Tab Ramos announces its composition for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 in Poland

CHICAGO (May 10, 2019) -U.S. Under-20 national men's head coach Tab Ramos has selected 21 players to represent the United States at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland from May 23rd to June 15th.

The United States starts the tournament on Friday May 24 against Ukraine (2:30 pm ET, FS1), will face Nigeria on Monday May 27 (2:30 pm ET, FS1) and will close the group stage on Thursday, May 30, Qatar (2:30 pm HE; FS2).

"I am excited about the players who will have the chance to participate in a World Cup. It's an unforgettable experience and they will enjoy forever, "said Ramos. "It's still an extremely difficult decision to make as a coach. There were four or five other players who really deserved this time. "

Nineteen of the 21 players in the lineup spent at least one season at the US Development Academy. Twelve players are currently playing internationally, while nine are based in the country.

Players born on or after January 1, 1999 are eligible for the 2019 U-20 World Cup. The US lineup consists of six players born in 1999, 12 born in 2000 and three born in 2001.

"This team has excellent leadership and excellent competitiveness on and off the field," said Ramos. "We are all looking forward to taking advantage of this opportunity that has been gained with unprecedented focus, consistency and determination at the Concacaf U-20 Championship."

Composition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 by Position (Club, Hometown, Caps / Goals U-20)
Goalkeepers (3): CJ Dos Santos (Benfica / POR, Foxchase, PA, 2/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake, Oxnard, California, 4/0), Brady Scott (Köln / GER, Petaluma, California, 9/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Sergino Dest (Ajax / NED, Almere-Stad, The Netherlands, 8/1), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96 / GER, Montclair, NJ, 11/0), Aboubacar Keita (Richmond Kickers, Columbus, Ohio; ), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union, Bear, Del., 10/3), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union, Drexel Hill, PA; 10/0), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich / GER, Birmingham, Ala; 0)
MIDDLE (6): Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas, Frisco, Texas, 0/0), Chris Durkin (DC United, Glen Allen, Virginia, 2/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven / NED, Phoenix, Arizona, 4/0), Alex Mendez (Freiburg / GER, Los Angeles, California; 15/8), Paxton Pomykal (Dallas FC, Highland Village, Texas; 9/3), Brandon Servania (Dallas FC, Dallas, Texas; 8/2)
IN FRONT (6): Ayo Akinola (Toronto / CAN FC, Brampton, Ont .; 12/9), Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona / ESP, Miami, FL, 2/1), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg / GER, Lynwood, CA; 11) / 7), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, 13/6), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96 / GER, San Diego, California, 5/2), Tim Weah (Celtic FC / SCO, Rosedale , NY; 0/0)

Since the beginning of the cycle in January 2018, the under-20s have set an international record of 13-2-0, testing against 12 different national teams in eight training camps.

Fourteen players return from the team that won the second consecutive US Confederation title at the 2018 U-20 Concacaf Championship. Alex Mendez won the gold medal as the tournament's best player, while Brady Scott won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper. Eight World Cup squad players earned the best eleven at the regional championship: Scott and Mendez, defenders Sergino Dest, Chris Gloster and Mark McKenzie, midfielder Brandon Servania and strikers Ayo Akinola and Ulysses Llanez.

Following his outstanding performance at the Concacaf U-20 Championship, Mendez also won the 2018 Youth Footballer of the Year award. The midfielder scored eight goals and added six assists in the tournament. He delivered the most critical moments of the team. He opened the scoring against Costa Rica to win a place in the World Cup, before qualifying for the league match against Mexico.

Scott is the only player to be part of the formation of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, while six players represented the United States at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Ayo Akiniola, Dest, Gloster , Dos Santos, Chris Durkin and Tim Weah. . All, with the exception of Dos Santos, started games for the United States during the team's quarter-final race. Weah is the only player selected by senior MNT, who has played eight games for the entire team in 2018.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 will bring together 24 nations in six groups of four teams. The top two in each group, as well as the top four teams in third place, qualify for the round of 16. The 52 games of the tournament will be played at six venues in Poland.

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 – Group D Schedule – United States

Date	Meet	Coup of sending (ET)	Place	TV Info
Friday, May 24	USA vs. Ukraine	2:30 pm in the afternoon.	Bielsko-Biala Stadium; Bielsko-Biala, Poland	FS1
Monday, May 27	USA vs. Nigeria	2:30 pm in the afternoon.	Bielsko-Biala Stadium; Bielsko-Biala, Poland	FS1
Thursday, May 30	USA vs Qatar	2:30 pm in the afternoon.	Tychy Stadium; Tychy, Poland	FS2

The United States is one of only two countries to reach the quarter-finals of the last two

FIFA U-20 World Cup and one of five nations to qualify for the last four tournaments. The United States qualified for 16 of the 22 World Cups of all time, tied for second place in the world.

ALIGNMENT NOTES

• This will be the fourth World Cup for Ramos as head coach of the U-20 NCDs. One of the most accomplished characters in American football history, Ramos will become the first player of this summer to participate in 11 FIFA World Championships as a player or coach.
• The composition of the age list: 20 (three players), 19 (eight players) 18 (eight players), 17 (one player).
• The US roster consists of nine home-based players and 12 players based in Germany (six), the Netherlands (two), Canada, Portugal, Scotland and Spain (one each).
• Ayo Akinola enters the World Cup as the top scorer with nine goals. The Toronto FC forward scored seven of his goals in the 2018 Concacaf U-20 championship.
• Alex Mendez is the most experienced player on the team with 15 appearances at the Under-20 level. Nineteen of the 21 players in the lineup were selected with the U-20 DEM.
• Forward Tim Weah helped Celtic win its eighth consecutive Scottish Premier League title last week, starting with a 3-0 win at Aberdeen to win the championship. Celtic will also compete in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts on May 25th.
• Striker Sebastian Soto made his Bundesliga debut for Hannover 96 last month as a substitute against Wolfsburg. Last week, Soto scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season for the U-19 Hannover in a 2-0 win at Dynamo Dresden.
• Midfielder Edwin Cerillo and Paxton Pomykal have become FC Dallas favorites this season. In ten matches of the club, they made respectively eight and nine appearances. Pomykal has been named the MLS Week Team three times in 2019.
• After an injury, midfielder Richard Ledezma made his first start to the PSV Eindhoven U-19 last week, scoring a goal against NAC Breda.
• After returning from injury, goalkeeper Brady Scott got his first start in 2019 for FC Köln II last week, keeping the same base in a 5-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.
• Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos debuted with Benfica U-23 last month against Estoril Praia.
• Midfielder Brandon Servania has played every minute for the USL League Club One North Texas SC so far this season.
• The three players born in 2001 – goalkeeper David Ochoa, as well as forwards Konrad De La Fuente and Ulysses Llanez – are also eligible for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021.
• The 19 American players in the formation come from 12 different states, the largest number coming from California (five).

ACADEMY TIES

• Nineteen of the 21 players have spent at least one season at the US Development Academy.
• In addition to the nine players from the MLS teams having crossed their respective academies, the remaining 11 players played for the last time in the following DA teams: Dos Santos (Philadelphia Union), Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Keita (Columbus) Crew SC, currently on loan from Columbus), Ledezma (Real Salt Lake), Llanez (LA Galaxy), Mendez (LA Galaxy), Richards (Dallas FC), Scott (De Anza Force), Soto (Real Salt Lake), Weah ( New York Red Bulls).
• Three players were named best conference player of the 2017-18 season: Ledezma (U-18/19, Western Conference), Llanez (U-16/17, Western Conference) and Richards (U-18/19, Central Conference ). ).
• Seven players were named to the Academy Best XIs last season: Keita (Central U-18/19), Ledezma (West U-18/19), Llanez (West U-16/17), Mendez (West U-18/19), Ochoa (West U-16/17), Richards (Center U-18/19) Soto (West U-18/19).
• Pomykal and Servania were part of the FC Dallas U-15/16 team that won the 2016 Development Academy Championship. Pomykal was also part of the club's U-17/18 team, which also won the championship that year.
• Richards won the 2017 U-17/18 Academy Championship with Texans SC Houston.