Thursday, February 16, 2012

U.S. U-23's Name 23 Player Squad for Mexico Friendly

U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team coach Caleb Porter has named his 23-player roster for their upcoming camp that kicks off on Sunday. The 11 day camp will feature scrimmages with FC Dallas and the North American Soccer League’s new franchise, the San Antonio Scorpions, and culminates with a match against Mexico’s U-23 National Team on the 29th at FC Dallas Stadium.

With Olympic Qualifying right around the corner, this camp will go a long way in deciding who will be with the team next month as the U.S. makes a play for a spot in London this summer. The U.S. opens up group play against Cuba on the 22nd of March and follows that with games against Canada on the 24th and then El Salvador on the 26th.


Here's a look at the squad Porter has in camp:


GOALKEEPERS (2): 

Bill Hamid (D.C. United) - The 21 year old D.C. United keeper made his Senior National Team debut last month and posted a 1-0 shutout win over Venezuela. Hamid is getting ready to start his fourth season with D.C. United. He took over the starting job last season and had 7 shutouts in 28 starts.
Photo Credit: communities.washingtontimes.com

Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) - The 22 year old Johnson has appeared twice for the Senior National Team, most recently coming on at halftime against Panama last month in the U.S.'s 1-0 win. Johnson, who also has appeared in 4 games with the U.S. U-20 squad, started 28 games for the Fire last year. Johnson also spent time training with Everton in England during the offseason.



Photo Credit: nj.com

DEFENDERS (7): 

Greg Garza (Club Tijuana) - The 20 year old Garza signed with Mexican Primera División side Club Tijuana after spending over 3 years in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon's reserve side and with Estoril Praia. Garza made 3 appearances for the U.S. U-20 squad last year during the CONCACAF Under-20 Championships.
Photo Credit: soccerbyives.net

Perry Kitchen (D.C. United) - Kitchen played one year at Akron before turning down a trial offer from Belgium's Anderlecht to sign a Generation Adidas contract with MLS. D.C. United then selected Kitchen with the 3rd overall pick of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. Kitchen started 30 games for D.C. United as a rookie finishing second to C.J. Sapong in the Rookie of the Year voting. Kitchen has had extensive experience with the U.S.'s youth National Teams already appearing 42 teams with the U-17s and U-20s. Kitchen will turn 20 on the day of the Mexico game.
Photo Credit: dcunited.com

Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin) - The German born Morales has been with Hertha Berlin's first team since 2010. Morales has never appeared for the U.S. Senior National Team, but was in camp for last year's friendlies against France and Slovenia. Morales appeared once for the U.S. U-20s in 2009.
Photo Credit: laindustria.pe

Ike Opara (San Jose Earthquakes) - The 2008 and 2009 ACC Defensive Player of the year while with Wake Forest was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes with the 3rd pick of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Opara scored 3 goals as a rookie, but has only appeared in 19 regular season games in his 2 year MLS career. Opara has appeared for the U.S. U-20s 7 times dating back to 2009.
Photo Credit: thesacklunch.blogspot.com

Kofi Sarkodie (Houston Dynamo) - Another former Akron Zip, Sarkodie was taken with the 7th overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo. A member of the U.S. team at the 2007 U-17 World Cup, Sarkodie made 7 starts for the Dynamo during the regular season last year as a rookie.
Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com

Zarek Valentin (Montreal Impact) - Valentin teamed with Kitchen and Sarkodie to help Akron win the 2010 NCAA Championship. After leaving, he was taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by Chivas USA. He started 24 games for the Goats last year, but was left unprotected in the MLS Expansion draft and selected by the Montreal Impact. Valentin has appeared 31 times for the U.S. U-20s dating back to 2009.
Photo Credit: cdchivasusa.com

Jorge Villafaña (Chivas USA) - Villafaña is just 22, but already getting ready for his 6th season with Chivas USA. 2011 was the first season he had a major role with the club as he started 24 games. Villafaña has scored 5 goals in 52 career regular season games, and has also appeared in 15 games for the U.S. U-20s scoring against the Argentina back in 2007.
Photo Credit: cdchivasusa.com




MIDFIELDERS (6): 

Joe Corona (Club Tijuana) - Garza's teammate with Tijuana, Corona has enjoyed much more success in Mexico than his American teammate. Corona has appeared in 58 games for the Xolos since 2010 scoring 8 times. Eligible to play for the U.S., Mexico and El Salvador, he is still looking for his first appearance with a U.S. National Team.
Photo Credit: goal.com

Mix Diskerud (Gent) - The Norwegian born Diskerud just went on loan to Gent (Belgium) after 4 seasons with Stabæk in Norway. Diskerud has already appeared twice for the U.S. National Team and turned some heads with an assist against South Africa in his debut in late 2010. As a member of the U.S. U-20s in 2009, Diskerud scored against Egypt.
Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

Dilly Duka (Columbus Crew) - Don't let the name fool you, Dilaver "Dilly" Duka scored 2 goals and added 3 assists in 22 games for the Columbus Crew last season. The 8th overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft represented the U.S. at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He has 15 career appearances for the U.S. U-20s and a pair of goals including one in the World Cup against Cameroon.
Photo Credit: zimbio.com

Jared Jeffrey (Mainz) - The former captain of the USA U-17s converted a penalty kick against Tunisia at the 2007 U-17 World Cup and has been playing in Europe since 2008 starting with Club Brugge (Belgium) before signing a 3 year deal with Mainz 05 in Germany in 2010. Jeffrey has appeared in 39 games for Mainz's second team scoring a pair of goals.
Photo Credit: fifa.com

Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia Union) - After a year at UCLA, Okugo was selected with the 6th overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Okugo has appeared in 26 games for the Union over the past two years and has appeared in 21 games for the U.S. youth national teams dating back to 2007.
Photo Credit: philadelphia.cbslocal.com

Michael Stephens (LA Galaxy) - Stephens appeared in 27 games for the Galaxy last year including the playoffs en route to an MLS Championship. In 2 years with the Galaxy he has tallied a goal and 9 assists, 8 of those assists coming during his rookie season. A member of the U.S. team during the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Stephens has 5 career appearances for the U-20s and twice scored against Costa Rica.
Photo Credit: laist.com




FORWARDS (8):

Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union) - The former child star has been a member of U.S. youth National Teams since 2002 scoring 36 goals in 53 appearances over the years. After a frustrating run overseas, Adu had a solid performance in the 2011 Gold Cup and returned to MLS last year tallying 2 goals and an assist in 11 games for the Union.
Photo Credit: mynorthwest.com

Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls) - Agudelo scored 6 goals and had 2 assists while being used primarily as a substitute by the New York Red Bulls last season. Agudelo tallied 14 goals in 25 games for the U.S.'s youth national teams dating back to 2008 and also scored twice for the U.S.  Senior National team in 15 appearances. He is the youngest player in national team history to score in a senior game after scoring in his debut in 2010 against South Africa.
Photo Credit: soccerbyives.net

Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund) - The German-born Boyd has played with the second teams for Hertha Berlin and Borussia Dortmund scoring 15 goals in 44 appearances. He has appeared twice for the U.S. U-20s in his career.
Photo Credit: forum.soccermanager.com

Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City) - Bunbury is yet another product of the Akron Zips leading the nation in scoring as a sophomore with 17 goals. The Wizards then selected him with the 4th overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Bunbury has already tallied 14 goals in two MLS seasons including 9 last year. Bunbury has appeared in 4 games for the U.S. Men's National Team converting a penalty kick against Chile last January and tallying an assist in the U.S.'s 1-0 win against Panama last month.
Photo Credit: zimbio.com

Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim) - The 19 year old from Silver Spring, Maryland made his debut in Germany last week for Hoffenheim during the German Cup. Gyau netted a hat trick against Canada in a friendly in December of 2010 for the U-20s and added another goal during the CONCACAF U-20 Championships against Suriname.
Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com

Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union) - McInerney was a member of the U.S.'s 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup scoring a pair of goals. Now 19, he's getting ready for his third year with the Union. He's appeared in 35 games over the past two years scoring 4 times.
Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

Brek Shea (FC Dallas) - Probably the biggest name on the roster next to Adu, Shea is coming off an MLS season in which he scored 11 times for FC Dallas while adding 4 assists. Shea's play has gotten him a lot of time at the National Team level, especially since Jurgen Klinsmann's hiring. Shea now has 11 caps for the Senior National Team and had an assist last summer against Mexico.
Photo Credit: soccerchris.com

Tony Taylor (Estoril Praia) - A member of the U.S. team at the  2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Taylor has been playing in Portugal since 2010. He scored for the U.S. U-20s in their 4-1 World Cup win over Cameroon.
Photo Credit: isiphotos.net

No comments:

Post a Comment