Zack Campagnolo (Colorado Rapids), Kayne Rizvanovich (FC Cincinnati)

Campagnolo has been viewed as the top keeper in this class for a few years and was the third keeper for the last U17 World Cup team. Rizvanovich has been my top rated keeper from this class for the last year or so. He is a big and strong shot stopper that has the ability to keep teams in games. 

RB, Drew Baiera (NYCFC), RB, Harbor Miller (LA Galaxy), LB, Tristan Brown (Columbus Crew)

The 2007s have a very strong full-back class and this is a very talented trio. Baiera is the top player in this group and Miller and Brown are also talented, attacking full-backs with bright futures. 

Neil Pierre (Philadelphia Union), Jose Magana Jr (LA Galaxy), Nicholas de Almeida (Inter Miami)

Pierre was my top rated 2007 from my last prospect rankings update and Magana had a really strong season last year for LA Galaxy. De Almeida has been a consistent selection for this group and provides high level distribution ability. 

DM, Colin Guske (Orlando City), DM/CM, Adyn Torres (Atlanta United), CM, Darius Lane (Brighton), CM, Jonathan Shore (NYCFC)
‍
This group is a mix of familiar names and some new names entering the fold. Torres and Shore have been popular selections for a couple of years. Guske had a very strong 2023-2024 season and has been getting a lot of opportunities with Orlando City’s reserve team. This will be my first long look at Darius Lane, but according to people I trust that have watched him play, he is a top player, potentially a top prospect in this class. 

AM, Axel Perez (Lyon), AM, Santiago Morales (Inter Miami), AM, Leo Orejarena (FC Dallas), AM, Santiago Pita (Atlanta United), WING, Aiden Hezarkhani (RSL), WING, Daniel Pinter (Inter Miami)
‍
There is a trend within U.S. Youth National Teams that I am struggling to understand. The USYNT roster selection stakeholders seem to love small, technical and physically underwhelming attacking-mids. There are four of them on this roster. Of the four, Axel Perez, Santi Morales and Leo Orejarena all have very similar profiles. 

The fourth, Santiago Pita, is a name I had not heard of before I saw this roster. He played at Weston FC in Miami before moving to Atlanta United before the start of the upcoming MLS Next season. He is another attacking-mid with a slightly different profile than the other three. He is a lefty and likes the ball at his feet and is comfortable attacking one on one. It’s possible he is used as a winger for this team, but I don’t see the explosiveness for him to stay there long term. I would prefer two less attacking-mids and two more prototypical wingers. 

The two wingers on the roster are AIden Hezarkhani and Daniel Pinter. Hezarkhani is a really interesting player. He is a left-footed winger that mainly plays on the right side. He has very good feet and likes to attack 1v1. Pinter is another more traditional winger with good movement and execution in the final third. Overall this group lacks pace, size and athleticism.

Justin Ellis (Orlando City), Stefan Chirila (FC Cincinnati)

Justin Ellis’ return to USYNT soccer is long overdue and it’s great to see him here. He is a very unique profile  with an incredible technical skillset and a knack for making plays for his teammates. Chirila earns his first USYNT selection after an incredible season full of goals in MLS Next and MLS Next Pro. 

The list of top age eligible players that were either not selected, not released or not available for this camp.

McFarlane is a top prospect in this class, but is provisionally cap-tied to England and is with the England U18s during this International window. 

Miller is another top prospect from this class, but is currently getting minutes for the New England Revolution first team after missing most of the season to injury. It’s highly likely that he was not released for this camp. It’s also possible that he is going to be an option for the U20 team who struggled at left-back during the U20 World Cup Qualifiers.

I have to imagine the choice at left-back for this team was between Dominik Chong Qui and Tristan Brown. I think Chong Qui has the higher ceiling, but Brown is the more refined player at the moment. I would have been happy with either player. 

I would have given the edge to McIntosh over Miller. I think he has performed better in MLS Next Pro this season, but both are pretty comparable right-back prospects. With Tsakiris as the coach, it’s likely he favored his own player in Miller. McIntosh also has a Jamaican passport and I was surprised he was not selected to play for Jamaica at the U20 World Cup Qualifiers. 

Meiser is another top dual-national. He is provisionally cap-tied to Germany and is playing with their U18 team in the Jezek Cup and will be playing against the United States U17 team.

Bresser is another player that is provisionally cap-tied to a European power, Holland. 

Ukaegbu is an ascending prospect that is starting to look like a top 10 player in this class. He has been with this group before, but has started the last three games for Sacramento and was likely not released for this camp. 

Moore is the only viable left-footed center-back in this class and I would have liked to see him here over Magana or Almeida. He is very good in distribution and has played pretty well in MLS Next Pro.

Platts has been with this group before and I would have preferred him over Magana or Almeida, but it’s not an obvious selection and it’s really just a matter of preference. Similar to Harbor Miller, Magana is Shaun Tsakiris’ player and likely had an edge for that reason.

Fisher is a super technical, deep lying playmaker that just moved to Kustojia in Croatia. He developed in Texas at an ECNL club called DKSC. I think he has the highest ceiling of any 6 in this class. 

I can confirm that Worth was not asked to attend camp. It may be that he was not selected or U.S. Soccer preferred that he continue to get minutes for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in USL. 

I would have liked to see Owen Anderson in this group. He could have added a different type of attacking midfield option with a bit more power and pace, instead of three players with very similar profiles. 

Ramos recently played for the U20s at the World Cup Qualification tournament and appears to have graduated beyond this class.

I am very surprised to not see Gavin Turner here. He is back healthy and playing very well for Loudoun United. This group lacks winger options and Turner is at the top of my list from this class.

Culbreath is provisionally tied to Germany and is with their U18s.

Like Ramos, Gozo played with the U20s at the World Cup Qualifications and is likely considered to have graduated beyond this class. 

Randell would have added a different type of winger option that this group lacks. 

Berchimas is the only 2008 that might have been considered for this tournament but he appears to be a priority option for the U20 team.

I am a big fan of Allen’s game and he deserves a look with this group at some point. I think the lack of MLS Next Pro opportunity being offered by San Jose is hurting him here. 

Glover has been in the mix with this group for a while, but it looks like Tsakiris wanted to get a look at two new guys at striker. 

Santos is in a similar position as Glover. He has been in a lot of these camps, but it looks like they want to give some other guys a look.

Fields is off to a hot start for Hoffenheim within the U19 league and offers a different type of profile that this class lacks: a vertical striker with aerial threat. Fields guest starred for FC Cincinnati at the GA Cup last spring.

I do not have a ton of major gripes with the roster. My main concern with the overall roster construction is the amount of similarly profiled attacking-midfielders and the lack of dynamic wingers. There are winger options that I believe would have been available for selection. I think the team could struggle to create chances without a lot of one on one dynamos on the team.

Chong Qui, McIntosh, Moore, Platts, Fisher, Torres, Anderson, Turner, Anderson, Randell and Allen are all players I would have liked to see on this roster. For many of these players and positions, the difference is negligible, but for some, I think the gap in talent is fairly obvious. 

This class has a lot of very talented dual-nationals that are provisionally tied to big European countries and there are also quite a few players with key roles on their first team, so the pool is a little limited. They also didn’t bring any players up from younger age groups because the 2008s are playing in the Jezek Cup around the same time and that group is preparing for the U17 World Cup Qualifiers. Of all the players invited, the player I am most excited to evaluate is Darius Lane, the center-mid from Brighton.