Duran Ferree, FC Nordsjaelland (2006), Andrew Rick, Philadelphia Union (2006)

Ferree and Rick make a ton of sense. Ferree was the third keeper at the U20 World Cup Qualifiers behind Adam Beaudry and Julian Eyestone. The number one U20 option, Diego Kochen, is out injured and Gavin Beavers and Julian Eyestone are with the U20s.

Rick is a smart addition. He has over 540 first team minutes and has shown good potential as a very young goalkeeper in MLS. I would not be surprised to see Rick work his way onto the U20 team before the World Cup. 

GK, Adam Beaudry, Colorado Rapids

Beaudry isn't with the U20s or the U19s which is a bit of a shock. It's possible he has a knock. I don't think he was blocked for Colorado's first team. Steffen should be available for their next game.

RB, Drew Baiera, NYCFC (2007), RB, Harbor Miller, LA Galaxy (2007), LB, Tahir Reid-Brown, Orlando City (2006)

Baiera and Miller earned a promotion from the U18. Baiera certainly earned the promotion after a very impressive performance in Japan for the U17s last month. Miller is a little more of a surprise considering some of the 2006 options that might have been available. Reid-Brown has been behind Nolan Norris and Luca Bombino on the U20 left-back depth chart. Bombino struggled at the World Cup Qualifiers and has been left off of both U19 and U20 rosters. It's unclear why, it could be due to injury. Reid-Brown benefits from that and gets an opportunity to move up the depth chart.

RB, Owen Presthus, Columbus Crew (2006), RB, Aiden Harangi, Eintracht Frankfurt (2006), LB, Luca Bombino, LAFC (2006)
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Presthus is the biggest snub here. He has performed very well in MLS Next Pro and can play both right and left-back. Harangi and Bombino both played at the U20 World Cup Qualifiers, but had their struggles. Bombino is out with a grade 3 quad strain and Harangi was selected to the U20 squad, but not released by his club.

Stuart Hawkins, Seattle Sounders (2006), Neil Pierre, Philadelphia Union (2007), Chibuike Ukaegbu, Sacramento Republic (2007)

Hawkins moves down from the U20 team which is a sign that the U20s are hopefully getting some of their top center-backs back into the mix. Pierre and Ukaegbu are my top two 2007s that are not named Tyler Meiser, so I am in complete alignment with those two selections. It’s great to see Ukaegbu recognized after some impressive performances in USL. 

Nothing to see here, I believe Nsien got this right.

DM, Colin Guske, Orlando City (2007), DM, Ervin Torres, Austin FC (2007), CM, Nate Worth, Tampa Bay Rowdies (2007)

Guske gets a promotion from the U18s and Ervin Torres interestingly gets the call after not joining the U18s in Japan last month. Worth is a great addition and is a player that I think should have been called a few camps earlier. He has played well in USL and probably deserves a shout with the U20s, but this is a good start. Overall, this is a pretty light group of 6s and 8s.

DM, Matthew Corcoran, Birmingham Legion (2006), CM, Darius Lane, Brighton (2007)
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Corcoran is just coming back from injury and it’s possible he was held back as a precaution. Lane is a player that I thought mostly played well in Japan for the U18s and given the lack of box to box options on both the U20 and U19 age groups, I would have liked to see him here.

AM, Cruz Medina, San Jose Earthquakes (2006), AM, Paulo Rudisill, Feyenoord (2006), AM David Vazquez, Philadelphia Union (2006), WING, Mykhi Joyner, St. Louis City (2006), WING, Zavier Gozo, Real Salt Lake (2007), WING, Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC (2008)
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Medina, Vazquez, Gozo and Berchimas all moved down from the U20 team. Of all of these four players, Berchimas getting moved down is the most surprising even though he is the youngest player on this team. While inconsistent, he made some gigantic plays for the U20s at the Qualifiers.
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Rudisill is back after last being with the U20s. I believe he was selected to the World Cup Qualifying team, but was not released.

Joyner is the brand new name. He has never been capped by the United States and has not played with a United States Youth National Team to date. It’s hard to argue with his production — he has 15 goals and 3 assists in MLS Next Pro. In my humble opinion, the ability does not totally align with the production, so it will be interesting to see how he performs at his first chance with the national team. 

AM, CJ Olney, Philadelphia Union (2006), AM, Cavan Sullivan, Philadelphia Union (2009), WING, Bryce Jamison, Orange County (2006), WING, Gavin Turner, DC United (2007), WING, Julian Hall, RBNY (2008)
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Olney continues to get overlooked by players that are performing worse than him in the same league. I have said it over and over again, but he should be with the U20 team, much less the U19 team.

Jamison is starting to be more effective in USL and I would like to see him back in the mix.

Turner is the best 2007 winger for my money. It’s been too long since he has been in a USYNT camp. 

Sullivan and Hall are two young stars that would be intriguing options here. It's not worth getting up in arms about their omissions, but given their ascensions, I could see them getting a look at some point. Both play positions that need an injection of talent at both the U19 and U20 levels.

Keyrol Figueroa, Liverpool (2006), Jykese Fields, Hoffenheim (2007), Din Klapija, RB Leipzig (2007)

Figueroa moves down to the U19s which means there is either a new name on the U20 team at the striker position or they are only bringing Marcos Zambrano. Fields and Klapija are both very intriguing selections. Both play within the German U19 level at esteemed academies. Fields is off to a very hot start for Hoffenheim and I have always been an admirer of Klapija’s game dating back to his time with NYCFC. He is the type of striker that we do not produce a ton of — undersized, but very technical and instinctive in the final third. It’s interesting that both were selected, but not on the last U18 team last month in Japan. It’s likely that both were selected, but not released. 

Julian Placias, Westerlo (2006), Justin Ellis, Orlando City (2007)
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Placias has intriguing skill sets that could help the U20 team. I would like to see him get a chance at some point in the next couple of camps with either the U19s or U20s. Ellis performed well for the U18s last month, but he has been deprioritized in favor of Fields and Klapija. 

After taking into account who was brought into the U20 squad, I feel pretty good about the first U19 roster of this cycle.

I really like the selections of Rick, Baiera, Pierre, Ukaegbu, Worth, Fields and Klapjia. I think all of these players could make a push for the U20s. Of all the likely omissions, I am most puzzled by Presthus, Lane, Olney, Jamison and Turner.

Overall, I am happy to see U.S. Soccer have more Youth National Team age groups being active. We now have each age group from U20 (2005) down to U15 (2010) active. I believe this is the first time that has ever happened. That is a very exciting development for U.S. Soccer. The next step is to get these age groups more consistently active during each International window.