Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gianluca Busio and defender Jaylin Lindsey have joined a crop of United States youth national team players for a training camp that runs Jan. 4-13 at the Premier Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
U.S. Soccer announced today that Busio has been named to the U.S. U-17 squad led by head coach Dave Van den Bergh, while Lindsey has been selected to the U.S. U-20 roster under head coach Tab Ramos. Acting U-19 head coach Curt Onalfo has also assembled a team of players for the 10-day training stint.
The January camp kicks off an important year for the U.S. youth national teams. Lindsey and the U-20 MNT qualified for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland by winning their second straight Concacaf U-20 Championship last November. Coming off of last month’s Nike International Friendlies, Busio and the U-17 MNT resume their preparation for the 2018 Concacaf U-17 Championship this spring, where the team will aim to qualify for October’s 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru.
The camp is highlighted by three matches between the U.S. squads and an opponent to be determined.
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Match</strong> |
<strong>Time (CT)</strong> |
<p>Tuesday, Jan. 8</p> |
<p>U-19 MNT vs. U-20 MNT</p> |
<p>3:00 p.m.</p> |
<p>Saturday, Jan. 12</p> |
<p>U-20 MNT vs. TBD</p> |
<p>3:00 p.m.</p> |
<p>Saturday, Jan. 12</p> |
<p>U-17 MNT vs. U-19 MNT</p> |
<p>5:00 p.m.</p> |
Fifteen of the 28 players on the U-17 squad, including Busio, helped the USA to an undefeated run at the 2018 Nike International Friendlies last month. All of these players are age-eligible for the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship and the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Lindsey is one of 24 players on the U-20 roster, each of whom are eligible to compete at the U-20 World Cup. All 24 members of the U-19 squad are also age-eligible for this summer’s marquee event in Poland.
Busio, 16, recently led the U-17s to a 1-1 draw against Brazil with the go-ahead goal in the final match of the 2018 Nike International Friendlies on Dec. 2. He also featured for the U-17s at the Sportchain Cup in Spain last April and the International Youth Tournament in England last October. Busio earned his first youth international call-ups at the U-15 level, shortly before signing a Homegrown deal with Sporting KC as the club’s youngest player ever in August 2017.
The 2018 club campaign saw Busio make major breakthroughs with Sporting KC and the Swope Park Rangers. He tallied one goal and one assist in eight competitive matches for Sporting KC, becoming the second-youngest player in MLS history to record an assist and score a goal. He assisted Diego Rubio’s game-winner in a 1-0 defeat of the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 4 and bagged his first MLS goal in a 4-1 hammering of Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Oct. 17.
Busio also started nine of 10 USL appearances on loan for the Rangers in his first full season as a professional. He marked his pro debut with the game-winning assist in SPR’s 1-0 victory over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on April 4 and finished the year with a 5-1-3 record as a USL starter.
Lindsey, 18, has represented the United States at the U-14, U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels. He made his U-20 debut last September, starting all three games at the U.S. Soccer U-20 Men’s Invitational, before helping the U.S. claim the 2018 Concacaf U-20 Championship title with three starts throughout the tournament. He also featured regularly for the U-17s from 2016-2017, notably earning 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship Best XI honors as the Americans finished runners up to Mexico.
Lindsey enjoyed a solid 2018 season with Sporting KC and USL affiliate Swope Park Rangers. The outside back started nine of 10 appearances for Sporting KC in all competitions, becoming the youngest player in Kansas City history to play at least 10 matches for the club.
A product of the Sporting KC Academy, Lindsey logged six additional USL appearances for the Rangers, who made their third straight trip to the USL Cup Playoffs. Featuring primarily as a right back, Lindsey boasted a 4-0-2 record as a Rangers starter in 2018.
U-20 Men’s National Team Roster (Club; Hometown)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Justin Garces (UCLA; Miami, Fla.), Trey Muse (Indiana; Louisville, Ky.)
DEFENDERS (8): Chris Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Aboubacar Keita (Virginia; Columbus, Ohio), Edwin Lara (Club Leon/MEX; Oakland, Calif.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union; Drexel Hill, Pa.), Sam Rogers (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.), Mark Salas (North Carolina; Dallas; Texas), Aristotle Zarris (Wake Forest; Sarasota, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Frankie Amaya (UCLA; Santa Ana, Calif.), Christian Cappis (Hobro/DEN; Katy, Texas), Jose Carranza (Louisville City FC; Manassas, Va.), Omir Fernandez (Wake Forest; Bronx, N.Y.), Anthony Fontana (Philadelphia Union; Newark, Del.), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Tex.), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Birmingham, Ala.)
FORWARDS (7): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC/CAN; Detroit, Mich.), Simon Becher (Unattached; Brooklyn, Conn.), Griffin Dorsey (Indiana; Evergreen, Colo.), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Nebiyou Perry (FC Köln/GER; New York, N.Y.), Justin Rennicks (Indiana; Hamilton, Mass.), Nick Taitague (Schalke/GER; Midlothian, Va.)
U-17 Men’s National Team Roster (Club; Hometown)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Aaron Cervantes (Orange County SC; China Hills, Calif.), Damian Las (Chicago Fire; Norridge, Ill.), Bryan Dowd (FC United; Willow Springs, Ill.), Chituru Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN; Calgary, Alberta)
DEFENDERS (9): Axel Alejandre (FC United; Chicago, Ill.), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.), Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Mason Judge (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Tampa, Fla.), Antino Lopez (Shattuck-St. Mary's; Las Vegas, Nev.), Joe Scally (New York City FC; Lake Grove, N.Y.), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, N.J.), Rickson van Hees (NEC Nijmegen/NED; Oss, Netherlands)
MIDFIELDERS (9):Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.), Maxi Dietz (Freiburg/GER; Frankfurt, Germany), Gilbert Fuentes (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.), Cesar Garcia (FC Dallas; The Colony, Texas), Jack Imperato (Villarreal/ESP; San Jose, Calif.), Bryang Kayo (D.C. United; Poolesville, Md.), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.), Pablo Soares (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; Krefeld, Germany), Peter Stroud (West Ham United/ENG; Chester, N.J.)
FORWARDS (6): Jack de Vries (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Kent, Wash.), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Giovanni Reyna (Unattached; Bedford, N.Y.), Ray Serrano (Seattle Sounders FC; Graham, Wash.), Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.)
