Sporting Kansas City homegrown defender Erik Palmer-Brown was named to the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team roster on Friday for a training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina from Sept. 1-10. Led by head coach Tab Ramos, the U.S. squad will play an international friendly against the Argentina Under-20 Men’s National Team on Sept. 9.
The youngest of 19 players selected for the team’s first international trip of the year, Palmer-Brown returns to the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team after appearing in four wins for the squad at the 2014 Dallas Cup in April. The 17-year-old continues his climb through the youth national team ranks after previously representing the United States at the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-18 levels.
“He’s really a U18 player but I talked with Peter Vermes a few months ago and he said Erik had been showing well," Ramos told American Soccer Now. "I decided it didn’t make sense to leave him at the 18's and he was ready to move up to this level. He’s up for the challenge.”
Palmer-Brown attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida last year and was one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s 2013 Young Male Athlete of the Year. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri native signed a homegrown player contract with Sporting KC in August 2013 and has logged five appearances for the club in all competition this season.
He made his professional debut in May, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to start a regular season match as a defender, for the first of three MLS games played to date. Palmer-Brown also started each of the team’s two matches in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, in addition to appearances in the 2014 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game and this summer’s Champions Shield against Manchester City.
Palmer-Brown will be available for Sporting Kansas City tonight when the reigning MLS Cup champions host the Houston Dynamo at 7 p.m. CT at Sporting Park. The 2013 Eastern Conference Championship rematch will be nationally televised on NBCSN and a limited number of tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com while supplies last.
