Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gedion Zelalem has been named to the United States Under-23 Men’s National Team roster for a training camp in Herriman, Utah, that began today and will continue through June 16, U.S. Soccer announced on Sunday.
Zelalem, who signed with Sporting in March after a six-year stint with Arsenal FC of the English Premier League, returns to the United States youth national team system for the first time since suffering an injury in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and will be part of the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team for the first time since 2015.
Born in Berlin, Zelalem represented Germany at the under-15 through under-17 levels until acquiring U.S. citizenship in 2014. Zelalem has since represented the United States at the 2015 and 2017 editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. He debuted with the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team at age 18 and featured at the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship.
Zelalem’s professional career began with Arsenal FC, where he earned first team appearances in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2014. He was later loaned to Scottish giants Rangers FC for the 2015-16 season and Dutch club VVV Venlo for the 2016-17 campaign, winning league titles with both teams.
In March, Zelalem signed with Sporting Kansas City and has played in three MLS matches for Sporting so far this season in addition to three USL Championship appearances for the Swope Park Rangers.
The United States Under-23 Men’s National Team, led by head coach Jason Kreis, will convene in preparation for the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will send two countries from the Concacaf region to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
