CHICAGO (August 15, 2002) – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen has selected 20 players for the U.S. Under-20s trip to Valencia, Spain, where they will participate against some of the top youth national teams in the world at the XIX Torneo Internacional de Futbol de l’Alcudia from August 24-29. The U.S. team will depart for Spain on August 19 and plays in the tournament opener on August 24 against Brazil. The U.S. follows up against Italy on August 26 and then concludes Group B play on August 27 against Ukraine. The tournament’s Group A is comprised of Spain, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Gabon.
The tournament in Spain will be the Under-20s final international games before World Youth Championship qualifying kicks off in the U.S. on November 13. U.S. Soccer will host one of two final CONCACAF groups at a venue that will be announced shortly.
“Any time you get a chance to play great teams like Brazil, Italy and Ukraine, you know it will help your team,” said Rongen. “I think we have a quality group of players making this trip to Spain, and this is going to be a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the upcoming qualifying tournament.”
The USA has posted a 10-5-9 record this year, recording 11 shutouts in 24 matches. Mike Magee has paced the team with nine goals in just 13 appearances (seven starts), including the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Canada on January 9. Midfielder Ricardo Clark (Furman) has been one of the team’s most consistent performers, seeing time in 17 of the team’s first 20 matches.
Eleven of the 20 players Rongen named were members of the 2001 Under-17 World Championship team, including Magee. This Under-20 squad will be without two of their top offensive players, as D.C. United’s duo of Santino Quaranta (abdominal hernia surgery) and Bobby Convey (club commitment) will not make the trip to Spain.
Major League Soccer will send five players (Devin Barclay – San Jose Earthquakes, Craig Capano – Chicago Fire, Eddie Johnson – Dallas Burn, Justin Mapp – D.C. United and Jordan Stone – Dallas Burn) on the trip, and two of the players named to the team are currently playing professionally in Europe (David Johnson – Willem II – Holland, Raul Palomares – Osijek - Croatia).
The top two teams in each group in Spain will advance to the semifinals on August 28. Each team will play their final game on August 29, with the semifinal winners meeting for the championship, the semifinal losers playing for third place, the two third-place finishers from each group playing for fifth place and the two fourth-place finishers from each group playing for seventh place.
XIX Torneo Internacional de Futbol de l’Alcudia
Group A
Aug. 24 Spain vs. Costa Rica
Aug. 25 Uruguay vs. Spain
Aug. 25 Gabon vs. Costa Rica
Aug. 26 Uruguay vs. Gabon
Aug. 27 Costa Rica vs. Uruguay
Aug. 27 Spain vs. Gabon
Group B
Aug. 24 USA vs. Brazil
Aug. 24 Ukraine vs. Italy
Aug. 25 Italy vs. Brazil
Aug. 26 USA vs. Italy
Aug. 26 Brazil vs. Ukraine
Aug. 27 USA vs. Ukraine
Semifinals – August 28
1st Group A vs. 2nd Group B
1st Group B vs. 2nd Group A
Final – August 29
Winner of semifinal #1 vs. Winner of semifinal #2
Classification Games – August 29
7th/8th Place 4th Group A vs. 4th Group B
5th/6th Place 3rd Group A vs. 3rd Group B
3rd/4th Place Losers of both semifinals
UNDER-20 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
XIX Torneo Internacional de Futbol de l’Alcudia – Valencia, Spain
August 19-30, 2002
No.
Name
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.
Birthdate
Hometown
Club/College
19
Ambersley, Mike
F
5’7”
155
02/14/83
Ballwin, Mo.
Indiana University
13
Barclay, Devin
F
5’9”
165
04/09/83
Annapolis, Md.
San Jose Earthquakes
16
Cameron, Knox
F
6’3”
205
09/17/83
Bronx, N.Y.
University of Michigan
21
Capano, Craig
M
5’6”
135
07/07/85
Hyde Park, N.Y.
Chicago Fire
11
Clark, Ricardo
M
5’10”
140
05/21/83
Jonesboro, Ga.
Furman University
5
Cochrane, Ryan
D
6’0”
155
08/08/83
Portland, Ore.
Santa Clara University
1
Cronin, Steve
GK
6’2”
190
05/28/83
Fair Oaks, Calif.
Santa Clara University
10
Grabavoy, Ned
M
5’6”
145
07/01/83
New Lenox, Ill.
Indiana University
6
Harvey, Jordan
D
5’10”
160
01/28/84
Mission Viejo, Calif.
UCLA
15
Johnson, David
M
5’11”
160
01/16/84
Venice, Calif.
Willem II (Holland)
7
Johnson, Ed
F
6’0”
170
03/31/84
Palm Coast, Fla.
Dallas Burn
8
Klaas, Craig Jared
D
5’7”
165
08/23/83
Cherry Valley, Ill.
University of Washington
12
Lancos, Chris
D
6’1”
170
07/12/84
Belford, N.J.
University of Maryland
20
Magee, Mike
F
5’9”
150
09/02/84
Long Grove, Ill.
unsigned
3
Mapp, Justin
M
5’11”
160
10/18/84
Brandon, Miss.
DC United
14
Marshall, Chad
D
6’2”
165
08/22/84
Riverside, Calif.
Stanford University
17
Palomares, Raul
M
5’11”
160
02/06/83
Inglewood, Calif.
NK Osijek (Croatia)
4
Simo, Chefik
D
6’1”
185
02/28/84
Plano, Texas
Furman University
2
Stone, Jordan
M
5’9”
145
03/16/84
Allen, Texas
Dallas Burn
18
Williams, Ford
GK
6’3”
190
02/20/84
Raleigh, N.C.
University of North Carolina
U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Staff
Head Coach: Thomas Rongen
Assistant Coach: Cle Kooiman
Goalkeeper Coach: Dave Dir
Team Coordinator: Erik Carlson
Doctor: Mel Hayashi
Trainer: Sheldon Lo
Equipment Manager: Bryan Rosenbaum
Press Officer: Forrest Eber
Copyright © 2002, mysoccer.com