ASN: Khiry Shelton, Will Trapp Headline U.S. U-23 Workforce

New York Metropolis FC rookie Khiry Shelton, Columbus midfielder Will Trapp, and Actual Salt Lake’s Luis Gil are among the extra outstanding names referred to as into Andi Herzog’s U-23 nationwide crew camp

BY

Brian Sciaretta

Posted
March 22, 2015
4:16 PM

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THE UNITED STATES UNDER-23 TEAM opens its first camp of 2015 this week, and head coach Andi Herzog has chosen 18 gamers who will participate in a pair of friendlies in opposition to Bosnia and Denmark.

With CONCACAF transferring up the dates of Olympic qualifying to October—beforehand it had taken place in March in the course of the Olympic 12 months—there is an rising urgency surrounding this crew. This is the squad.

GOALKEEPERS: Charlie Horton (Cardiff Metropolis; Cleveland, Ohio), Tyler Miller (Zweibrücken; Woodbury, N.J.)
DEFENDERS: Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), Will Packwood (Birmingham Metropolis; Harmony, Mass.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS: Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Luis Gil (Actual Salt Lake; Backyard Grove, Calif.), Benji Joya (Chicago Hearth; San Jose, Calif.), Ariel Lassiter (LA Galaxy II; Temecula, Calif.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew; Gahanna, Ohio)
FORWARDS: Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Alfred Koroma Shams (Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Khiry Shelton (New York Metropolis FC; Leander, Texas)

The crew’s core is right here: Luis Gil, Wil Trapp, and Shane O’Neill all performed key roles for the U-20 crew in 2013 and all had been referred to as as much as the current January camp for the total nation crew.

Past this group, there are a number of gamers who’re rising that ought to contend for roster spots in the event that they impress at camp and progress at their golf equipment.

Juan Ocegueda is an everyday starter within the second tier of Mexico and left backs aren’t straightforward to come back by so he’s an intriguing participant on this camp. Khiry Shelton has impressed early with New York Metropolis FC and is on the rise. Equally, Jerome Kiesewetter just lately made his Bundesliga debut with Stuttgart and that can maintain him on the radar.

Will Packwood has not performed a lot this season however his current mortgage to Cheltenham City will maintain him in competition for the Olympics.

Jordan Morris stays a thriller. Jurgen Klinsmann likes his potential however the lack of video games in faculty from now by the summer season opens the door for somebody to overhaul him.

OMISSIONS

After a 12 months largely within the abyss, Jose Villarreal has returned to MLS in effective type and is enjoying effectively for the Los Angeles Galaxy. His absence is most certainly resulting from the truth that Bradford Jamieson was taken by the U-20 crew and Gyasi Zardes was chosen for the senior aspect so Herzog didn’t need to take one more Galaxy contributor.

Cameron Porter’s harm over the weekend got here at a foul time for not solely Montreal and their Champions League run, but in addition for the U.S. U-23 crew. That is an age group the place if a participant makes an affect along with his first crew, he can get onto this crew shortly.

OTHER OPTIONS

This can be a very troublesome interval for Herzog to get a take a look at his best-possible crew. The present U-20 crew ought to ship a number of gamers to the U-23 crew after World Cup in June. Rubio Rubin, Emerson Hyndman, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Cameron Carter-Vickers are the most certainly candidates however there may very well be extra.

On the senior crew, John Brooks, DeAndre Yedlin, Julian Inexperienced, and Cody Cropper are additionally age-eligible to play for the U-23s and people discussions may grow to be extra reasonable as Olympic qualifying approaches and the urge to keep away from the frustration of 2012 intensifies.

Klinsmann additionally introduced right this moment that it’s doable for gamers on the total nationwide groups to maneuver right down to the U-23 crew in coming months.

“When you talk about developing players, you always want to prioritize things,” Klinsmann mentioned. “You say, ‘OK, if this participant goes with this crew, what would he get out of it, and what may he acquire?’ I believe there are particular youthful gamers that may acquire probably the most proper now in the event that they’re with me. “I’m speaking a few Julian Inexperienced, a John Brooks, a Deandre Yedlin, a Rubio Rubin, but in addition figuring out that in the event that they’re not breaking in immediately with me, right here’s the following group the place he may present what he has.

“Positively the nearer we get towards the person competitions, which means for Tab now the U-20 World Cup, his group will get now extra prioritized as a result of we need to have a very robust crew going to New Zealand, and the identical with the qualifiers for the U-23 crew. We’re nonetheless within the early course of for the 12 months, so early March video games give us a bit extra air to say, ‘I’ll convey some kids with me first, after which we transfer them on to the Olympic crew and Tab’s U-20s’, however I believe it’s vital for our gamers to see that now we have a plan for them, that we’re taking a look at their membership state of affairs and that we perceive the up-and-downs and their struggles, and so they know we’re right here to assist them.”

“We are still in the early process for the year,” he added. “So early March games give us a little more air to say ‘I’ll bring some youngsters with me first, and then we move them on to the Olympic team and Tab’s U-20s’, but I think it’s important for our players to see that we have a plan for them, that we’re looking at their club situation and that we understand the up-and-downs and their struggles, and they know we are here to help them.”

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Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Observe him on Twitter.