Tim Weah, son of Liberia President and former FIFA Player of the Year winner George Weah, headlines a stacked USMNT U-20 World Cup roster, which was announced by U.S. Soccer on Friday morning.
Weah, a 19-year-old PSG striker who has scored four goals in 17 appearances on loan at Celtic in 2019, is part of an exciting team full of players who already have experience playing abroad. Europe-based players like Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich), Richard Ledezma (PSV), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg), Alex Mendez (Freiburg), Sergino Dest (Ajax) and Chris Gloster (Hannover) make this one of the most impressive USMNT U-20 World Cup rosters ever.
Two years of hard work leading up to *this* moment. The U-20 @FIFAWorldCup kicks off May 23 in . Roster » https://t.co/SwBSxpOdgn pic.twitter.com/IAaNEKLrie
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) May 10, 2019
Weah has made eight appearances with the senior USMNT, but he won’t be joining the squad this summer for the Gold Cup as the U-20 World Cup runs through June 15, the same day the Gold Cup begins. Tyler Adams and Josh Sargent, two U-20-eligible players, were not on the USMNT U-20 World Cup roster, meaning they are likely to play in the Gold Cup.
But Weah is by no means the only star on the team heading to Poland for the U-20 World Cup.
Mendez and Llanez lit up the Concacaf U-20 Championship last fall, Mendez scoring eight goals to win the Golden Ball. Llanez added seven goals, as did Toronto FC’s Ayo Akinola. Brady Scott, who plays for Cologne, won the Golden Glove. Scott, Dest, Gloster, Mendez, Akinola, Llanez, Phialdelphia Union’s Mark McKenzie, Gloster and FC Dallas’ Brandon Servania all were named to the all-tournament team after the U.S. won it all with a 2-0 win over Mexico in the final.
In all, 11 players on the 21-man roster are based in Europe, with eight more based in MLS. Scott even has U-20 World Cup experience, having played at the 2017 edition in South Korea. That year the U.S. reached the quarterfinals for a second straight year.
Coach Tab Ramos will have his eyes on going further than the quarterfinals with the roster he’s compiled, something the U.S. has never done at the U-20 World Cup.
The U.S. opens play in Group D on May 24 against Ukraine followed by matches against Nigeria and Qatar. The top two teams in each of the six groups and four third-place teams advance to the knockout rounds, which begin June 2.
2019 USMNT U-20 World Cup Roster
Goalkeepers
- C.J. Dos Santos (Benfica, Portugal)
- David Ochoa (Salt Lake)
- Brady Scott (Cologne, Germany)
Defenders
- Sergino Dest (Ajax, Netherlands)
- Chris Gloster (Hannover, Germany)
- Aboubacar Keita (Richmond)
- Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia)
- Matthew Real (Philadelphia)
- Chris Richards (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Midfielders
- Edwin Cerrillo (Dallas)
- Chris Durkin (D.C.)
- Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)
- Alex Mendez (Freiburg, Germany)
- Paxton Pomykal (Dallas)
- Brandon Servania (Dallas)
Forwards
- Ayo Akinola (Toronto)
- Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona, Spain)
- Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg, Germany)
- Justin Rennicks (New England)
- Sebastian Soto (Hannover, Germany)
- Tim Weah (Celtic, Scotland)
A moment I’ve dreamed of playing in a World Cup Honored & blessed to represent with the boys let’s go !! https://t.co/htHiBgY5lg
— Alex Mendez (@aleexm21) May 10, 2019
Blessed to make this roster It’s time!! https://t.co/RTZ7rUf4G3
— chris gloster (@chris_gloster) May 10, 2019
Can’t wait to get started with the boys https://t.co/zeGPdqCCSV
— Richard Ledezma (@richydezma) May 10, 2019
Time to represent #FIFAU20WC pic.twitter.com/ZbSFVT9IPC
— Chris Durkin (@ChrisDurkin0) May 10, 2019
Always been a dream of mine to play in a world cup , and now it’s finally a reality. Now it’s time to bring home the trophy https://t.co/MNGAt8sUaR
— chris richards (@eastmamba) May 10, 2019
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