The roster
GK, Connor Dale, FC Cincinnati
GK, Jason Nemo Jr., Chicago Fire
LB, Roman Avakian Gomez, FSV Mainz 05
LB, Seyi Fakiyesi, Atlanta United
LB, Alex Soria, FC Dallas
RB, Jeremiah Alexander-Munoz, Charlotte FC
RB, Lennox Alvarado, Orlando City
CB, Luca Antongirolami, Sporting Kansas City
CB, Owen Jorgensen, St. Louis City
CB, Landon Mulvenna, Philadelphia Union
CB, Rocky Rommel, San Jose Earthquakes
DM, Christopher Morales, Chicago Fire
DM, Nathan Tchoumba, Colorado Rapids
CM, Anthony Applewhaite, FSV Mainz 05
CM, Vincenzo D'Annunzio, Feyenoord
AM, Kevin Baldwin, FSV Mainz 05
AM, William Recupero, VfB Stuttgart
W, Kaeden McDowell, Charlotte FC
W, Paxon Ruffin, CF Monterrey
W, Liam Stribling, Nashville SC
CF, Jamil Danjaji, Columbus Crew
CF, Landon Lucero, Seattle Sounders
Roster reactions
This is a highly mixed bag for me. There are some position groups I love and some I'm deeply concerned about, so let's go through them one by one.
The goalkeeper group is aces. I think GK, Connor Dale, FC Cincinnati and GK, Jason Nemo Jr., Chicago Fire are the clear number one and number two keepers in this class. They'll each get two games of good experience. No notes here. I've called Dale the top young keeper in the United States right now, and I'm sticking by that. It was recently reported by Tom Boger that he is signing a homegrown deal with FC Cincinnati.
The full-back group is mixed. The left side is strong, and the right side is worrisome to me. Of course, I don't have all the data that goes into these decisions, but from my perspective, right-back has continued to be a weak spot for this roster, yet we continue to call the same players in. Overall, it's a weak position group for this class, but I'd really like to see RB, Dominick Lester, FC Cincinnati get an opportunity. He's yet to.
On the left side, LB, Seyi Fakiyesi, Atlanta United is clearly LB1 for me, and I'm really excited to see LB, Roman Avakian Gomez, FSV Mainz 05 get his first opportunity. He's listed as an attacker, which is interesting. He has experience on the wing but has primarily played left-back for Mainz as of late, so it'll be interesting to see where he's deployed by U.S. Soccer. He can also play in midfield. He's well liked by Mexico, and with World Cup qualifying coming up quickly in February, he may have a decision to make soon. LB, Alex Soria, FC Dallas (2010) is another left-back who can also play in midfield.
The center-back group is a big concern for me. As a group, they lack size and athleticism. CB, Landon Mulvenna, Philadelphia Union is as tough as they come and is a good leader, and they're all probably great kids, but I'm not sure I see any super high-level pros in this group.
I don't know how strong of an effort U.S. Soccer has made to recruit CB, Max Gordon, Bayer Leverkusen, but he's a top player — a German-American who has only represented Germany to date. Miles Aalbersberg, a Dutch-American, is also not here. Strangely, he's not on the United States or Dutch roster in this window. The two MLS academy center-backs I prefer from this class are CB, Mikel Akinmboni, Nashville SC and CB, Landon Born, FC Cincinnati.
The two defensive-midfielders are DM, Nathan Tchoumba, Colorado Rapids and DM, Christopher Morales, Chicago Fire, and they couldn't be more different. Tchoumba is a dominating physical presence — a duel winner with quality on the ball. Morales is undersized but has fantastic passing range and is a deep-lying playmaker type. Tchoumba is my top-rated 2010 prospect, so I naturally love his selection. I rate DM, David Ilevbare, Atlanta United highly, but U.S. Soccer seems to prefer Morales. In due time, we'll see who's right on that one.
The two box-to-box midfielders are both European-based — CM, Vincenzo D'Annunzio, Feyenoord and CM, Anthony Applewhaite, FSV Mainz 05. I know D'Annunzio's game pretty intimately, and I think he'll do well. He's undersized but moves well, and he's tough and technical with a great mentality. His physical development will come — his dad was an NFL safety — and when it does, he could become a top player in this class. I haven't seen Applewhaite play, but I've heard good things from people who have, and I'll be excited to see him firsthand in Spain.
Abdoulaye Diop's absence would be a puzzling sporting decision if that was the reason, as would Kamil Castillo's. Those are my top two box-to-box midfielders from this class. Another box-to-box midfielder I haven't fully scouted yet, but who I believe — based on the signals — is a top prospect, is Algerian-French-American CM, Khalil Stambouli, RC Lens. He's on France's roster for this set of games, so I'll get to scout him live and report back.
The more attacking midfielders are AM, William Recupero, VfB Stuttgart and AM/W, Kevin Baldwin, FSV Mainz 05, both German-Americans who have primarily been with the German Youth National Team as of late. Recupero is from the Boston area and moved to Germany last year. Since then, he's only played for Germany. He's been called many times by the United States but hasn't been released on many of those occasions. Baldwin is a small but shifty lefty who does his best work in the right half-space. Baldwin is one of three Mainz academy players on this roster, which has to be some sort of record for a European based academy.
Outside of Tchoumba, the midfield group will lack a physical presence but will have a lot of technical ability and good soccer brains. I'm a little concerned about the lack of physicality, so we'll see how that plays out.
Vinny Garcia and Robert Turdean are two top attacking mids from this class who have been promoted to the 2009 team and will likely feature at the U-17 World Cup.
I'll call the winger group intriguing for now. I'm most excited about Kaeden McDowell, Charlotte FC, who could be a breakout player at this camp. He was only officially signed to Charlotte FC this season and has already played for their second team. He's a dynamic, left-footed, inverted winger who has impressed me in the few times I've seen him. I'm excited to get a long look at him at these games. Liam Stribling, Nashville SC is a player who U.S. Soccer clearly rates highly. I'm still trying to figure out his ceiling. Paxon Ruffin, CF Monterrey has been primarily with Mexico. This is his second United States camp, and while I thought it was a foregone conclusion that he'd be provisionally tied to Mexico during U17 World Cup qualification, maybe that isn't the case.
The two surprising omissions are Ikenna Chidebe, who has been the most prevalent winger in this class — I'm not sure why he isn't here, whether that's a sporting or availability issue — and Erick Feliciano, who is the top winger in this class for me. My guess is that if he could be at this camp, he would be, though I can't rule out a sporting reason I'm just not seeing. A few other players I think eventually deserve a look — even though I understand the omissions for now — include Deande Beckford, Chicago Fire, Josh Boney, FC Cincinnati and Tamba Hallie II, FC Dallas.
No notes on the striker duo — Jamil Danjaji, Columbus Crew and Landon Lucero, Seattle Sounders. These are the top two available options, in my opinion.
Top 5 eligible players that haven't been in a U.S. camp
1. CB, Max Gordon, Bayer Leverkusen
The number two prospect in this class for me, but seemingly committed to Germany right now.
2. CM, Matthew Arana, Houston Dynamo
It looks like Arana is going to play with Mexico's 2009s at the U-17 World Cup.
3. CB, Landon Born, FC Cincinnati
I mentioned Born above. I think he'd be a clear upgrade at the CB position for this age group.
4. CF/W, Easton Wilson, Real Salt Lake
I like Wilson more as a nine than a winger. I don't think he's above Danjaji and Lucero, so I'm not upset about his lack of selection, but I do believe he deserves a look in a domestic camp soon.
5. RB, Dominick Lester, FC Cincinnati
Lester is my RB1 in this class. For him to not get a single look in over two years at a position that's weak is very surprising to me.
Roster grade: B
Like I said, mixed bag. I'm on board with the keepers, left-back, defensive-mids and strikers. I like the intent to bring in a lot of European-based players, though the top ones like Gordon, Aalbersberg and Stambouli are not here — at least not with the United States. Stambouli is with France, and you can't blame him for that. I'm intrigued by the wingers and box-to-box mids. I'm very concerned about the right-back and center-back groups and how they'll be able to defend against this level of talent. The biggest omissions to me are Feliciano, Ilevbare, Castillo, Diop, Born and Akinmboni. That's a pretty talented list of players who would likely have been available for selection.
