U16 USYNT November Roster Analysis

Tobias Szewczyk (New York Red Bulls), James Donaldson (Atlanta United)

Szewczyk and Donaldson have been the favorite goalkeepers for this age group for over a year. Szewczyk is one of my top 20 2009 prospects. He was not in the last camp because of an injury and was replaced by one of my top 50 prospects, Marcelo Avalos, however Avalos will be playing for the opponent in this window.

Marcelo Avalos (Philadelphia Union), Leonard Prescott (Bayern Munich)

Avalos is my top rated goalkeeper from this age group and will be playing for Mexico in this camp. He has played more consistently for Mexico, but has flip flopped between both teams. 
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Prescott is the number one keeper for Germany’s U16 team and while it is likely that the United States has been in contact, he probably prefers Germany at this point in his career.

RB, Eddie Chadwick (LA Galaxy), LB, Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew), LB, Liam Vejrostek (FC Dallas)

Chadwick is back with the group after getting selected to an England U16 camp. Forfor returns and is one of the top prospects in this age group, as well as one of my top 50 prospects overall. Vejrostek is in line to get his first cap as a USYNT player. Vejrostek is a physical left-back that can also play left center-back in a pinch. He is a young 2009 with good potential. People close to the FC Dallas program have continued to tell me to keep an eye on him and that he is bound to breakout.

RB, Alexito Gomez (New York Red Bulls), RB, Jason Hunt (Philadelphia Union), RB/LB, Linkon Ream (Real Salt Lake), LB, Manu Romero (Real Madrid), LB/CB, Liam Devan, Nashville SC
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Gomez has been RB1 for this age group for some time and is continuing to work back to full fitness.

Hunt is one of the most improved players that I have seen from the 2009 group this season. He is playing primarily as a left-back for Philadelphia, but he is a naturally right-footed player. He looks a lot more controlled and confident when driving the ball forward. 

Ream continues to get snubbed. I say it every time a 2009 roster drops and will continue to. You can’t tell me he is not one of the top five full-backs in this age group and it’s strange to me that he hasn’t at least received one team camp. 

Romero is another top prospect from this age group and is currently recovering from an injury.

Devan has played center-back and left-back for both Nashville and the United States. It looks like he is settling in to becoming a left-back at Nashville, which I think is where he is best suited long term. It will be difficult for him to jump Forfor and Romero when the A team is available, but he is a great third option. This class has a very strong full-back group. 

RCB, Tyson Espy (LAFC), RCB, Daniel Barrett (Houston Dynamo), LCB, Huge Berg (Chicago Fire)

Espy and Berg have been consistent selections for the last several camps. Espy is my top rated center-back in this age group and he looks to have taken a step up this year. Berg is one of the top left-footed options. Barrett is getting his first team camp and likely to get his first USYNT cap. He was one of only a handful of 2009 players to play in MLS Next Pro this season and now plays primarily with Houston’s U19s in MLS Next. He has definitely earned this opportunity. 

RCB, Ethan Degny (Atlanta United), RCB, Astin Mbaye (New York Red Bulls), RCB, Gianmarco Di Noto (Columbus Crew), LCB, Josh Munson (New York Red Bulls)

Degny, like Linkon ream, continues to be one of the strangest omissions from this age group. Mbaye and Di Noto have been selected fairly frequently to this team, but they won’t be with the group this time around. 

Munson is an interesting player. He is just coming back from injury which is why he wasn't considered for this camp. His ceiling is as high as any center-back in this age group. He is about 6-5, left-footed and mobile. Consistency is definitely a concern, but his potential is exciting. It’s a matter of time before he gets a look with this group. 

DM, Calem Trombino (Orlando City), DM/CM, Lukas Bruegmann (Houston Dynamo), CM, KK Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes), CM, Roko Pehar (Chicago Fire)
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Trombino is another player who is getting his first opportunity in a USYNT camp and will have the opportunity to get his first cap. It’s good to see Aldaz experiment with some new players. Bruegmann has been in the last several camps, as has Spivey, a top 50 prospect, and Pehar. 

DM, Adri Mehmeti (New York Red Bulls), DM, Caleb Simmons (New York Red Bulls), DM, Jack Francka (Sporting Kansas City), DM, Landry Walker (San Antonio FC), CM, Gustavo Borges (Unknown)
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Mehmeti is the top player missing from this position group, and the #6 prospect on my top 50 prospect list. I’ve been told informally that he will not be accepting invites unless he is called into the U17 team (2008 age group). Simmons has been my DM2 for a while now and deserves a look. Francka isn’t too far behind him at that position. Walker has been in a couple camps, but looks to have slid down the depth chart. Borges is one of the most talented players in this age group, but has not been playing consistently this year and that is likely the reason he hasn’t been selected. 

AM, Xander Newstead (Ajax), AM, Willyam Ferreira (Philadelphia Union), AM, Paul Sokoloff (New York Red Bulls), WING, Omar Hassan (Seattle Sounders), WING, Mattheo Dimareli (Houston Dynamo), WING, Immanuel Ewing (Columbus Crew).
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Newstead is the only player on the team from a European academy. I have not seen him play before and am hoping that I get a chance to evaluate him in these two games. 

Ferreira is the newcomer that I am most excited to see. He has been pretty dynamic for Philadelphia Union this year. He has always had the technical ability and intelligence, but he has grown a little bit and looks a little more explosive this year. I currently have him rated as the second best attacking-mid in this class behind fellow club member Cavan Sullivan. Ferreira definitely earned this call up. 

Sokoloff returns to the group with a strong ability to create plays in the final third. They have been consistent selections to this team. Hassan and Dimareli have been consistently selected wingers to this age group. 

Ewing was added late as a replacement to Will Ostrander. It's not clear why Ostrander could not attend the camp.

AM, Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), AM, Ademar Chavez (FC Cincinnati), AM, Steel Cook (FC Dallas), WING, Mathis Albert (LA Galaxy), WING, Makai Wells (Barca Residency), WING, Darris Hyte (Chicago Fire), WING, Kashan Hines (Sporting Kansas City), WING, Jakob Garcia (Orlando City), WING, Kairo Smith-Phillips (Crystal Palace), WING, Jordyn Eason (FC Dallas), WING, Immanuel Ewing (Columbus Crew)
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The list here is long which speaks to the talent and depth of the central and wide attacking players in this age group. Sullivan is my top overall rated prospect and currently plays for the U17 team. Chavez is not with the Mexico team or the U.S. team even though he is one of the top attacking-mids in this class. Cook has been a consistent selection but has been dealing with injuries this year. 

On the winger side of things, Mathis Albert is the biggest name that isn’t here. He is another top 50 prospect and like Sullivan, has been promoted to the U17 team. Wells, Hines and Smith-Phillips are three attackers that I rate highly, but have not been called into any camps. They deserve a look at some point. 

Hyte, Garcia, Eason and Ewing have all been in camps recently and are having good club seasons, but were not selected this time around. 

Zidane Cadet (Inter Miami), Aaron Medina (LA Galaxy)
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Cadet is the clear cut CF1 in this age group right now and Medina is another new player getting his first camp. Medina deserves a look, he has good feet, connects well, gets a lot of touches in the final third and can finish with both feet.

CF, Malik Jakupovic (Philadelphia Union)
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Jakupovic got his first call up in October and I thought for sure he would be back given his talent and ability, but the staff wants to get a look at Medina and Cadet is still their number one option at the moment. 

It’s difficult to put together a bad roster with this group because it is incredibly talented and deep at most positions. This is by no means a bad roster, but there are some players that continue to get overlooked that surprise me like: Marcelo Avalos, Linkon Ream, Ethan Degny, Caleb Simmons, Jack Francka, Makai Wells, Kashan Hines and Kairo Smith-Phillips. 

From a roster construction standpoint, I continue to see a trend that puzzles me. There are once again a lot of attacking-midfield type players that do not currently have the physical profile that typically translates to high levels as a professional player. And once again, there are very few true wingers on the roster, only two. 

On the positive side, I like to see new players brought in, especially when the camp is low stakes. The inclusion of Vejrostek, Barrett, Trombino, Ferreira and Medina are all welcome additions to the pool. We are also starting to see the core of this team taking shape with Szewczyk, Forfor, Espy, Spivey, Hassan and Cadet. These are all top players in the 2009 class.