Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown was selected to the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team roster on Thursday for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be held from May 30 – June 20 in New Zealand.
"I could not be more excited to be named to the roster for the U-20 World Cup," Palmer- Brown said. "We have an exciting group of players and I cannot wait to get to New Zealand to compete against the best U-20 players in the world."
"I’m very excited about this particular group,” said U.S. U-20 MNT head coach Tab Ramos. “It was very difficult making the final decision because there were quite a few players who deserved to go to the World Cup. Unfortunately, in the end I can only select a certain number and I’m very happy with the selections that we made.”
Palmer-Brown has appeared in seven matches for Sporting Kansas City across all competition, including the team’s 2015 season opener, since signing as a homegrown player in August 2013. He made his MLS debut in 2014 at age 17 and remains the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer match in club history.
A Lee’s Summit, Missouri native, Palmer-Brown is a product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy and will graduate from Archbishop O'Hara High School this month. He is the third player in Sporting KC’s history to represent the U.S. at a FIFA U-20 World Cup while playing for the club along with Francisco Gomez (1999) and Mikey Lopez (2013).
Palmer-Brown debuted with the United States Under-20 Men's National Team as a 16-year-old in January 2014. He participated in the 2014 Dallas Cup with the U-20's and has since participated in three of the team’s international training camps in Argentina (September 2014), England (March 2015) and Austria (April 2015).
In 2013, Palmer-Brown attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida for the Spring semester and he was named one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer's 2013 Young Male Athlete of the Year.
The United States is one of 24 countries to qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, a biennial competition that celebrates its 20th edition this summer after first being played in 1977. A total of 52 matches will be played in seven host cities across New Zealand.
The U.S. was drawn into Group A alongside Myanmar, New Zealand and Ukraine. The top two teams in each of the six groups – along with the top four overall third-placed teams – advance to the Round of 16 in the tournament’s Knockout Stage.
U.S. SCHEDULE AT 2015 FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP
May 30: vs. Myanmar at Northland Events Centre in Whangarei
June 2: vs. New Zealand at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland
June 5: vs. Ukraine at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland
All three of the United States' group stage matches will be shown live in the U.S. on FOX Sports 1. Online coverage of the team throughout the tournament will also be available on USsoccer.com and via @ussoccer_ynt on Twitter.
The United States Under-20 Men’s National Team will convene in Carson, California on May 14 to open their training camp prior to departing for Australia on May 16 for further preparations. Each nation’s final 21-player roster must be submitted to FIFA by May 15.
