Sporting Kansas City forward Ozzie Cisneros has been named to the United States U-19 Men’s National Team for a domestic training camp from April 22 to May 1 in Carson, California.
Cisneros, an 18-year-old Sporting KC Academy product who began his professional career in 2021, will join a 33-player squad assembled by head coach Marko Mitrovic for 10 days of competition at Dignity Health Sports Park. This marks his first youth national team call-up at the U-19 level after featuring for the U.S. U-15s from 2018-2019.
Capable of playing multiple positions in midfield and attack, Cisneros enjoyed a breakthrough 2021 campaign in his first year as a professional. The Sporting KC Homegrown Player earned his first-team debut against Mexican side Club Leon in the Leagues Cup last August and made 21 appearances for Sporting KC II in the USL Championship, tallying goals in home fixtures against Louisville City FC on July 29 and OKC Energy FC on Sept. 4. He also started in Sporting KC II’s inaugural MLS NEXT Pro victory on April 3, contributing to a 2-0 triumph at Minnesota United FC 2.
Cisneros, who represented Sporting from the U-13 through U-19 age groups during a five-year academy stint, became the fourth-youngest MLS player in club history upon signing as a 16-year-old in January 2021. The versatile attacker previously starred for the United States at the 2019 Concacaf U-15 Championship in Bradenton, Florida, scoring both goals in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Costa Rica. He also found the back of the net at the 2019 Torneo delle Nazioni in Italy.
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Cisneros joined the Sporting KC Academy as a 12-year-old in 2016. That summer, he led Sporting to a fourth-place finish at the Concacaf U-13 Champions League in Mexico City. Cisneros went on to play almost 70 matches for Sporting in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, scoring 15 goals and climbing to the U-19 ranks by the time he was 15. He helped the U-17s reach the 2019 Development Academy Playoffs and split time between the U-17s and U-19s during the first half of the 2019-20 campaign.
In late 2020, Cisneros was highlighted extensively in "The Academy," a five-part documentary series from Audi and Bleacher Report that highlighted youth development within the Sporting KC Academy system. Late last fall, he and fellow Sporting forward Alan Pulido were featured in a video by The Players' Tribune and Audi titled, "A New Era of Homegrown." In the video, Pulido and Cisneros discussed their journeys that led them to Sporting as well as the opportunities that Audi is giving young players through the Audi Goals Drive Progress initiative.
U-19 MYNT ROSTER BY POSITION - APRIL TRAINING CAMP
GOALKEEPERS (3): Gavin Beavers (Real Salt Lake: Henderson, Nev.), Fred Emmings (Minnesota United, Saint Paul, Minn.), Emmanuel Ochoa (San Jose Earthquakes; Salinas, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (12): Tyler Bindon (LAFC; Los Angeles, Calif.), Noah Cobb (Atlanta United FC; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Carlos Diaz (LAFC; Baldwin Park, Calif.), Alexander Freeman (Orlando City SC; Plantation, Fla.), Samuel Jones (Wake Forest; Portsmouth, Va.), Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Curtis Ofori (New York Red Bulls; Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), Mateo Pinilla (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), Justin Reynolds (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.) , Nathan Rodrigues (San Jose Earthquakes; Campbell, Calif.), Diego Rossi (New York City FC; New York, N.Y.), Josh Wynder (Louisville City; Louisville, Ky.)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Gonzalo Agustoni-Chagas (Orlando City SC; Kissimmee, Fla.), Reed Baker-Whiting (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.), Caleb Borneo (Columbus Crew; Morgantown, W.V.), Osvaldo Cisneros-Reyes (Sporting KC; Omaha, Neb.), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Miami, Fla.), Robert Deziel Jr. (Bayern Munich/GER; Palm Beach, Fla.), Ethan Kohler (San Jose Earthquakes; Campbell, Calif.), Bryan Moyado (LAFC; La Puente, Calif.), Sergio Oregel Jr. (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo; Maricopa, Ariz.)
FORWARDS(8): Bryan Arellano (Austin FC; San Antonio, Texas), Favian Loyola (Orlando City SC; Orlando, Fla.), Rodrigo Neri (Atlético Madrid/ESP; Madrid, Spain), Korede Osundina (Orange County SC; Redmond, Wash.), Nighte Pickering (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Anthony Ramirez (FC Dallas: Little Elm, Texas), Alixson Soukup (LAFC; Canoga Park, Calif.), Ethan Subachan (Orlando City SC; Orlando, Fla.)
