Arrow up that takes you to the top of the page

U16 USYNT Camp Roster Analysis

Eyebrow graphic
May 2024
The United States under-16 boys get together for a camp in Argentina where they will play friendlies against Uruguay on May 27th and Argentina on May 30th. These games will be played behind closed doors and will not be televised.

Gonzalo Segares returns as the manager and he will lead another U17 World Cup cycle. This group is continuing it's preparation ahead of the U17 Concacaf Championships which will take place in Mexico next February.
Maxi Carrizo, attacking-midfielder from NYCFC

Roster analysis

Goalkeepers

Jack Kortkamp (Sporting KC), Owen Pratt (LA Galaxy)

No big surprises here — Kortkamp and Pratt have been consistent selections for this group. I believe the preferred pairing was meant to be Kortkamp and Stokes, but Stokes was not released. I have no issue with this pairing at all.

Full-backs

LB Pedro Guimaraes (LAFC), RB, Juan Gio Villa (RSL), RB Oliver Tan (Without Club)

Segares elects to bring three full-backs, two of which are right-footed in Villa and Tan and Guimaraes who is a lefty. Villa has played a lot on both sides and will likely be asked to be a swing-back. Tan is the relatively new player that sticks from last camp. Interestingly enough he is not currently contracted with any academy, though I believe he is training with San Jose. Tan is also comfortable playing winger. No major issues from me. I have always thought Jordan Griffin deserved a chance to compete at left-back and eventually it would be very excited to see Wesley Okoduwa from Wolves in a USA kit.  

Center-backs

Ian James (Sporting KC), Ramiz Hamouda (Birmingham Legion), Adrian Sanders (LAFC), Christopher Cupps (Chicago Fire)

I really like this group. James and Hamouda reunite as a former backline pairing at Sporting KC. Sanders and Cupps have been consistent selections for this age group.

Center/Defensive-mids

DM, Evan Lim (NYCFC), CM, Luca Moisa (RSL), CM, Cooper Sanchez (Atlanta United)

The group is missing their two best midfielders in Jude Terry (injury) and Cristiano Oliveira (unknown) so they are pretty thin in terms true defensive and box to box midfielders. Moisa has been a mainstay for this group and is more of an attacking-mid than an eight. Sanchez is a great addition to the group. He is a versatile player that can be effective as a six, eight or ten.

Attacking-mids/Wingers


AM, Jack Mize (Borussia Dortmund), AM, Maximo Carrizo (NYCFC), W, Jamir Johnson (Philadelphia Union), W, Omar Marquez (RSL), W, Vitaliy Hlyut (Chicago Fire), W, Tanner Rosborough (RBNY), W, Mathis Albert (2009/Borussia Dortmund)

This is a really fun group. Carrizo and Mize are dynamic playmakers and natural number tens. Johnson, Marquez and Albert are all dangerous wingers with good one on one ability. I don't know why U.S. Soccer listed Albert as a LA Galaxy player, he is not, he will be registered as an official Borussia Dortmund academy player in July when the transfer window opens.

I need to spend more time watching Hlyut, but he sticks from the last camp which indicates he impressed. Rosborough can play both as a winger and a center-forward and brings a relentless work ethic and cleverness in the final third.

Center-forwards

Chase Adams (Columbus Crew)

Adams continues to be the number one choice at center-forward for this group and it is hard for me to argue. He is wrecking ball with good feet and playmaking ability.

Who’s Missing and Why?

At this age group, the main reason for players missing from camps are because they are not selected, not fit, or not released because of the MLS Next Pro season.

Graduated beyond this level

W, Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC

Provisionally tied to another country

DM, Decarlo Guerra, LAFC (Guatemala)

Not released

The following players have been top performers for this age group to date. These players were most likely left off the roster to allow them to focus on MLS Next Pro.

GK, Aidan Stokes (RBNY)
AM, Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union/2009)
W, Julian Hall (RBNY)

Injured

CB, Sebastian Chavez (RBNY)
DM/CM, Jude Terry (LAFC)
CM, Cristiano Oliveira (New England)

Not selected

GK, William Mackay (RSL)
I don't believe Mackay has been back with this group since the U15 Concacaf Championships last year.

GK, Luca Maxim (Orlando City)
Maxim has been in and out of this group, but Segares and the staff decided to go with Kortkamp and Pratt.

RB, Wesley Okoduwa (Wolves)
Okoduwa is a top prospect that is eligible for England, Nigeria and the United States. To date, he has only played internationally for England. He would be a top player for this U.S. age group if he was open to playing for the United States. I know that USSF is aware of him, but I am not sure whether he is open to playing for U.S.

LB, Jordan Griffin (Philadelphia Union)
I think Griffin is the most talented LB in this class and he played very well at the GA Cup for a Philadelphia U17 team that won it all. He has not yet been given an opportunity by USSF and I am struggling to understand what they are missing.

LB, Miguel Alvarado (Colorado Rapids)
Alvarado might be losing his grip on this age group for now.

CM, Camron Estala (RSL)
Estala is another that has been in and out of this squad, but does not make it this time.

DM, Isaiah Kaakoush (FC Dallas)
Was with the U15 team at times last year, but hasn't been with the group for some time. He is on his third club of the season, going from Barca Residency to Phoenix Rising to FC Dallas.

DM, Peter Doran (Philadelphia Union)
I am a little surprised Doran was not selected over Lim.

DM, Landon Emenalo (Chelsea)
Has been in a few camps, but hasn't been in a while. I have not seen him play in a while and I am not sure what his current level is.

CM, Isaac Tortola (Columbus Crew)
Tortola is another that has been with this group a lot, but not selected to this camp.

CM, Gil de Souza (RBNY)
de Souza is a very talented player that does not seem to be rated by USSF for some reason.

CM, Liam Lambert (LAFC)
Lambert has been in and out of this group for the last year or two.

AM, Leo Gitau (Houston Rangers)
Gitau was once considered a top prospect from this age group. That level of talent is still there, but USSF hasn't selected him since he left Houston Dynamo.

W, Cristiano Carlos (New England Revolution)
I've always been a massive fan of his game. He has been injured a lot this year, but could work his way back into the mix.

CF, Alexander Staff (Frankfurt)
Staff was either not released, not asked to join or does not currently have interest in exploring U.S. Soccer at this time.

CF, Anisse Saidi (Philadelphia Union)
Saidi has been behind Adams for a while now and it seems that Segares and company prefer to have Rosborough back Adams up and also provide depth at winger.

Roster grade: A-

Considering who was available, I don't have a ton of issues with this roster — Sullivan, Terry, Hall, Stokes and Oliveira are all top players in this class. It's unclear how open Okoduwa is to playing with this group, but he should be at the top of the recruiting list. I would have liked to see at least one true box to box midfielder in this group like Sanchez or de Souza, but they don't seem to be rated as highly by USSF. Overall, I think the majority of selections are sensible and this team should have decent success down in Argentina.

Scouting Services

In need of scouting services? I got you. I have experience providing services for clubs, agencies and publications.

GET IN TOUCH