having solid seasons in MLS and Gozo is seen as perhaps the top young player in the league by a wide margin. But both Gozo and Miller were part of the U-20 World Cup team last year and might instead focus on the Olympics instead of repeating the U-20 cycle.

 

Carnell out in Philadelphia

 

Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell was fired by the Philadelphia Union this week and replaced by Philadelphia Union II head coach Ryan Richter on an interim basis. In addition, the Union hired John Scheer as the club’s Sporting Director after Ernst Tanner was suspended by the league. The Union won the Supporters Shield last season but have just seven points through 15 games to start the 2026 season.

Carnell’s career as a head coach is fascinating. He has had banner first seasons in each of his first two jobs. He led St. Louis in its inaugural season to a first-place finish in the Western Conference. Then a poor start in the second year saw him fired.

 

This is the same with Philadelphia where he won the Supporters Shield and was named MLS Coach of the Year in 2025. Now again, he could not even finish his second year despite a huge achievement the year before.

MLS now enters the World Cup break with seven head coaching vacancies. There were seven coaches fired in the first half of the season and all teams are still being run by interim managers.

  • Orlando City
  • CF Montréal
  • Inter Miami
  • Columbus
  • Austin FC
  • Portland
  • Philadelphia

 

With MLS on break through the middle of July, it is expected most of these jobs will fill in the coming weeks.

 

AC Milan courts Pochettino

 

On the eve of the World Cup, it has been reported that AC Milan is courting U.S. national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino to replace Massimiliano Allegri, whose Milan team collapsed down the stretch and failed to qualify for the Champions League for a second straight year.

But in addition to Allegri, Milan also fired Sporting Director Igli Tare, and CEO Giorgio Furlani. Milan is now looking to pick up the pieces after a catastrophic end to the season.

Pochettino said he has not spoken directly with Milan but his representatives have had discussions with clubs. His contract with U.S. Soccer runs only through the end of the World Cup.

“But that is a conversation because we have friends in football,” he said on Thursday as reported by Soccer America. “We have friends everywhere, and my representatives work for me to try to find the best possibility for the future. That is normal.”

Whether Milan remains as an attractive job to Pohcettino without a CEO or a Sporting Director remains to be seen.

It was always expected that Pochettino would be in demand as his contract wound down and this does not mean he is disinterested in the U.S. team right now. He is a top coach and big clubs with openings are always likely to inquire. With limited time following the World Cup, if Pochettino wants to have a job at the start of the 2026/27 European season, he would have to act quickly.

But could Pochettino remain as the U.S. coach following the World Cup if the team succeeds? It is possible although his stock remains very high at the club level. Still, Pochettino told reporters on Thursday he was still interested in hearing what U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson had to say.

 

Paredes out at Wolfsburg

 

Kevin Paredes is officially a free agent. The 2024 U.S. Olympic team winger has struggled terribly with injuries over the past two seasons that have limited him to 163 minutes in 2025/26 and 123 minutes in 2024/25 in all competitions.

This was the final year of his contract, and the season ended in Wolfsburg’s stunning relegation in the playoffs at the hands of Paderborn.



Demand for Paredes is likely to be low given his inability to stay healthy. It doesn’t really matter what league he plays in next – 2.Bundesliga, Belgium, Denmark, Championship, MLS – he just needs to play.

He can still be a good player, but he cannot afford to be injured or sit on the bench in 2026/27.

Kochen & Rick join USMNT


Barcelona goalkeeper Diego Kochen and Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick will join the U.S. national team's pre-World Cup camp. Neither are part of the World Cup roster, but will train with the team. 

For the U.S. team that needs goalkeeper depth, this is an encouraging move that could be a boost for the careers of both these teenagers. Both should be in contention for the 2028 U-23 Olympic team. 



Other Notes

 

Yunus Musah is officially out at Atalanta after the club declined to exercise its option to buy as part of its loan from AC Milan. Musah will now return to Milan who will certainly try to sell him as he is not in the plans there either.  

 

Chris Richards and Crystal Palace are the champions of the UEFA Conference League following a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. Richards is carrying an ankle injury with two torn ligaments. The good news is that he made the bench for Crystal Palace but the bad news is that he did not get off the bench. That, unfortunately, does not provide clarity on how fit he will be when he reports to the U.S. national team pre-World Cup camp in Atlanta.

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