Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown will captain the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which kicks off Saturday in Korea Republic.
U-20 MNT head coach Tab Ramos named Palmer-Brown captain earlier this week, just two months after the Lee's Summit, Missouri native captained the U.S. to CONCACAF U-20 Championship glory and landed Golden Ball honors as the tournament's best player.
The U.S. is one of 24 countries competing at the U-20 World Cup and will enter Group F with Ecuador, Senegal and Saudi Arabia. The top two teams in each of the six groups — as well as the top four overall third-place teams — will advance to the Round of 16 in the tournament’s knockout stage.
FS1 will televise all three of the Americans' group stage matches live. The first two will be played at Incheon Stadium in Incheon, while the third will take place at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon.
U.S. U-20 MNT group stage schedule at FIFA U-20 World Cup
- USA vs. Ecuador – Monday, May 22 (3 a.m. CT, FS1)
- USA vs. Senegal – Thursday, May 25 (6 a.m. CT, FS1)
- USA vs. Saudi Arabia – Sunday, May 28 (4 a.m. CT, FS1)
Palmer-Brown has made 13 competitive appearances for Sporting KC since signing for the club as a Homegrown Player in 2013. He became the youngest defender in MLS history to appear in a game when he made his Sporting KC debut as a 17-year-old in May 2014.
In addition to featuring regularly for the U-20s, Palmer-Brown has represented the U.S. at the U-15, U-17 and U-18 levels. He attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida in 2013 before making his U-20 debut in January 2014.
Palmer-Brown returned to Sporting Kansas City ahead of the 2017 season after a year-long loan with FC Porto in Portugal. He played 17 games for FC Porto B and helped the side win the LigaPro title last May before scoring his first professional goal against the Leicester City U-23s in the Premier League International Cup in November.
