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Andre Gitau, winger for Mainz II
This is the first time in recent memory that the United States has assembled a youth national team age group without a regional or global tournament on the horizon. This camp is primarily designed to keep players connected to the program and maintain continuity between key age groups.
U.S. Soccer is operating with a significant surplus as the 2026 World Cup approaches, and it’s encouraging to see some of those resources flowing into expanded youth programming.
This roster is exclusively composed of 2006-born players. It doesn’t include every top player in the age group—many of those have joined the U-21 team, which effectively serves as preparation for the 2028 Olympics (featuring 2005-born players and younger).
The squad will be led by Rob Valentino and will play two matches against Costa Rica on November 15th and 18th.
The roster
GK – Julian Eyestone, Brentford
GK – Andrew Rick, Philadelphia Union
RB – Owen Presthus, Columbus Crew
RB – Sawyer Jura, Portland Timbers
LB – Riley Dalgado, LA Galaxy
LB – Tahir Reid-Brown, Orlando City
CB – Freddie Anderson, Cork City
CB – Christian Diaz, LAFC
CB – Stuart Hawkins, Seattle Sounders
DM – Eric Klein, New England Revolution
DM – Edwyn Mendoza, San Jose Earthquakes
CM – Diego Garcia, FC Dallas
CM – Devon Decorte, Royal Anderlecht
AM – Micah Burton, Austin FC
AM – Cruz Medina, San Jose Earthquakes
AM – CJ Olney, Philadelphia Union
W – Bajung Darboe, Bayern Munich
W – Andre Gitau, Mainz
W – Rylan Hashimoto, Real Salt Lake
CF – Ed Davis, Philadelphia Union
CF – Keyrol Figueroa, Liverpool
Top eligible players not on the roster
There aren’t many surprising omissions here—most of the top 2006-born players not included are either with the U-21s, injured, or still competing in the MLS playoffs.
GK — Adam Beaudry, Colorado Rapids
Beaudry is the most notable absence after starting at the recent U-20 World Cup. He wasn’t selected for either the U-21 or U-20 roster, though he may be carrying an injury.
LB — Luca Bombino, San Diego FC
Still active in the MLS playoffs.
RB — Oscar Verhoeven, San Diego FC
Out with injury.
RB — Aiden Harangi, San Diego FC
Also injured.
CB — Matai Akinmboni, Bournemouth
Carrying an injury.
DM — Pedro Soma, San Diego FC
Still in the MLS playoffs.
DM — Matthew Corcoran, Nashville SC
Eliminated from the playoffs just yesterday.
W – Bryce Jamison, Orange County SC
Still active in the USL-C playoffs.
W — David Vazquez, San Diego FC
Still active in the MLS playoffs.
Roster grade: A
The A grade doesn’t necessarily mean this is a superstar team, but rather that the selections make strong contextual sense based on availability. Beaudry’s omission is the only real question mark, though Eyestone and Rick are arguably better long-term prospects—one of them should have been the starting goalkeeper at the last U-20 World Cup.
Overall, the roster construction is sound. A few players I remain particularly optimistic about long term include Julian Eyestone, CJ Olney, Andre Gitau, and Keyrol Figueroa.
Special mention to Andre Gitau—it’s been 1,279 days since his last USYNT cap. Once viewed as a top-five talent in the 2006 class, he’s had a winding journey, but the ability remains. I’ve watched several of his matches with Mainz II; he’s regaining rhythm and could still become a high-level pro.
