US U-20, U-19 national teams call in 17 MLSers for international tournament

The U.S. U-19 and U-20 sides will play in the 2018 U-20 Men’s Invitational tournament at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida from Sept. 7-11, and 17 players with MLS clubs have been called into the two sides. 

Six players called have MLS experience, some more extensive than others. Philadelphia’s Mark McKenzie leads the way in MLS minutes among those called up; he’s started 13 games this season for the Union. Others who have made their MLS debuts: Atlanta’s Andrew Carleton (pictured above), Sporting Kansas City’s Jaylin Lindsey, FC Dallas’ Paxton Pomykal, Toronto’s Ayo Akinola and LAFC’s Shaft Brewer Jr.

FC Dallas lead the way for player representation with four, including on-loan Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards. LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders each had three players called up.

The U-20s and U-19s will play Venezuela and Jamaica as well as each other, with the winner of the tournament decided by total points after three games apiece. Matchdays are Sept. 7, 9 and 11 with games at 11 am ET and 4:30 pm ET.

U.S. U-19 MNT Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Sam Fowler (Seattle Sounders FC; Issaquah, Wash.), Johan Penaranda (University of Pittsburgh; Long Beach, N.Y.)

DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, Calif.), Khai Brisco (Seattle Sounders FC; Renton, Wash.), Jean-Julien Foe Nuphaus (University of California, Berkeley; San Jose, Calif.), Nathan Harriel (Chargers SC; Oldsmar, Fla.), Carlo Ritaccio (University of Akron; Westbury, N.Y.), Akil Watts (Unattached; Fort Wayne, Ind.)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Isaac Angking (New England Revolution; Providence, R.I.), Taylor Booth (Unattached; Eden, Utah), Blaine Ferri (Unattached; Southlake, Texas), Chris Goslin (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta, Ga.), Declan McGlynn (Seattle University; Kirkland, Wash.)

FORWARDS (6): George Acosta (Boca Juniors; Miami, Fla.), Ulysses Llanez (LA Galaxy; Lynwood, Calif.), Joshua Penn (Sockers FC; Naperville, Ill.), Jacobo Reyes (CF Monterrey; Monterrey, Mexico), Bryan Reynolds (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Manuel Terrazas (Club Santos Laguna; El Paso, Texas)

U.S. U-20 MNT Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): CJ Dos Santos (S.L. Benfica; Philadelphia, Pa.),  Brady Scott (FC Köln; Petaluma, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (8): Sergino Dest (AFC Ajax; Almere-Stad, Netherlands), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96; South Orange, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsay (Sporting KC; Charlotte, N.C.), Lennard Maloney (Union Berlin; Berlin, Germany), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Manny Perez (N.C. State University; Garner, N.C.), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich; Hoover, Ala.), Sam Rogers (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.), Sam Vines (Charlotte Independence, Charlotte, N.C.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Frankie Amaya (UCLA; Santa Ana, Calif.), Christian Cappis (Unattached; Katy, Texas), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Andres Jimenez (Envigado FC; Miami, Fla.), Alex Mendez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif. ), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Birmingham, Ala.), Juan Torres (K.S.C. Lokeren; Lilburn, Ga.)

FORWARDS (4): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC; Detroit, Mich.), Shaft Brewer Jr.(LAFC; Sacramento, Calif.), Griffin Dorsey (Indiana University; Evergreen, Col.), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96; San Diego, Calif.)