U17 USYNT November Roster Analysis

Jack Kortkamp (Sporting Kansas City), William Mackay (Real Salt Lake), Owen Pratt (LA Galaxy)

The goalkeeper selections have been highly consistent for several years. Kortkamp, Mackay and Pratt have been three of the top four options and it is not surprising to see them here again. 

Aidan Stokes (New York Red Bulls)

Stokes decided to accept a call up with the England U17 team. He has now been called to Youth National Teams from the United States, England and Wales. 

RB, Juan Gio Villa (Real Salt Lake), RB, Keehan Barrett-Underwood (Liverpool), RB/CB, Victor Vandenbroucke (Gent), LB, Pedro Guimaraes (Orange County), LB, Jordan Griffin (Philadelphia Union)

There are a lot of full-backs in this camp! Of the five selections, Villa and Guimaraes are the players with the most experience with this group. Barrett-Underwood, Vandenbroucke and Griffin are all getting their first USYNT camp.

Barrett-Underwood has played with England’s youth setup in the past, but I have never seen him play, so I don’t have an opinion on his selection, but getting called into an England YNT camp at any point is noteworthy.

I have seen a little bit of Vandenbroucke, and from what I saw, I am not sure he is going to crack this group permanently. I have heard he has grown and is playing center-back lately, so that could be an interesting development and a reason for his inclusion.

I have thought Griffin has deserved an opportunity with this group for a while. In my opinion, he has the most talent of any left-back in this age group, but consistency has been his main issue. It’s great to see him finally get a chance and hopefully he takes advantage of it. 

RB, Wesley Okoduwa (Wolves), RB, Oliver Tan (Without Club)
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Okoduwa is one of the prized dual-nationals that U.S. Soccer has not yet been able to get into a YNT camp. I am sure they are working at it and hopefully they are able to succeed before he gets provisionally tied to England. Okoduwa was not in England’s last U17 camp, which some people believe indicated that he might be in this U.S. camp, but that was not the case.

Tan has been the preferred third full-back for this group for the last several camps. He is the odd man out as Segares takes a look at some other options. He could very well be back in the mix in January.

CB, Ian James (Sporting Kansas City), CB, Christopher Cupps (Chicago Fire), CB, Enrique Martinez (LA Galaxy)

Cupps and Martinez return from the last camp and Ian James is back with the group. James has one of the highest ceilings of any center-back in this age group and it's good to see him back with the group.

CB, Ramiz Hamouda (Birmingham Legion), Adrian Sanders (LAFC)

Hamouda is the player that I am most disappointed to not see in this camp. He earned valuable experience against professionals in USL this year and held up well. He also offers a left-footed profile that the group does not have.

Sanders has been a consistent call up but is not selected this time around.

DM/CM, Jude Terry (LAFC), CM, Cristiano Santos Oliveira (New England Revolution), CM, Luca Moisa (Real Salt Lake), CM, Cooper Sanchez (Atlanta United)
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Terry and Moisa return from the last camp. Terry is going to shoulder a lot of responsibility on this team given that he is the only midfielder with significant experience as a 6. I think he is most effective as a box to box midfielder, but he likely won’t get much of an opportunity to do that with this group.

Santos Oliveira is the most likely to play as a 6 if needed, he is versatile and can play all three midfield positions. It’s great to see him back in the group.

Sanchez also returns to the group and provides good ball progression qualities and instincts in the final third.

DM, Decarlo Guerra (LAFC), DM, Landon Emenalo (Chelsea), DM, Adri Mehmeti (New York Red Bulls)
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Guerra and Emenalo are provisionally cap-tied to Guatemala and England respectively. These are both difficult losses because of their quality and their ability to allow Terry to play a more advanced and free role.

I think it is time to start considering Adri Mehmeti for this team, the 2009 defensive-midfielder from New York Red Bulls. I am not typically a fan of playing players up on Youth National Teams, but in this case it makes a lot of sense. The group is short on 6s and he has the physical profile and experience playing in MLS Next Pro to make the transition seamlessly. 

AM, Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), AM, Maximo Carrizo (NYCFC), AM, Lionel Gitau (Houston Dynamo), WING, Julian Hall (New York Red Bulls), WING, Jamir Johnson (Philadelphia Union), WING, Mathis Albert (Borussia Dortmund), WING, Chance Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes)
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What an incredibly dynamic and fun group this is. Sullivan will always take the headlines, but Carrizo, Albert and Hall are also big names with talents to match. Hall has taken a little bit of a hiatus from USYNT camps. He has not been in a camp since the 2008s became the U17 group and he has not played in an official match since the U15 Concacaf Championship game a couple of years ago. It’s great to see him back with the group. No player on this roster has more first team minutes than Hall. 

Mathis Albert is one of two 2009s on the team alongside Sullivan. Albert has been on fire at Dortmund, now playing predominately with their U19 team and playing in the EUFA Youth League.

Cowell also returns from the last camp. I wouldn’t say he is a top all around attacker from this age group, but he provides an x-factor with his speed and ability to disrupt in the press. 

Johnson was surprisingly not in the last camp, but returns to round out an exceptional winger group.

Leo Gitau is back and it is wonderful to see. He returned to the Houston Dynamo Academy this season and is playing very well. Gitau has always been one of the most talented players in this age group and now he gets a chance to reintroduce himself to U.S. Soccer. He has been playing as a free 8 for the Dynamo U18s, but has experience playing as an attacking-mid and a winger. 

WING, Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC), WING, Lorenzo Cornelius (St. Louis City), WING, Vitaliy Hlyut (Chicago Fire)
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Imagine if you added Nimfasha Berchimas to this group? That would be fun! I don’t t think it will happen, but if he isn’t in the running for the U20 World Cup, would U.S. Soccer consider bringing him in for another U17 World Cup? It’s interesting to think about. 

Cornelius and Hlyut are two casualties from the last camp. Mize is still injured from an injury he picked up before the last camp.

Austyn Jones (PSV), Chase Adams (Columbus Crew)
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Jones is the fourth player on the roster that is getting his first ever USYNT camp. He has been on their radar for a while, but timing hasn’t worked out until now. Jones has had a little bit of a falling out with the Dutch Youth National Team and that has opened the door for U.S. Soccer. He offers a profile similar to Julian Hall. He is a striker that can flout out wide and attack one on one and he offers a vertical threat that gives Segares a different look than what Chase Adams gives him.

Adams returns as he has solidified himself as the top domestic option at striker. 

Alexander Staff (Eintracht Frankfurt)
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Staff is a top talent, but is provisionally cap-tied to Germany.

What a great squad — I think Segares has truly nailed this one. I love that he has brought in four new players to get their first USYNT camp. There is a great balance of players with experience in the U.S. Soccer setup and new, talented players to integrate into the squad. I also love the positional makeup of this group. It’s very balanced with different profiles and skill sets up and down the roster. 

What is stopping this from being an A+? Ramiz Hamouda and another 6 to support Jude Terry. These are nits for an otherwise superb roster. This looks like a group that could really make some noise at the next U17 World Cup.