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The Reserve List

U.S. U-20s Will Begin 2017 World Cup Cycle in Serbia

Beginning with Tab Ramos' under-20 U.S. roster and continuing on a whirlwind tour around the globe, here is Josh Deaver's lastest look at some of the younger players in the U.S. Soccer player pool. 
BY Josh Deaver Posted
August 31, 2015
1:05 PM

ON FRIDAY, TAB RAMOS released his first U.S. under-20 roster of the 2017 World Cup cycle, a 23-player group that will participate in the Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament in Serbia, beginning on September 3.

The Americans will first face the host nation—the defending U-20 World Cup champions—with a match against youth powerhouse France the following day. Here’s the group.

GOALKEEPERS

Christian Herrera (Real Monarchs; Las Cruces, N.M.), Justin Vom Steeg (Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara, Calif.)

DEFENDERS

Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls; Brooklyn, N.Y.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Nicholas Hinds (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.), Andrew Lombard (Northeastern; Montclair, N.J.), James Murphy (Players Development Academy; Scotch Plains, N.J.), Christian Onalfo (LA Galaxy; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting KC; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Pablo Pelaez (Seattle Sounders FC; San Diego, Calif.), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.)

MIDFIELDERS

Amir Bashti (Stanford; Cupertino, Calif.), Collin Fernandez ( Chicago Fire, Downers Grove, Ill.), Cameron Lindley (Chicago Fire; Carmel, Ind.), Christian Lucatero (Houston Dynamo; Pasadena, Texas), Abuchi Obinwa (Hannover 96; Orlando, Fla.), , Martin Salas (North Carolina; Dallas, Texas), Kyle Scott (Chelsea; Winterbourne, Bristol), Ben Swanson (Columbus Crew SC; Grove City, Ohio)

FORWARDS

Victor Mansaray (Seattle Sounders FC; Des Moines, Wash.), Nebojsa Popovic (Saint Louis FC; Loznica, Serbia), Emmanuel Sabbi (Chicago Magic PSG; Libertyville, Ill.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Casa Grande, Ariz.)

With the quick turnaround between matches, head coach Tab Ramos is relishing the opportunity to get a first look at his new recruits.

“The goal at this point is to see the competitiveness of the players,” Ramos said. “We play Serbia on Sept. 3 and we play France on Sept. 4, so those will be two completely different lineups and everybody will be able to get on the field and show themselves—and show themselves against excellent competition.

“I’m very excited about that and about giving these players an opportunity.”

He continued: “It’s a great opportunity for us. I know that Javier [Perez] has done a great job with this group when he had them with the U-18s, so they’ve already had two years of very good competition and now we need to build on that in this age group because inevitably when you move up it gets harder and harder.”

MLS-affiliated notables among the group include young homegrown players like Columbus Crew midfielder Ben Swanson and Houston Dynamo’s developmental academy standout Christian Lucatero. Also included are Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad and Seattle midfielder Victor Mansaray—both of whom have seen first-team minutes this season.

Foreign-based additions to the squad include Hannover U-19 midfielder Abuchi Obinwa and English-American dual national Kyle Scott, who starred for Chelsea’s league-winning U-18 side last season and now features for the club’s reserves.  

The veteran of the group is Sporting KC defender Erik Palmer-Brown, who returns to the under-20 program after joining the team for this summer’s World Cup run.

“He needs to put the team on his shoulders a little bit and his responsibility is a lot bigger,” Ramos said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him flourish over the next few years and also seeing how he responds to the added responsibility, because it’s definitely not easy.”

The group is an exciting, if incomplete, preview of what’s to come for the 2017 World Cup cycle—with several high-profile international standouts left with their clubs, many of whom are preparing for the under-17 World Cup in October. Observers should expect to see standout talents such as Brooks Lennon (Liverpool), Mukwelle Akale (Villarreal) and Antonee Robinson (Everton) as the cycle progresses.

UPDATES

After drawing rave reviews in a midweek League Cup cameo, a 6-3 win against Exeter City, Sunderland forward Lynden Gooch was rewarded with a spot in the gameday roster for the Premier League match against Aston Villa. Despite not featuring in the 2-2 draw, the occasion marks a huge step in his progression with the Black Cats. Gooch has scored three goals and registered an assist in three games for the club’s reserve side. After missing his chance at the under-20 World Cup, Gooch is on the cusp of first-team minutes much earlier than anyone may have anticipated.

It’s official: the Gideon Zelalem hype train is off the tracks. After making his debut on loan for Glasgow Rangers and grabbing two assists in midweek Scottish Cup play, the 18-year-old added another on Saturday, assisting on the game’s third goal in a 5-1 league win over Queen of the South. I think it’s safe to say that Arsenal fans are treating this pleasant run of form with guarded optimism…just kidding, he’s already basically a hybrid of Pirlo and Xavi. Zelalem will keep busy on the international break, joining the U.S. under-23 team this week for matches against Qatar and England as the squad prepares for Olympic qualifying.

Also included with the U-23s is Chesterfield midfielder Gboly Ariyibi, who made his third start of the season Saturday for the English third division side, playing 74 minutes in a 2-0 win over Millwall. "It was a big surprise to get the call-up,” Ariyibi said of his U-23 opportunity, adding, “I’ve been playing really hard to get in the team and trying to perform and produce on a consistent basis. I've also been training hard, and when you work hard sometimes you get things that you don't expect."

Despite not receiving a call for the U-23 training camp, Leones Negros midfielder Jesus Vazquez continues to impress in the Mexican second division. Against Tapachula on Friday, Vazquez put in a 74-minute shift, scoring the eventual game-winner in a 3-1 victory on a beautiful strike from the top of the box (~44:40). The goal is Vazquez’s second in six appearances this season.

Notable in his absence from the weekend’s roster releases, Julian Green continues to put in work for the Bayern Munich U-21 side. Last Tuesday Green got the start and played 90 minutes against Bayreuth, grabbing a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win. Watch the video here (~1:25).

Despite a 3-1 loss to Standard Liege on Thursday, Molde and U.S. U-23 goalkeeper Ethan Horvath will advance to the group stage of the Europa League after a nervy and narrow two-leg win. Drawn into Group A, Molde will face Scottish champions Celtic on October 1.

TijuanAmerica update: Amando Moreno, Fernando Arce Jr., John Requejo and Esteban Rodriguez all played 90 minutes for the Xolos reserves in a 5-1 loss to Monarcas on Saturday. Paul Arriola and Alejandro Guido were not included on any Tijuana roster this weekend. Neither has dressed for a match since August 21.

Andrija Novakovich continues to earn his keep for Reading FC’s U-21 side, notching his first goal of the season in a 2-1 win over Liverpool early in the week.

Maki Tall made his return to action with Swiss club FC Sion’s reserve side over the weekend. Tall will also join the U-23s in England this week.

On loan from San Jose Earthquakes, ex-U-20 midfielder Tommy Thompson scored his first professional goal and assisted on another for Sacramento Republic during a 3-1 win over Tulsa on Saturday night.

Absent from the Freiburg game day roster this weekend, U-23-eligible midfielder Caleb Stanko returned to the club’s reserve side on Wednesday, playing 90 minutes in a 3-3 draw with Wormatia Worms. Former U.S. U-20 goalkeeper Zack Steffen made his second start of the year for the club in the draw. Highlights are available here.

Last week, dual-national U.S. U-17 forward Kai Koreniuk accepted a call-up to the Netherlands U-18 national team training camp.

 ASN Contributing Editor Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.

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