U.S. U-20 national team head coach Thomas Rongen on Friday named a 20-man roster - including nine MLS players - that will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, from April 18-27 for their first foreign camp of 2006.
During the trip the U-20s will play three games, squaring off with Argentinean first division youth clubs Arsenal de Sarandi (April 22) and River Plate (April 24) before facing Argentina's U-20 national team on April 26. The trip is part of the squad's preparations for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will take place in Canada.
"We are looking forward to our first foreign trip as we begin to formulate the team that will compete in the qualifying tournament for a berth in the World Cup next year," Rongen said. "It is still early in the process, but playing two quality games against top-notch Argentina club teams and then getting the chance to test ourselves against the reigning U-20 world champion makes this a very worthwhile camp. Going up against this high-level competition will help us to determine which players will probably be with us next year."
Chivas USA, the New York Red Bulls, the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas each supply two players to Rongen's roster, with Real Salt Lake's one representative - midfielder Nikolas Besagno - completing the MLS base.
Midfielder Rodrigo Lopez and forward Estuardo Sanchez hail from Los Angeles club Chivas USA. Lopez, who was born in Guatemala and holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Mexico, makes his first appearance in a U.S. U-20 camp.
The Red Bulls contribute a pair of promising young forwards to the U.S. side, with Josmer Altidore and David Arvizu set to make the trip. Red Bulls coach Mo Johnston won't really be missing Altidore however, who has remained in Florida to finish his high school studies before he joins the club permanently. Altidore holds the distinction of being the youngest player on Rongen's roster for the camp. Arvizu, who landed at the Red Bulls after a lottery, has been a regular for the U.S. U-17s, but this is his first U-20 camp.
Galaxy forward Quavas Kirk also makes the jump from the U-17 side. He can look to club teammate Nathan Sturgis, a defender, for leadership. Sturgis was a member of the side that competed in the 2005 U-20 World Cup in Holland.
The two Hoops heading south are Generation adidas members Blake Wagner, a defender, and Dax McCarty, a midfielder. They both joined Dallas at this year's SuperDraft, having been selected in the first and second rounds, respectively.
In addition to the MLS players, two other professionals will be at Rongen's disposal. Midfielder Nicolas Torres, a native of Miami, plays for Club Deportivo Espanol in the Argentinian second division, while forward Preston Zimmerman is a member of Bundesliga side Hamburg SV's reserve squad.
Goalkeeper Steve Sandbo (Southern Methodist Univ.), defender Neven Subotic (Univ. of South Florida) and midfielder Sal Zizzo (UCLA) constitute the college players on the roster. High school players Corben Bone (Plano, Texas), Genaro Fernandez (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Eric Lichaj (Aurora, Ill.), Chance Myers (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Anthony Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.) have also been called in, as has midfielder Carlos Borja, who is reported to be in discussions with Chivas USA.
Rongen is getting his side ready for the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, where the U.S. team will look to secure a spot in the youth world championship for a sixth consecutive time. The qualifying tournament will be split into two divisions, with one bracket to be played in Mexico and the other taking place in Panama. The top two sides from each four-time group will advance to next year's competition. Both qualifying brackets will be played in January or February of 2007.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
