Head coach Alex Aldaz has called in twenty players for a set of three international friendlies in Spain. The United States will face the Netherlands on October 9 (5 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. local), Northern Ireland on October 11 (9 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. local), and Portugal on October 14 (5 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. local).
This group represents the 2009-born pool, which has officially transitioned into the U-17 cycle that will lead to the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Championship and, ideally, the 2026 U-17 World Cup. The roster features several familiar names from the September camp but also a few notable omissions and an intriguing inclusion from the 2010 class.
The roster
GK – Tobias Szewczyk, New York Red Bulls (#12 2009 prospect)
GK – James Donaldson, Atlanta United (#19 2009 prospect)
RB/CB – Daniel Barrett, Houston Dynamo
CB – Ethan Degny, OGC Nice
CB – Astin Mbaye, AC Milan
CB/LB – Liam Vejrostek, FC Dallas (#20 2009 prospect)
LB – Prince Forfor, Columbus Crew (#8 2009 prospect)
DM – Peter Molinari, NYCFC
DM – Jacob Ramirez, Orlando City
CM – KK Spivey, San Jose Earthquakes (#3 2009 prospect)
CM – Lukas Bruegmann, TSG Hoffenheim
CM – Roko Pehar, Chicago Fire
AM – Will Ostrander, PSV
AM – Vicente Garcia, LA Galaxy (#2 2010 prospect)
WING/LB – Manu Romero, Real Madrid (#4 2009 prospect)
WING – Makai Wells, New England Revolution (#9 2009 prospect)
WING – Mattheo Dimareli, Houston Dynamo
WING – Rylan Hashimoto, Real Salt Lake
CF – Malik Jakupovic, Philadelphia Union (#6 2009 prospect)
CF – Aaron Medina, LA Galaxy
Top eligible players not on the roster
GK – Marcelo Avalos, San Jose Earthquakes (#10 2009 prospect)
Avalos appears to be leaning toward representing Mexico at this stage.
GK – Leonard Prescott, Bayern Munich
Prescott has developed significantly this year and now looks like one of the top young goalkeeping prospects in the pool. He should be a high-priority dual-national recruitment target for U.S. Soccer.
GK – Philipp Eckle, FC Augsburg
A solid player, though not quite on Prescott’s level. It’s unclear if the federation is in active contact.
RB – Nash Dearmin, Inter Miami
A surprising omission given how often he’s been part of this age group. The roster notably lacks a natural right-back.
RB – Alexito Gomez, New York Red Bulls
Hasn’t been in a U.S. camp for a while and could have filled the positional gap on the right side.
RB/LB – Linkon Ream, Real Salt Lake (#15 2009 prospect)
Only one prior camp appearance so far. I’d like to see him get more looks — a modern, two-way fullback with upside.
CB – Tyson Espy, Orange County SC (#7 2009 prospect)
The top center-back in this class. Recently made his professional debut for Orange County, and it’s possible he remained with his club to continue that progression.
CB/LB – Liam Devan, Nashville SC
A left-footed and versatile defender who featured in the September camp.
DM – Adri Mehmeti, New York Red Bulls (#5 2009 prospect)
Appears uninterested in joining USYNT camps at the moment.
CM – Gustavo Borges, Eintracht Frankfurt
A big midfield talent who has yet to receive a call-up. A camp in Spain would have been a good opportunity.
CM – Judah Siqueira, New England Revolution (#13 2009 prospect)
Arguably the best player in this age group yet to earn a USYNT invite.
AM – Cavan Sullivan, Philadelphia Union (#1 2009 prospect)
Playing up with the 2008 USYNT.
AM – Jai Bansoodeb, Brentford
A new name to track. Recently moved to Brentford and is among the top players in their age group.
AM – Ademar Chavez, FC Cincinnati
A creative attacking midfielder who continues to perform well at club level.
W – Mathis Albert, Borussia Dortmund (#2 2009 prospect)
Plays for the 2008 USYNT.
W – Omar Hassan, Seattle Sounders (#14 2009 prospect)
Starting regularly for Tacoma Defiance in MLS Next Pro. Likely not released due to club commitments.
W – Kashan Hines, Sporting Kansas City (#17 2009 prospect)
A talented, dynamic winger who deserves a camp look.
W – Darris Hyte, Chicago Fire (#18 2009 prospect)
A late add to September’s camp who doesn’t return this window.
W – Kairo Smith-Phillips, Crystal Palace
Impressive in limited video, but hasn’t featured for U.S. Soccer in over a year.
CF – Zidane Cadet, Inter Miami (#11 2009 prospect)
Appears to have fallen down the depth chart but remains one of the top strikers in this class.
CF – Van Parker, Real Salt Lake (#16 2009 prospect)
Looks likely to commit to Canada for now.
Player receiving first camp
There are no first-time call-ups, but there is one notable age-group promotion: Vincente Garcia, a 2010-born midfielder from LA Galaxy, joins the 2009s for the first time.
This is the first instance of a 2010 being called up an age group since the early stages of the 2009s’ U-15 cycle, when Robert Turdean and Wil Recupero earned similar opportunities. It’s a significant signal that U.S. Soccer views Garcia as an elite-level prospect.
Roster grade: B
From a roster construction standpoint, this group presents some structural challenges. The absence of a natural right-back stands out — Daniel Barrett can fill in there, but he’s still toggling between center-back, right-back, and defensive-midfielder roles. The left side is better covered, with Liam Vejrostek, Prince Forfor, and Romero all capable of handling left-back duties.
The center-back and midfield groups look balanced, and the returning trio of Degny, Romero, and Wells adds quality and continuity. However, the winger pool feels light on pace and directness outside of Wells. If Romero is used further forward, that could help, but he’s listed as a defender this window.
From a selection standpoint, there’s nothing alarming — it’s a solid group with a few questionable omissions. It’s great to see Romero back after missing the prior cycle through injury, and both Degny and Wells deserved their quick return after strong September performances. Players like Szewczyk, Donaldson, Forfor, Spivey, and Jakupovic are core pieces who should feature consistently in upcoming camps.
If there’s a critique, it’s that a few deserving players were left out who could have been released and would have added more dynamism and positional balance — particularly Dearmin, Gomez, Ream, Borges, Siqueira, Bansoodeb, Hassan, Hines, Hyte, and Cadet.
Overall, this is a steady but conservative selection. It’s a B roster — functional, talented, but lacking a few exciting elements that could elevate this group’s ceiling ahead of a competitive 2026 cycle.
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