US U-20 Men prepare for 2007 CONCACAF final round qualifying...

Head coach Thomas Rongen called a camp of 19 players including 12 professionals (9 from MLS), 3 college kids and 4 high school kids. That is right, 4 kids who haven’t finished high school are going to be playing with the U-20 team getting ready for the final round of qualifying for next years FIFA U-20 World Cup. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it always makes me look twice.

First up, the roster and the clubs they play for.

Freddy Adu - M - D.C. United (MLS)
Josmer Altidore - F - N.Y. Red Bulls (MLS)
Bryan Arguez - M - West Kendal Optimists
David Arvizu - F - N.Y. Red Bulls (MLS)
Kris Banghart - D - N.C. Wesleyan College
Kyle Davies - D - Ballistic United
Miguel Gonzalez - M - N.E. Revolution (MLS)
Quavas Kirk - D - L.A. Galaxy (MLS)
Zac MacMath - GK - Clearwater Chargers
Dax McCarty - M - FC Dallas (MLS)
Ellis McLoughlin - F - Crossfire James
Nico Mosquera - M/F - University of Central Florida
Nicholas Skverer - GK - NEC Nijmegen
Johann Smith - F - Bolton FC
Nathan Sturgis - D - L.A. Galaxy (MLS)
Neven Subotic - D - Mainz 05
Danny Szetela - M - Columbus Crew (MLS)
Anthony Wallace - D/M - University of South Florida
Tim Ward - D - Columbus Crew (MLS)

Name like Adu, Altidore, Kirk and Szetela will jump out at the MLS fans reading. These guys have been getting some good playing time for their clubs. Then you have Nicholas Skverer playing in Holland, Neven Subotic in Germany and Johann Smith playing in England. Finally you have the young high school kids who are impressing enough to beat out a long list of college kids who would no doubt love to make this squad. Actually, I bet the competition to make this roster would have been a lot tougher for the high school set if their college counterparts weren’t currently playing in the NCAA tournament.

This camp will culminate in a match against CONCACAF rivals Guatemala, next Wednesday the 15th in Boca Raton, Florida. On November 24th we’ll learn which of two groups the young Americans will face in qualifying.

Let’s face it, now is the time for Freddy Adu to shine. Freddy came into MLS hyped as the best American player ever. That’s a lot of pressure on Freddy and it has shown in the past. This season with DC United can only be seen as a failure for Freddy as he wasn’t able to lead his team to MLS Cup glory. Yes, I’m talking about a 17 year old. Is it too much on the shoulders of a player who around the rest of the world would just be getting a sniff of the 1st team? Maybe. Freddy has handled all of the pressure well with the exception of a couple temper tantrums. However, this time it is different. He’s the leader of this team, he is the most experienced pro on this team. If the US is going to do well in the U-20 World Cup Freddy Adu must step up and take his team to the promise land. We’ve waited many years for Adu to show his true brilliance and against players his own age he should be able to in this event. If he can’t, I think people will start to label him a failure.

Looking over the rest of the list I am excited to see Altidore, Smith and Kirk play against kids their own age as opposed to professionals 10 years their senior. It is interesting to see Kirk listed as a defender as well; last I hear he was playing wide midfielder for LA.

I’m certainly getting excited for the next installment of the U-20 World Cup. The US should be able to qualify and will go up against some of the best in the world next Summer in Canada. The way I see it, it will either be a coming out party of Freddy and Altidore or a disappointment for American fans.

**Editors note, Nico Mosquera is not listed on the website roster of the University of Central Florida. If someone knows anything, please comment.**