Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown was named to the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team on Sunday for a training camp from March 23-30 in England, U.S. Soccer announced.
Head coach Tab Ramos selected 20 players for the team’s first foreign training camp of the year, which will include a scrimmage against Tottenham Hotspur’s Under-21 team on March 27 in London followed by a match against England’s Under-21 Men’s National Team on March 29 at Home Park in Plymouth. The squad will then reconvene from April 18-26 in Austria for games against Qatar’s and Croatia’s U-20 sides in preparation for this summer’s 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Palmer-Brown has appeared in seven matches for Sporting Kansas City across all competition, including the team’s 2015 season opener earlier this month. A Lee’s Summit, Missouri native, Palmer-Brown is a product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy and became the club’s third homegrown player signing in August 2013.
The 17-year-old most recently represented the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team in September 2014 during a training camp in Argentina. The trip was his second full camp at the age level after appearing in four victories for the U-20’s en route to reaching the Dallas Cup final in April 2014.
Palmer-Brown attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida and was named one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer's 2013 Young Male Athlete of the Year. Last year, The Guardian chose Palmer-Brown as one of the world’s top 40 players at his age in the publication’s “Next Generation 2014” list released in October.
