GK, William Lodmell, Sporting Lisbon (2008)
GK, Aidan Stokes, New York Red Bulls (2008)
RB, Brandon Dayes, Louisville City (2008)
RB, Gio Villa, Real Salt Lake (2008)
LB, Ryan Hartley, Parma (2008)
CB, Andrei Chirila, FC Cincinnati (2008)
CB, Christopher Cupps, Chicago Fire (2008)
CB, Ramiz Hamouda, Birmingham Legion (2008)
CM, Cristiano Oliveira, New England Revolution (2008)
CM, Cooper Sanchez, Atlanta United (2009)
CM, Alexander Shaw, Inter Miami (2008)
CM, Jude Terry, LAFC (2008)
AM, Maximo Carrizo, NYCFC (2008)
AM, Kellan LeBlanc, Philadelphia Union (2008)
W, Nimfasha Berchimas, Charlotte FC (2008)
W, Jamir Johnson, Orange County SC (2008)
W, Eric Preston, LA Galaxy (2008)
W, Oliver Tan, FC Famalicão (2008)
CF, Chase Adams, Columbus Crew (2008)
CF, Peyton Presson, LASK (2008)

For the time being, U.S. Soccer has decided to keep all of the 2008s down in their own age group instead of combining with the 2007s for the next U-20 World Cup cycle. I expect that to change at some point and many of the players on this team are better options than some of the 2007s selected for the U-19 team. While all of the 2008s stayed down, two stars from the U-17 World Cup — 2009s Mathis Albert and Cavan Sullivan, are playing with the U-19s in this window and will likely continue to do so. They're also without two of the top 2008s: Julian Hall, who is off to a great start in MLS and was likely not released for this tournament, and Ian James, another player who has featured on his first team but is unfortunately out injured. The other players that were likely not released are Luca Moisa from Real Salt Lake and potentially Matthew Dos Santos for New York Red Bulls. Jack Kortkamp has historically been GK2 for this age group, but he's also out injured.

Shifting our attention to those that are here, I'm very excited to see RB, Brandon Dayes, Louisville City (2008). He can play as a right-back or center-back and he's been starting every game for Louisville City early in the 2026 season — he's looked very good, especially against the ball. I see him as a player that could very likely take hold of the right-back position for this age group. Stokes and Lodmell are both solid keeper selections, but keeper is a position where I'd like to see some fresh blood.

Hartley is the lone left-back on the roster, though Hamouda has experience there. Hartley recently left LA Galaxy to join Parma's academy. The center-back group is very good and features two lefties in Chirila and Hamouda. The other center-back is CB, Christopher Cupps, Chicago Fire (2008), one of the top overall players in the 2008 class.

I really like some of the changes in midfield. Sanchez, Terry and Carrizo are mainstays and it's well deserved. Oliveira returns after being snubbed for the U-17 World Cup. CM, Alexander Shaw, Inter Miami (2008) is the new addition. Shaw has had quite a week! He got his first team debut, a homegrown contract and his first-ever YNT call-up — not bad at all. He's a player that I've always liked, but he appears to be upleveling his game. Inter Miami have clearly been very happy with his progression.

Berchimas, Johnson, Preston and Tan are the wingers, though Tan can also play right-back. Berchimas has been on fire in MLS Next Pro amid a tumultuous relationship that's developing with his current club — Charlotte FC. Berchimas is pushing for a transfer to Bayern Munich this summer and as a result, Charlotte is icing him on the second team. Not great.

Presson is one of the players that clearly impressed in the last camp and as a reward is invited back to an A-team trip to Portugal. He recently moved from Inter Miami to LASK in Austria.

AM/W, Gabriel Wesseh, Fredrikstad SK (2008)
‍Wesseh's continued exclusion is super puzzling to me. He was fantastic in MLS Next Pro last year, outperforming other players that have been invited at a high level of competition. He recently moved from Atlanta United to Norwegian power Fredrikstad. He's a dynamic attacking playmaker that could really help this group.
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GK, Graham Syrett, Charlotte FC (2008)
‍I mentioned above that I think this age group could use a fresh look at the keeper position and Syrett is near the top of my list to get his first opportunity. He has great size, shot-blocking ability, distribution and intelligence.

GK, Grant Leveille, D.C. United (2008)
‍Leveille recently signed a homegrown deal for D.C. United, seemingly out of nowhere, but after watching his film from this year, I understand why. He's transformed from a raw talent into a really good goalkeeper. He has yet to be provisionally cap-tied to Haiti, so it would be smart of U.S. Soccer to get him integrated very soon before that changes.

CB, Nico Banks, D.C. United (2008)
‍Maybe this camp wasn't the best time to give Banks his first call-up, but it should happen soon. There just aren't many center-back profiles like his: 6-5+, mobile and good on the ball.

‍RB, Parker Amoo-Mensah, Orlando City (2008)
‍Amoo-Mensah is a player on the rise. He's very smooth on the ball and has played well in his limited appearances in MLS Next Pro.

There are a lot of talented and worthy players in camp and the overall makeup of the roster makes a ton of sense. A good balance of skillsets, profiles and positional versatility — so from an approach standpoint, it's hard to find any holes.

There are player preferences that I have that differ, but that will always happen. Hartley over Guimaraes and Griffin could be debated. There are some keepers that deserve a chance, but maybe this wasn't the tournament to bring them in, especially since one of the keepers selected plays in Lisbon — William Lodmell. I really like the midfield group as a whole. In attack, I continue to be very disappointed by Wesseh's exclusion. I think he's a top-ten player in this class. At striker, I'm good with Adams and Presson, though I think Austyn Jones from PSV is a high-quality player that continues to get overlooked.

Overall, it's a strong roster that should put up some competitive performances against good competition.