MLS D.C. United

U-17 MNT and Griffin Yow Head to 4 Nations Tournament in Netherlands for Final Pre-World Cup Training Camp

Published on August 28, 2019 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
D.C. United News Release


U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team head coach Raphael Wicky has named a 23-player roster including Black-and-Red Homegrown Griffin Yow for the 4 Nations Tournament in Assen, Netherlands from Sept. 5-9. The USA will face Mexico, Netherlands and Denmark at the competition, which will serve as the team's final official international matches before the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.

U.S. U-17 MNT Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Aaron Cervantes (Orange County Soccer Club; Chino Hills, Calif.; 3/0),Damian Las (Unattached; Norridge, Ill.; 18/0), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; London, England; 6/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 0/0), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.; 16/0), George Bello (Atlanta United; Douglasville, Ga.; 6/1), Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 0/0), Mauricio Cuevas (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 5/0), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.; 15/0), Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 20/2), Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich City/ENG; Plano, Texas; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Maximilian Dietz (Freiburg/GER; Frankfurt, Germany; 0/0), Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.; 0/0), Gilbert Fuentes (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.; 19/0), Bryang Kayo (D.C. United; Poolesville, Md.; 5/1), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.; 23/2)

FORWARDS (7): Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.; 13/7), Andres Jasson (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.; 8/0), Noah Jones (RB Leipzig/GER; Berlin, Germany; 0/0), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Kent, Wash.; 21/9), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas; 12/4), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Bedford, N.Y.; 14/7), Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.; 12/7)

Fourteen players return from the USA's 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship squad that clinched a record 17th qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.Twenty-one of 23 players, including every player born in the U.S., has spent at least one season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2002 are age-eligible for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. For this camp, Wicky has called 21players born in 2002 and two born in 2003. 

Following the tournament in the Netherlands, the USA will look ahead to the kick-off of Group D play at the U-17 World Cup, where it will play Senegal on Oct. 27, Japan on Oct. 30 and Netherlands on Nov. 2.

ROSTER NOTES

Sixteen clubs are represented on the roster, with seventeen players based domestically and five based abroad in Germany (three)and England (two). Eight players have been signed to MLS Homegrown contracts. Every player has appeared in at least one U-17 training camp. Defenders Sebastian Anderson, Nico Carrera and Jonathan Tomkinson, midfielders Maximillian Dietz and Ethan Dobbelaere as well as forward Noah Jones will all have the opportunity to earn their first U-17 cap. Midfielder Adam Saldana is the roster's most-capped player, with 23 U-17 appearances. Saldana and goalkeeper Damian Las have appeared in every U-17 camp this cycle. With nine goals, forward Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez heads to the Netherlands' as the USA's leading scorer. He netted his first two pro goals for the Tacoma Defiancevs. Las Vegas on July 25. Thirteen players have logged professional minutes this year. Returning from injury, George Bello has played the last four games for Atlanta United 2, his first game action since March. Defenders Nicolas Carrera and Ethan Dobbeleare made their pro debuts earlier this summer for North Texas SC and Tacoma Defiance, respectively. Goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes has started the last three games for Orange County SC, keeping a clean sheet vs. Las Vegas on Aug. 18. In the U-19 Bundesliga, Dietz and forward Gio Reyna have played in all four of their club's games to start the season. Jones made his debut last weekend vs. Hannover. Goalkeeper Chituru Odunze recently completed a transfer to England's Leicester City and made his U-18 Premier League debut on Aug. 24 vs. Brighton. Fellow recent transfer Jonathan Tomkinson has played in all three games for Norwich City U-18 to start the season.

ACADEMY TIES

The roster features three Academy Players of the Year: Kobe Hernandez (West -2018-19), Gio Reyna (East U-16/17 -2017-18), George Bello (East U-15/16 -2016-17). Six players were named to Academy Best XIs for their respective conferences at the end of the season: defenders Adam Armour and Tayvon Gray plus midfielder Bryang Kayo in the East, Tomkinson in the Central as well as defender Mauricio Cuevas and Hernandez in the West. 

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