2006 Top 20
December 2025, Final Rankings
The 2006 class remains one of the more volatile age groups in the pipeline. The top end still has real USMNT upside, but many of the best prospects are struggling to break into first teams, creating concerns about the long-term viability of the class. Outside of Noahkai Banks, Taha Habroune, and Bombino, consistent first-team minutes have been hard to come by. Habroune looks like a legitimate breakout candidate in MLS next year, while Banks has logged over 500 minutes with Augsburg’s first team and could make a late push for the 2026 World Cup roster.
Behind them, several highly regarded prospects—Diego Kochen, Julian Eyestone, Matai Akinmboni, Cole Campbell, and Keyrol Figueroa—need to find first-team opportunities soon to regain momentum in their development. Still, the depth of the class has shown some signs of life, with a couple of once-top prospects beginning to rebound and reestablish themselves.
This is still a particularly strong goalkeeper group, with Kochen and Eyestone projecting long-term USMNT starter potential. Center-back remains a relative strength thanks to Banks and Akinmboni. The full-back pool is solid but lacks elite upside. In midfield, Soma and Corcoran continue to anchor the group, and Habroune’s strong showing at the U-20 World Cup helped boost his stock. Olney remains the top attacking-mid, offering versatility to play deeper or in wide creative roles.
Out wide, Campbell’s stock took a hit after a lackluster U-20 World Cup, and a move away from Dortmund is rumored for January. But there have been positive signs: Andre Gitau and Bajung Darboe look like prospects actively working to resurrect their careers. Up top, Figueroa has had a promising start to his U-21 season at Liverpool, and Eddy Davis III is beginning to emerge as a name worth tracking.
Overall, while the class is still searching for stability and more consistent first-team pathways, the top-end talent keeps the 2006s relevant, and the recent rebounds from a couple of depth pieces offer slightly more optimism than earlier in the cycle.
GK, CB
Class strengths
AM, LB, CM
Class weaknesses
1. CB, Noahkai Banks, FC Augsburg (↑1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇩🇪
National Team: 🇺🇸 USMNT
Banks has the complete physical and technical profile of a modern center-back, with the size to battle target strikers, mobility to play in space, and distribution ability to lead from the back. Defensively, he needs to become more proactive, decisive and disciplined.
2. GK, Diego Kochen, FC Barcelona (↓1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇵🇪 🇪🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-21
Kochen is a complete goalkeeper with elite shot-stopping ability, quick reflexes, and strong distribution skills that make him a key asset in building out from the back. While he’s slightly undersized, his reaction time, positioning, and explosiveness more than compensate, and he’s known as a tactically sharp and respected leader.
3. GK, Julian Eyestone, Brentford (↑1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Eyestone has rare coordination, flexibility, and lateral quickness for a 6'6" keeper, with improving consistency and above-average distribution. Continued growth in decision-making and box positioning could unlock a very high ceiling.
4. CM, Taha Habroune, Columbus Crew (↑4)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇦
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Habroune is a ball progression machine with veteran-level off-ball instincts and the final-third impact of a number ten, though his value lies in the middle third. If he develops into at least a serviceable defender, he projects as a very good pro.
5. W, Cole Campbell, Borussia Dortmund (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇮🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-21
Campbell is an explosive winger with excellent ball control at speed, capable of creating chances for himself and others by cutting in from the right onto his favored left foot. While his final-third decision-making can be inconsistent, he consistently puts defenders under pressure.
6. W/RB, Bryce Jamison, Colorado Rapids (↑10)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: U-19
Jamison's physical profile and work rate is too good not to become a very good pro. While he’s improved technically, inconsistency on the ball make a transition to right-back, where his defensive work rate shines, increasingly likely.
7. CB, Matai Akinmboni, Bournemouth (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇳🇬
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Akinmboni is a strong, physical center-back with a quality left foot and passing range to all areas of the pitch, capable of playing out of pressure. His main long-term question is how well he can defend in space against athletic attackers.
8. DM, Pedro Soma, San Diego FC (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇧🇷
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Soma is a smart, technical midfielder who excels in a possession based system. He is press resistance and distributes well from deeper positions. The main concern with his game is his ability to cover a lot of ground, he needs to rely on his intelligence and instincts to make up for a slight lack of pace.
9. CF, Keyrol Figueroa, Liverpool (↑1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇭🇳
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Figueroa isn’t the biggest striker, but his speed and explosiveness are true weapons and he continues to improve his technical qualities in hold up play. He is starting to become more ruthless in the final third.
10. DM, Matthew Corcoran, Nashville SC (↓1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Corcoran is a holding midfielder and deep-lying playmaker with solid ball security, excellent passing range, and vision. Defensively, he uses toughness, positioning, and intelligence to control midfield despite lacking high-end quickness.
11. LB, Luca Bombino, San Diego FC (↑1)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇮🇹
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Bombino is a reliable, high-floor fullback with a solid technical base, comfort in combination play, and the ability to deliver quality crosses. While his physical tools and dynamism are average, his competitiveness, defensive work rate, and composure on the ball make him a steady presence in the back line.
12. AM, C.J. Olney, Philadelphia Union (↓5)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇮🇹
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Olney has excellent vision and playmaking ability and he strikes the ball incredibly well. It's time for him to start showing that he can be a difference maker against higher competition.
13. GK, Andrew Rick, Philadelphia Union (No change)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Rick is slightly below average sized keeper that makes up for it with great athleticism, reflexes and lateral quickness. His distribution is above average, but his positioning and instincts for leaving his goal mouth are inconsistent at times.
14. W, Andre Gitau, Mainz (New addition)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇰🇪
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Gitau is a powerful, bursty winger with the ability to break defenders down one-on-one. His long-term viability in the role will depend on whether he can become more decisive in the final third. If that doesn’t develop, his profile could still translate to other positions with less emphasis on final-third precision.
15. W, Bajung Darboe, Bayern Munich (New addition)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇬🇲 🇫🇮
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Darboe is a high-energy, direct attacker who has recently improved his tidiness and control on the ball. Like many young attackers, the biggest remaining question is his consistency and effectiveness in the final third.
16. RB, Oscar Verhoeven, San Diego FC (↓2)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Verhoeven is a tenacious competitor who loves the challenge of taking on talented attackers one on one. He shows flashes of creativity and ambition on the ball, but is also prone to a mental lapse. He has an above average physical profile for a full-back and his versatility to play both left and right-back increase his value.
17. AM/W, David Vazquez, Philadelphia Union (on loan to San Diego FC (↑3)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Vazquez is a tenacious defender with a dynamic left foot who can impact the game on both sides of the ball. While his physical tools are average and the pace of play can challenge him at times, his competitiveness stands out.
18. W, Fidel Barajas, Chivas (on loan to San Luis) (↓3)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
National Team: 🇲🇽 U-20
Barajas’ has good technical qualities and offensive instincts, both on and off of the ball and he has shown the ability to be effective in the final third, but he has struggled to apply these skills at higher levels of competition.
19. CB, Freddie Anderson, Stoke City (New addition)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸 🏴 🇯🇲
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Anderson has good size and solid mobility, and he pairs those tools with reliability, intelligence in his defensive assignments, and comfort playing out of the back. He needs to continue adding strength and become more consistent when defending explosive attackers in space.
20. CF, Eddy Davis III, Philadelphia Union (New addition)
Nationalities: 🇺🇸
National Team: 🇺🇸 U-20
Davis offers an intriguing blend of pace, final-third movement, combination play instincts, and end-product. He needs to improve his hold-up play, but things are starting to come together for him.
Disclaimer
I have not had the opportunity to thoroughly scout the following players in the last 12-months: GK, Adam Delplace (Lens).
If you have full game film for any of these players from the last 12-months, please contact me at marcus@ussoccercollective.com.
