Following Tuesday's preseason match in Tucson, Arizona, Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown will return to the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team for a training camp that runs through Feb. 10 in Orlando, Florida.
The 19-year-old Palmer-Brown joins a 24-player roster as the U.S. enters the final stage of preparation for mid-February’s 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will send four nations to the 2017 FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup in South Korea this May.
Upon conclusion of camp, U-20 head coach Tab Ramos will name the final 20-player roster that will travel to Costa Rica for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, set to run from Feb. 17 – March 5 in the city of San Jose.
Palmer-Brown links up with the U-20s for the second time in 2017, having previously participated in a weeklong training camp earlier this month in Carson, California. He has extensive experience with the U-20 side — competing in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand and captaining the team at the 2015 Stevan Vilotic Tournament in Serbia — and previously represented his country at the U-15, U-17 and U-18 levels while rising through the Sporting Kansas City Academy.
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri and the third Homegrown player in club history, Palmer-Brown returned to Sporting Kansas City this offseason after a year-long loan at Portuguese juggernaut FC Porto. The center back played 17 games for FC Porto B en route to winning the LigaPro title in May and scoring his first professional goal against the Leicester City U-23s in the Premier League International Cup in November.
Palmer-Brown has played 13 matches in all competitions since signing for Sporting KC’s senior team in August 2013 — 10 in MLS, two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and one in the CONCACAF Champions League. 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.
U.S. U-20 roster by position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), JT Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.), Brady Scott (De Anza Force; Petaluma, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy; Norwalk, Calif.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (New Mexico; Casa Grande, Ariz.), John Nelson (Internationals SC; Medina, Ohio), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee's Summit, Mo.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, Utah), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; Wappingers Falls, N.Y), Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Jonathan Gonzalez (CFMonterrey; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Jeremiah Gutjahr (Indiana University; Bloomington, Ind.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah), Jonathan Suarez (Queretaro F.C.; Orange County, Calif.), Eryk Williamson (Maryland; Alexandria, Va.)
FORWARDS (6): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Brooks Lennon (Liverpool F.C.; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC; Plantation, Fla.), Victor Mansaray (Seattle Sounders FC; Des Moines, Wash.), Emmanuel Sabbi (UD Las Palmas; Libertyville, Ill.), Brandon Vazquez (Atlanta United FC; Chula Vista, Calif)
