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MLS D.C. United

D.C. United to Send Three to U-20 U.S. Men's National Team

October 22, 2002 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
D.C. United News Release


CHANTILY, VA (October 22, 2002) - Bobby Convey, Santino Quaranta and Justin Mapp were today announced to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team as they attempt to qualify for a bid to a fourth consecutive World Youth Championship.

U.S. Head Coach Thomas Rongen has selected a squad of 18 players to represent America at the CONCACAF Group B qualifying tournament in Charleston, S.C. The tournament, which marks the first time U.S. Soccer has hosted an Under-20 qualifying tournament since 1980, will take place at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C., with doubleheaders on Nov. 13, 15 and 17.

The U.S. will be joined by El Salvador, Haiti and Canada in Group B, with the top two teams advancing to the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates from March 25 - April 16, 2003. The U.S. Under-20s have posted a 14-7-9 record in 2002, scoring more than twice as many goals as their opposition (55 to 27).

At the C.O.T.I.F. XIX Torneig International Tournament last month in Spain, the U.S. surprised many by topping Italy, Ukraine and Uruguay to advance to the final, where they fell 1-0 to an older Brazil team.

Rongen will have more professional players - eight - on his qualifying roster than any previous U.S. Under-20 MNT. Six of those players compete in Major League Soccer - Devin Barclay (San Jose Earthquakes), Convey (D.C. United), Ed Johnson (Dallas Burn), Mapp (D.C. United), Quaranta (D.C. United) and Jordan Stone (Dallas Burn) - while Frank Simek (Arsenal - England) and David Johnson (Willem II - Holland) represent the USA's young yanks abroad.

Convey, who was a mainstay with the Under-20 team in 2000 and 2001, has only played two games with the Under-20s in 2002. In qualifying for the 2001 World Youth Championship, Convey scored three goals in the USA's first two games to secure a spot for the American side in Argentina '01. The youngest player on a U.S. Under-20 team that included Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley last year, Convey was one of the team's most consistent performers and started all four matches at the World Youth Championship in Argentina and led the U.S. with two assists in that tournament. This fall, he will be joined by D.C. United teammates Quaranta and Mapp.

Quaranta and Ed Johnson are expected to reunite the strike partnership that saw them combine for 98 goals at the Under-17 level. Due to injuries and club commitments, Quaranta has yet to play an Under-20 match, while Johnson's play with the Under-20s has been limited to 13 matches and four goals. Mapp will provide width to the attack from his left midfield spot.

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