The US has qualified by winning The CONCACAF U20 Championship in November. The Tournament will take place in Lima, Peru, and run from late July to early August. The other teams who qualified are Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. The cutoff birthday is January, 1st 1997, though each team is allowed 3 overage players. Any idea on what to expect squad wise from the US? This would seem to serve as an effective prep tournament for The Olympic Qualifiers which take place just a few months later in October, however I imagine getting players released for both tournaments would be quite difficult, especially ones who actually play first team minutes. It also stars only 6 weeks after the end of the U20 World Cup, so including any standout U20's would be quite difficult.
I won't be at all surprised if: US Soccer doesn't send a team... Or, US Soccer sends a team of college players... Or, US Soccer sends a team of USL and MLS players who rarely play for the first team. I also won't be surprised if the U23s still don't have a head coach by the time this tournament starts.
I agree with you, it is very likely that in this team we see guys like Kunga, Fontana, Gutjahr or Vazquez who are very relegated in teams of MLS, along with some college players who have a good level but are not good enough for the MNT.
If US Soccer doesn't go they are just being cheap. Why not send an off year team like u-19s? There are plenty of fringe national team players that were just not born in the right year or maybe later in the year. Give them an opportunity to rise to the occasion and maybe some can make a breakthrough.
My wild stab at what an 18-man roster would look like. GK (2): Ryan Meara (NY Red Bulls, overage), Justin Vom Steeg (LA Galaxy) DF (6): Donovan Pines (DC United), Lamar Batista (LAFC), Jack Maher (Indiana U. Hoosiers), Manny Perez (North Carolina FC, left off US U20 WC), Andrew Gutman (Charlotte Independence, overage), Johnny Nelson (FC Dallas) M (5): one of Stanko/Alashe/Ulloa (FC Cincinnati, overage), Logan Panchot (Stanford U. Cardinal), Jeremiah Gutjahr (Chicago Fire), Eryk Williamson (Portland Timbers), Anthony Fontana (Philadelphia Union, left off US U20 WC) F/W (5): JJ Williams (Columbus Crew), Daryl Dike (U. of Virginia Cavaliers), Tate Schmitt (Real Salt Lake), Lagos Kunga (Atlanta United), Joshua Perez (LAFC)
Making overage selections for a theoretical Pan AM games "C" team is some serious commitment to the role!
I think you can be a little more aggressive with Euro based youngsters as they aren't in season. Those that aren't in the Gold Cup or U20WC squads. Players like..............Haji Wright, Blaine Ferri, Indiana Vassilev, Chris Cappis, etc. What about George Acosta from Boca Juniors? These types of players.............
I'm not sure the Pan Am games would cap-tie anybody. Counts as much in that regard as the Toulon tournament, etc. But it would keep kids that are currently "on the outside looking in" in the USMNT/USYNT fold.
Most importantly, sending a team would generate several more YNT specialty threads (in addition to this general one) - a roster thread; a pre-tournament thread; a minimum of three individual game-day threads, quite possibly more; an other-groups/teams thread; a post-mortem thread - all-in-all a mini-bonanza for this forum. Sure, we'll have to wait some time for a "Where are they now?" thread, but if we select players who are sufficiently obscure now, imagine how much fun it will be to see what they are doing decades from now. Good times!
The best threads are the ones that haven't even been started yet. They're the "next U20 cycle" of message board chatter.
The USA could field a pretty interesting team of players featuring college and USL players as well as Euro guys that need a professional boost. Probably would need a pretty good coach to make a team like that work though. Haji Wright, McKinzie Gaines, Isaiah Young, and Mukwelle Akale are all names that come to mind for European players who could be called in.
Whelp the groups were announced and The United States declined to participate. Honduras will be our replacement
It makes sense. Unless the US was gonna send a collegiate team - and really, what's the point of that? - most of the players in the pool weren't gonna be released for this. And why would USSF want to burn any chits getting players released. (I do think if the US wanted to send a team of collegiate players to the World University Games every two years that it would be a good developmental and identification tool for the college players, but that's another thread.)
At this point investing in a college team is primarily investing in USL and players going pro in something other than sports in 3-5 years.
If we want soccer in the USA to make it big, then having a robust USL with American talent is in the best interest of the program. For example, if I could see DJ Taylor play in the Pan American games and then go see him live in Raleigh, it grows my interest in the local game. A team of top college and USL players could look pretty solid at the Pan Ams against weaker opposition and it gives players from farther flung areas a chance to shine. If it's not worth it to the USSF I get it but I just don't see throwing a team together as something particularly costly.
Definitely a missed opportunity. Certainly not a money issue. Not really a player-release issue, either, as you simply build a team out of those players who are available. Wouldn't expect to win, might go 0-3 and out, but it would be a good experience for those who did go. Most importantly, and to @Thundering165 's point, participating helps - if ever so slightly - in growing the game, raising its profile, etc - really the heart of the federation's mandate as I see it. Not just hosting a World Cup; not just hosting friendlies for Mexico's MNT, not just making a not-for-profit buck and building on that $150 million rainy-day fund, but supporting the game of soccer at every level in this country.
I agree - take say, the U19 team that played in the youth summit Camp Cupcake in January. Get rid of anyone who is either on the U20s or is playing in MLS and fill in the remaining gaps with U18s in the same boat. I'm sure most of the rest of that roster would get released. You get at least three games plus practice time to continue evaluating players in the pool. FWIW I think the women should have stayed in the tournament too and just brought their U-23 team.