Category: USYNT

Mitrovic named U.S. U-23 men’s head coach ahead of 2024 Olympics

U.S. Soccer has its men’s coach for the Paris Olympics

U.S. Soccer has promoted two youth national team head coaches on the men’s side of the program.

Marko Mitrović was on Wednesday named the Under-23 head coach, with the 45-year-old taking charge ahead of the team’s preparations for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Additionally, Michael Nsien has been named the new head coach for the Under-19 men’s national team.

The first camp of Mitrović’s tenure will be held during the October international window.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Marko and Michael continue to be an important part of our men’s program as both of these teams serve as crucial steps in the National Team pathway,” said U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker in a press release. “During his time with the Under-19s, Marko was instrumental in guiding our rising talents.

“We’re looking forward to him now leading our Under-23 men’s youth national team as this age group provides these players with an incredible opportunity to continue their development by facing elite opposition on the world stage and competing for an Olympic world title. We’re also confident that Michael is ready to lead our U-19 age group, a critical level for our young players aiming to take the next step in their careers for club and country.”

Mitrović to lead U.S. men’s Olympic team in 2024

Mitrović joined U.S. Soccer in April 2022, taking charge of the U-19 team. He also worked as an assistant coach for the senior team under interim head coaches Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan.

“It’s been an honor working for U.S. Soccer and I’m tremendously proud of the opportunity to lead the USA at the Olympics,” said Mitrović. “I’ve gotten to see first-hand the high-potential players rising through our development system and I’m excited for them to represent their country proudly on such an important stage.”

Previously, Mitrović has worked as an assistant coach for Serbia’s U-20 team, the U-15s at Red Star Belgrade, before arriving in the U.S. as a member of Veljko Paunovic’s staff with the Chicago Fire. Mitrović stuck with Paunovic when the latter was hired by Reading in the English Championship, returning stateside to accept the U-19 men’s post last year.

Nsien, who was an interim assistant under Callaghan during the USMNT’s Gold Cup run this past summer, was hired in November 2022 as the U-16 boys’ head coach. The Oklahoma native spent four years as the head coach of FC Tulsa in the USL Championship, leading the team to playoff appearances in 2020 and 2021.

Nsien’s duties as head coach of the U-19 team will coincide with a role as the head coach of the U.S. men’s team for the PanAmerican Games, which will take place from October 27-November 4 in Chile. The team for the PanAmerican Games must be selected from players born on or after January 1, 2001.

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U.S. U-17 goalkeeper Diego Kochen makes Barcelona Champions League squad

A USYNT player to watch made Barça’s Champions League roster

U.S. youth national team goalkeeper Diego Kochen is one to watch.

Just ask Barcelona, who included the 17-year-old in its 27-player squad for the upcoming Champions League group stage.

The Miami native, who is a dual national eligible for the U.S. and Peru, is one of eight players who are currently playing for either Barcelona’s “B” team Barça Atlètic or the club’s U-19 squad.

Kochen has been in the mix for the first team this season. Kochen has been in uniform for each of Barça’s last three league matches, though due to availability and registration issues, he has not been the only back-up goalkeeper on the bench for any of those matches.

That said, with Barcelona finally able to register Iñaki Peña — Marc-André ter Stegen’s projected back-up this season — Kochen still dressed for Sunday’s 2-1 win at Osasuna. That builds on a good end to the season for Kochen, who trained with Barcelona’s first team last May.

Barça still pulling levers is good news for Kochen

Despite being home to La Masia, long lauded as one of world soccer’s most productive academies, Barcelona is having to get creative to put together its Champions League squad.

UEFA allows Champions League participants to include up to 25 players on “List A,” which is what most people would think of as the team’s actual roster for the tournament. Of that group, eight must meet requirements to be listed as “locally trained,” of whom four must have spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15-21 at the club.

Barça’s problem is that they can’t meet that requirement, and UEFA’s punishment is to reduce the number of spots a team has on List A as a result. As such, Barcelona submitted a List A with just 19 players, with the rest on List B.

Here is the full description from UEFA on what makes a player eligible to be included on a squad list as part of List B:

A player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after 1 January 2002 and since his 15th birthday has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year. Players aged 16 may be registered on List B if they have been registered with the participating club for the previous two years without interruption.

Kochen, who made his move to Barcelona’s youth system in July 2019, is thus eligible for inclusion.

All of which is to say that while Barça still has a long way to go to get its house in working order financially, and that its apparent win-now mentality has restricted openings for youth players, Kochen is still managing to find a way to get reps with the first team in training, and be in uniform on matchdays.

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Louisville City defender Wynder completes record transfer to Benfica

The 18-year-old is the first USL player to be sold for a seven-figure fee

Louisville City defender Josh Wynder has completed a record-breaking transfer to Portuguese giants Benfica.

Wynder will join Benfica on a deal worth a reported $1.2 million plus add-ons, the first seven-figure sale of a player from the USL.

Pro Soccer Wire reported in March that the teenager would join the Portuguese champions after his 18th birthday in May, with Monaco and Red Bull Salzburg also interested in the U.S. youth international.

Wynder is coming off a solid performance at the U-20 World Cup, where he started four of the team’s five games despite being one of the youngest members of the squad.

“I’m very grateful to Louisville City for everything the club has done for me,” Wynder told the club’s website. “It’s a dream come true to sign with Benfica, and I can’t wait to get started there. Although my career’s taking me overseas, I’ll always be proud of where I’m from and represent Louisville to the best of my ability.”

Wynder, a Louisville native, signed his first professional deal with his hometown club in 2021 and has gone on to make 45 total appearances, scoring two goals.

The teenager also received his first senior USMNT call-up for April’s friendly against Mexico.

“This is a proud moment for Louisville City, our youth academy and our community,” said coach Danny Cruz. “We are going to miss seeing Josh in the locker room each day, but I could not be more proud of the path that he is on in his career. The type of person he is continues to stand out to me, and we look forward to watching him reach new heights to also become the best player he can be.”

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Curse of the quarterfinals strikes again as USA crashes out of U-20 World Cup

The U.S. has been eliminated in the last eight for the fourth straight time

For a fourth straight time at the U-20 World Cup, the United States men have been eliminated at the quarterfinal stage.

The U.S. fell 2-0 to Uruguay in the last eight on Sunday, continuing the team’s last-eight curse at this competition.

This may have been the most frustrating of all four eliminations though, as this U.S. team entered Sunday’s match looking like one of, if not the favorite to win the whole tournament in Argentina.

Mikey Varas’s side went into the match in flawless form, having won all four of its World Cup matches while scoring 10 goals and conceding none.

But Sunday’s match in Santiago del Estero was a hugely frustrating affair for a team that was not dominated by any stretch, but which made crucial mistakes at both ends of the pitch to crash out in heartbreaking fashion.

The U.S. saw its tournament-long shutout streak end in the 21st minute after a defensive breakdown led to an easy tap-in for Anderson Duarte.

The U.S. pushed for an equalizer but couldn’t find a decisive moment in the final third. Then, on 56 minutes, disaster struck.

A fairly innocuous cross came in low from the left flank, but Josh Wynder’s attempted sliding clearance ricocheted backwards off his own leg and barely squirmed past Gabriel Slonina for a disastrous own goal.

That proved too much for the U-20s to recover from. When a sure goal from Cade Cowell was blocked off the line by his own teammate, it became apparent that it would not be the USA’s night.

Overall it was a positive World Cup for the USA, which controlled the vast majority of its five matches and played an eye-catching style that also proved rock solid at the back.

But once again, the U.S. will go home disappointed at the quarterfinal stage of a U-20 World Cup. The team can be pleased with its overall display in Argentina, but it’s hard to imagine the U.S. U-20s having a better shot to win a World Cup than it did in 2023.

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U.S. dominates New Zealand in U-20 World Cup round of 16

The U.S. won 4-0 in a match that was really never in doubt

For the fourth straight time, the U.S. has reached the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup.

Now, the trick will be advancing past the last eight.

The U.S. overwhelmed New Zealand 4-0 in the round of 16 on Tuesday, dominating their opposition for most of the match while also keeping a clean sheet for the fourth straight game.

Mikey Varas’s side, who are the only team left at the World Cup yet to concede a goal, will now face either Gambia or Uruguay on Sunday in the quarterfinal in Santiago, Argentina.

The U.S. opened the scoring in strange fashion. Owen Wolff’s 14th-minute effort didn’t look like it had the power to beat New Zealand goalkeeper Kees Sims, who nevertheless mistakenly thought it was going wide and let it go — only to watch the ball nestle into the far corner.

Despite the fluky nature of the goal, it was no less than the USA deserved. There would be plenty more chances to add a killer second goal, which finally arrived in the 61st minute through Cade Cowell.

It was Cowell’s third of the tournament and there was more to come for the USA, who saw Justin Che clean up a rebound off a counterattack to make it 3-0. Rokas Pukštas then headed home a free kick just minutes after making his tournament debut.

The U.S. has been outstanding at the World Cup so far, winning four straight games by an aggregate score of 10-0 while playing an eye-catching brand of soccer.

Though the U.S. has reached the quarterfinal for a fourth straight U-20 World Cup, it has lost all three of its previous last-eight matches. Varas and co. will be hoping that this year, the fourth time is the charm.

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Cowell and Slonina star as USA finishes perfect U-20 World Cup group stage

The U.S. defeated Slovakia 2-0 behind goals from two San Jose Earthquakes players

The U.S. completed a perfect group stage at the U-20 World Cup, defeating Slovakia 2-0 on Friday to advance as Group B winners.

The San Jose Earthquakes provided both of the goalscorers for the USA. Cade Cowell opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a superb individual effort, while Niko Tsakiris put the game away with a goal in second-half stoppage time.

Though the U.S. controlled much of the proceedings, Gabriel Slonina was called into action on multiple occasions, and his tremendous sprawling save in the first half kept Slovakia off the board.

Slonina has not conceded a goal in three games so far at the World Cup, all of which have been wins for the U.S. As Group B winners, the U.S. will now face a third-place team on Tuesday in the round of 16.

Cowell gave Slovakia fits all game with his pace and close control, but his finishing let him down on multiple occasions. He did, however, find a telling finish in the 38th minute to give his side the lead after bypassing no fewer than four defenders.

Slonina then prevented Slovakia from scoring against the run of play with an outstanding diving stop.

Slovakia took more control as it pushed for an equalizer late in the game, but Tsakiris put the game away by showing real composure inside the box after a pass from Quinn Sullivan.

After defeating Ecuador, Fiji and Slovakia, the U.S. will get two key reinforcements for the knockout stage: Kevin Paredes and Rokas Pukštas will join up ahead of the last 16 after their club sides agreed to release them if the U.S. advanced past the group stage.

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USYNT makes hard work out of Fiji in second U-20 World Cup win

Better late than never, right?

The U.S. U-20 national team is proving that late is better than never.

The United States notched a second straight U-20 World Cup win, but were held for over an hour by group minnows Fiji before eventually running out 3-0 victors.

Thanks to Jonathan Gómez thundering home a stoppage-time winner, the U.S. opened their group stage slate with a dramatic 1-0 win over Ecuador. It wasn’t quite that late against Fiji, but what seemed to be the least-challenging game in the group turned into a tall task thanks to some wayward finishing and Fiji goalkeeper Aydin Ashaz Mustahib’s saves.

The U.S. peppered his goal with 31 shots, but despite them camping out in and around the Fiji penalty area, the game was still scoreless after 65 minutes.

Mikey Varas’ side kept plugging away though, and Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna produced an opportunistic breakthrough in traffic.

The floodgates were open, but the goal rush didn’t arrive until the game’s final moments, and it took something special. Cade Cowell decided to see if he could match Gómez on the highlight reel, unleashing a vicious, bending shot from 20 yards in the 88th minute.

Underlining this team’s apparent penchant for scoring very late, Caleb Wiley — like Luna, a substitute on the day — popped up nine minutes into second-half stoppage time to tap home a third after Brandan Craig’s free kick bounced off the post.

While the win doesn’t guarantee the U.S. first place in Group B just yet, it does mean they have a place somewhere in the round of 16. The U.S. will face Slovakia in their group finale on May 26, and will claim the top spot with a draw or win.

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Jonathan Gomez delivers late golazo, giving US U20s World Cup win vs. Ecuador

JoGo with a bomb to win it in stoppage time

When Jonathan Gómez said the U.S. U-20 national team had the players to win the U-20 World Cup, he may have been talking about himself.

Earlier this week, Gómez told Pro Soccer Wire that he felt the 21-player squad Mikey Varas had assembled had the quality to win the tournament, and he backed up his point by scoring a stoppage-time rocket to give the United States a 1-0 win over Ecuador in their Group B opener.

For the United States, the match was shaping up to be a frustrating start to the tournament. They held Ecuador without a single shot on goal while forcing Gilmar Napa into five saves at the other end. However, as stoppage time began, the scoreboard still read 0-0, and it was looking like the U.S. would have to settle for a point at Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario.

Gómez had other ideas. The Real Sociedad defender isn’t exactly known for his goalscoring — he has three in 90 professional appearances — and as a left back, he’s not known for charging up the right flank.

Nevertheless, two minutes into stoppage time, that’s where the space was, and that’s where he ended up. With the U.S. sending numbers forward in pursuit of a late winner, Gómez picked up Owen Wolff’s crossfield ball before launching a rocket past Napa.

Beyond being a thrilling winner to cap off an assured performance, it sets the U.S. up extremely well in Group B. A win against Fiji (May 23) or Slovakia (May 26) would make advancement to the knockout stage a virtual certainty. A first-place finish in the group is well within reach now, and that would seal a round-of-16 clash against a third-place finisher on May 30.

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Jonathan Gomez: We have the players to win the U-20 World Cup

The left back is in a confident mood ahead of the tournament’s kickoff on Saturday

The United States is going to the U-20 World Cup full of confidence, as left back Jonathan Gómez has said his team has the players to win the tournament in Argentina.

Some of the top American U-20 players, like Paxten Aaronson, Brian Gutiérrez and Jalen Neal, were held back by their clubs, but head coach Mikey Varas was still able to call on a talented group of 21 players for the World Cup.

One of those is Gómez, who is expected to start for the U.S. when they kick off the tournament on Saturday against Ecuador. Speaking to Pro Soccer Wire ahead of the tournament, the 19-year-old was in a confident mood about his team’s chances.

“We want to win the tournament, and we think we have the players to do so,” Gómez said. “So I would say that’s the ultimate goal.”

Gómez is one of four players on the roster who have been capped by the full USMNT, which along with his age gives him an important leadership role on the team.

“We have quite a few 2004 [birth years] in the group and I think two or three ’05s. So me being an ’03, I automatically see myself as one of the mentors,” Gómez says. “Not necessarily because I have senior [national team] appearances, but just because I’m older, I have a little bit more experience. So I try to be [a mentor] for the group.”

Though he’s still a teenager, Gómez is already in his fifth season as a professional. As he rose through the FC Dallas academy (where he was coached by Varas), Gómez was eager to find first-team minutes as quickly as possible.

USL side Louisville City was more than happy to give him that chance, signing the then-16-year-old in 2020. It looked like a risky move to drop down a division at the time, but Gómez doesn’t see it that way.

“It was a risk but it was a risk that I was willing to take,” Gómez said. “Just like if I stayed at FC Dallas, it was going to be a risk knowing that I would have turned down the Louisville City opportunity.

“If I stayed at FC Dallas, who knows what would have happened. Who knows where I’d be right now.”

Right now, Gómez is in Spain with Real Sociedad, which he joined in early 2022. He’s featured for the club’s reserves, appearing on the bench for the senior side a handful of times but has yet to make his first-team debut.

Sitting in fourth place in La Liga, Real Sociedad is in prime position for a Champions League berth. It’s obviously great for the team but could the club’s success be somewhat hindering Gómez’s path to a debut?

“Hopefully they get into Champions League, that’d be unreal for the club,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m a victim of the club’s success. I think everything’s going to happen at a certain time and you can’t really rush anything. So I’m just working hard and waiting patiently for when that time comes.”

Gómez — who signed with Paradigm Sports this February — didn’t want to be drawn on whether he’d seek out a loan next season if first-team opportunities didn’t arise.

While he sorts out his club situation, there is also a looming decision over his international future. Gómez, despite his young age, is one of only a handful of players to be capped by both the USMNT and Mexico at the senior level.

Born in Texas to Mexican parents, Gómez said representing both countries so early in his career was a major honor.

“Being Mexican-American, growing up in a Mexican household but growing up in the U.S., you get a little bit of both cultures,” he said. “So then to be able to represent both sides, it’s just an extreme honor.”

The U.S. does have a leg up in one notable area: it qualified for the U-20 World Cup and next summer’s Olympics, in which Gómez is eligible to play. Mexico did not.

Ahead of the USA’s opener, Gómez isn’t taking the opportunity to play in any sort of World Cup for granted.

“It’s any kid’s dream to be a part of any World Cup, whether it be a senior World Cup, U-17, or U-20. So when I got that call, I was extremely excited,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

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U.S. U-17 goalkeeper Diego Kochen trains with Barcelona first team

The shot-stopper reached the milestone just two months after turning 17

Diego Kochen’s impressive rise at Barcelona is showing no sign of slowing down.

The U.S. U-17 star trained with the Liga club’s senior team for the first time this week, another milestone for one of American soccer’s best goalkeeping prospects.

Kochen, who only turned 17 in March, joined Barcelona in 2019 and has been steadily climbing the ranks in the club’s La Masia academy. He currently plays for Barcelona’s Juvenil B team, part of the U-19 setup.

The goalkeeper has occasionally trained with reserve team Barcelona B before this week’s milestone, which he acknowledged with an understated post on Instagram that simply said: “Grateful for this experience.”

Video from the training session would later emerge showing Kochen beginning a passing move that concluded with Robert Lewandowski putting the ball in the back of the net.

The goalkeeper is one of two 17-year-old Americans in Barcelona’s youth ranks, with his fellow U.S. U-17 international Adrian Gill featuring as a midfielder in La Masia.

Kochen was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year, having played in five of the U.S. U-17 side’s eight games on the year.

Despite representing the U.S. at the youth international level, the Miami-born goalkeeper is still eligible for Venezuela through his father and Peru through his mother.

Media in Peru also took notice of Kochen’s first-team training session, with Líbero saying the teenager “rubbed shoulders with Lewandowski!”

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