Gavin Beavers, Real Salt Lake (2005), Julian Eyestone, Brentford (2006)

Beavers and Eyestone make up a high ceiling keeper duo, both of whom have a strong chance of making the U20 World Cup roster. Beavers is probably the number two option if everyone is available, but has not always been released for USYNT duty because he is a spot starter for Real Salt Lake. Eyestone was the number two option at World Cup Qualifiers, but offers some of the most raw talent at this position in this age group. 

Diego Kochen, Barcelona (2006), Adam Beaudry, Colorado Rapids (2006)

Kochen, the presumptive number one is out injured. Beaudry was the number one for World Cup Qualifying and his absence is puzzling. The only reasonable rationale I can gather is that he picked up a knock, but he was on the bench for Colorado’s last match. Colorado’s number one, Zack Steffen is with the USMNT for their set of friendlies, but neither would miss Colorado’s next match on 10/19, so I am not quite sure what is going on here. 

RB, Leo Duru, Blackburn (2005), RB, Reed Baker-Whiting, Seattle Sounders (2005), RB, Ethan Kohler, Werder Bremen (2005), RB, Oscar Verhoeven, San Jose Earthquakes (2006), LB, Nolan Norris, FC Dallas (2005), LB, Peyton Miller, New England Revolution (2007)

I know, I know, not all of these guys are going to be playing full-back, but truly, these are all full-backs. Mitrovic brought a bunch of full-backs to play wing which shows the lack of depth and availability of the group. 

Baker-Whiting and Miller were listed as forwards in the U.S. Soccer press announcement so it is safe to assume both will primarily play on the wing. I can see it with Miller, who is a very attacking left-footed player. I can’t see it so much with Baker-Whiting. His strengths are on the defensive side of the ball. He has primarily played left-back for Seattle though he is a right-footed player. 

Leo Duru will get his first cap with the United States and it has been a long time coming in my opinion. He is a very exciting and explosive attacking full-back that knows how to get involved in the final third. Duru would be a more sensible option as a winger, but it seems he will be played at right-back. 

Oscar Verhoeven gets his first opportunity with the U20s and I think it is well deserved. He has been starting for San Jose, playing both left and right-back. 

Nolan Norris has been the captain of this group and it looks like he will move back to left-back instead of center-back, where he played for a thin group at the World Cup Qualifiers. 

Ethan Kohler rounds out the group who also has a lot of positional flexibility. He has primarily played as right-back for the U20s, but plays as a center-back and a defensive-mid for Werder Bremen. 

Overall, it’s good to see new faces here because this position was one of the weakest parts of the World Cup Qualifying roster. 

RB, Aiden Harangi, Eintracht Frankfurt (2006), LB, Luca Bombino, LAFC (2006)
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Harangi and Bombino struggled at World Cup Qualifiers, there is no way around it. Bombino is out with a grade 3 quad strain. Harangi was selected, but not released, which makes way for a few other players to get an opportunity.

Josh Wynder, Benfica (2005), Noah Cobb, Atlanta United (2005), Noahkai Banks, Augsburg (2006)

This is a much stronger group than what we saw for World Cup Qualifiers. Wynder gets his first action with this U20 cycle after featuring in the last U20 World Cup. His experience, leadership and ability will be a welcome addition to the group. 

Cobb is the only returning, natural center-back from qualifiers and I thought he played okay. I don’t think he is an A team candidate, but gets another chance to impress because of an injury to Matai Akinmboni. 

Banks rounds out the group and it’s wonderful to see him here. For my money, he is the most talented player on this team and the top center-back prospect in the youth pool. 

Drew Murray, Freiburg (2005), Grayson Dettoni, Bayern Munich (2005), Matai Akinmboni, DC United (2006)

Murray seems to have fallen out of favor which is unfortunate. From a talent perspective, he belongs in the conversation, but he isn’t playing a bunch for Freiburg II and maybe there is more to the story. 

Dettoni is a solid option that is starting week in and week out for Bayern’s second team. It has been reported that he has been invited to the last couple of camps but Bayern has not released him. Akinmboni would probably be here if he wasn’t injured. My guess is that Wynder, Banks and Akinmboni would make up the preferred center-backs for this team. 

DM, Bryan Moyado, LAFC (2005), DM, Pedro Soma, Barcelona (2006), CM, Benja Cremaschi, Inter Miami (2005), CM, Niko Tsakiris, San Jose Earthquakes (2005), CM, Brooklyn Raines, Houston Dynamo (2005), CM, Sergio Oregel, Chicago Fire (2005), CM, Taha Habroune, Columbus Crew (2006)
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For the most part, this is an incredibly strong group. Soma, Cremaschi, Tsakiris, Raines and Habroune are first choice players for this team. Getting Cremaschi to move down from the U23 team is a real treat and pairing him with Soma and Tsakiris make a very formidable midfield. 

Oregel and Raines have been very reliable options and will be tough to displace from the final roster. 

Moyado is the player that doesn’t do a lot for me. I don’t think he has a profile that translates to a higher level. I would have preferred to see his roster spot given to a winger or Matthew Corcoran if he was released and fit. 

DM, Matthew Corcoran, Birmingham Legion (2006)
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Corcoran is working his way back from injury, but if he was fit, I would have liked to see him with this team or the U19s. 

AM, Ruben Ramos Jr, LA Galaxy (2007), WING, Luke Brennan, Atlanta United (2005)
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A lot of full-backs are going to play in attack, but there are really only two half-space/wing players on this team in Ramos and Brennan. Ramos is effective, but doesn’t have a natural attacking position and I think there are better options available. 

I have liked what I have seen from Brennan the last couple of years and think it’s worth getting a look at him because this group lacks wingers who are comfortable playing wide and attacking one on one. 

AM, CJ Olney, Philadelphia Union (2006), WING, Kristian Fletcher, Nottingham Forest (2005), Tarik Scott, FC Dallas (2005), Serge Ngoma, RBNY (2005), WING Cole Campbell, Borussia Dortmund (2006), WING, Bryce Jamison, Orange County (2006), Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC (2008), Julian Hall, RBNY (2008), Cavan Sullivan, Philadelphia Union (2009)
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This is the position group where I have the biggest questions. Fletcher and Campbell were likely not released. Fletcher because he just got fit enough to make his first Premier League 2 appearance and Campbell because he is getting his first opportunity with the first team. 

I am high on Olney and think he should be with this group, but at the very least with the U19 team. 

Scott and Ngoma are two 2005 winger options that I would like to see get an opportunity. Scott in particular is a guy that I rate highly that US Soccer does not seem to. Ngoma has been chronically injured for the last two years, but he has been a consistent sub option for RBNY in the last month and has flashed ability. 

Bryce Jamison was left off of the U20 and U19 roster and I think his directness and pace could be of use in this pool. 

There are some young stars that also could have been considered. Berchimas is on the U19 roster and to be honest, I would rather see him here over Ramos. Hall is another young star that is making an impact in MLS, but has not been with a US team in a while. I think he could be an interesting young option here. 

The last name might seem to be  a bit of a stretch, but is it really? Sullivan has established himself as a dangerous player in MLS Next Pro and he seems pretty comfortable playing against players of this age. 

Marcos Zambrano, Vitória Guimarães (2005), Aidan Dausch, Coventry (2006)
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Zambrano returns as the incumbent starting number nine. I wasn’t all that impressed with him at the World Cup Qualifiers, but he provides a nice link up option that has some bite in the final third. Dausch is another player who is getting his first ever U.S. camp. He has been highly productive within Coventry’s academy and was rewarded with his first team debut at the end of last season. If you haven’t heard a lot about Dausch, Brian Sciaretta did a nice feature on him recently. It’s exciting to see him get an opportunity at a position that could use a boost. 

Rodrigo Neri, Atlanta United (2005), Keyrol Figueroa, Liverpool (2006)
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Neri seems to have fallen out of favor and I can’t say that I totally disagree. He has been fine since moving from Valencia’s academy to Atlanta United’s second team, but he hasn’t blown the competition away which is likely what he needs to do to get back in the mix. 

Figueroa is the most talented striker in this pool, but he hasn’t been given as much opportunity as I think his skill level warrants. He is with the U19s, but I would have him here over Zambrano if I was selecting the best team possible. 

It’s pretty crazy to look at this team and compare it to the World Cup Qualifying team from this past summer. This team has a lot more talent, especially on the backline. I give a ton of credit to Mitrovic for getting Beavers, Banks, Wynder, Baker-Whiting and Cremaschi back in the fold. These are all top players from this age group. 

I also love that Duru and Dausch are getting their first opportunities with U.S. Soccer. Both have the talent to make a difference with this group. Duru in particular is a really exciting right-back prospect. 

Miller is another player that I am really excited to see. He can play both left-back and left-winger and he has been very impressive the last couple months for New England. 

The only thing keeping this roster from being an A is the winger group. Once again the roster is starved of true wingers even though there are some options that would be intriguing.