CHICAGO (July 25, 2019)—The U.S. Under-15 Boys’ National Team will compete at the 2019 Concacaf U-15 Boys’ Championship at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. from Aug. 4-11. Eighteen players will represent the USA at the tournament, its second participation in the competition.
Drawn into Group B, the USA will face Haiti on Aug. 4 at 9 a.m., Guatemala on Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. and Suriname on Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. in the group stage. The USA’s games will be streamed by Concacaf and will be open to the public.
Steve Klein, Academy Director at U.S. Soccer Development Academy club PA Classics will serve as the U-15 BNT head coach for the tournament. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004 are age-eligible for the 2019 Concacaf Boys’ U-15 Championship. The 18-player roster is made up of 17 players born in 2004 and one born in 2005.
2019 Concacaf U-15 Boys’ Championship Roster by Position (Club; Hometown)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Damian Alguera (De Anza Force; San Jose, Calif.), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire; Addison, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (6): Armando Avila (LAFC; Torrance, Calif.), John Carlos Cortez (New York Red Bulls; Ridgewood, N.J.), Antonio Leone (LAFC; Long Beach, Calif.), Angel Martinez (Seattle Sounders FC; Everett, Wash.), Justin Reynolds (Chicago Fire; Chicago, Ill.), Devan Tanton (UE Cornella/ESP; Barcelona, Spain)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Kenan Hot (New York Red Bulls; Lincroft, N.J.), Allan Rodriguez (Chicago Fire; Elkhart, Ind.), Rokas Pukstas (Sporting Kansas City; Stillwater, Okla.), Evan Rotundo (San Diego Surf; La Mesa, Calif.), Victor Valdez (LA Galaxy; Santa Ana, Calif.), Aethan Yohannes (AZ Alkmaar/NED; Springfield, Va.)
FORWARDS (4): Osvaldo Cisneros (Sporting Kansas City; Omaha, Neb.), Rafael Jauregui (Sacramento Republic FC; Rancho Cordova, Calif.), Federico Oliva (Atletico de Madrid/ESP; Madrid, Spain), Christian Torres (LAFC; Fontana, Calif.)
Following the group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout round. Should the USA advance, it will face a team from Group D in the quarterfinals. All four Division 1 groups are listed below:
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Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Mexico
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USA
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Canada
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Costa Rica
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Panama
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Haiti
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El Salvador
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Jamaica
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Trinidad & Tobago
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Guatemala
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Slovenia
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Portugal
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Curacao
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Suriname
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Guadeloupe
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Barbados
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Forty-two teams across three divisions will compete at the 2019 Concacaf U-15 Boys’ Championship. Divisions 1 and 2 are composed of four groups of four teams, while Division 3 consists of two groups of five teams. The winner of Division 1’s knockout round bracket will be crowned Concacaf champion. Israel, Portugal and Slovenia will participate in the tournament as invited guest teams from UEFA.
The USA entered the Concacaf Boys’ U-15 Championship for the first time in 2017. At that competition, the U.S. rolled through the group stage and semifinal with four straight victories and a plus-14 goal differential before dropping a hard-fought final to Mexico. Gianluca Busio led the way for the red, white and blue with five goals. Eight of the players at the 2017 tournament went on to represent the USA at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship.
The U-15s’ most recent international action came at the 2019 Torneo delle Nazioni in Gradisca, Italy. There, the team finished ninth, highlighted by a dramatic victory over England that saw the USA equalize in stoppage time and go on to win via penalty kicks.
ROSTER NOTES
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Twelve clubs are represented on the roster, with 15 players at domestic clubs and three based internationally in Spain (two) and the Netherlands (one).
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Chicago Fire and LAFC contribute the most players to the roster with three each. Two players each come from the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City.
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Goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, defender Antonio Leone plus midfielders Kenan Hot and Evan Rotundo have appeared in all six events of the 2018-19 U-15 cycle.
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Slonina signed a MLS Homegrown contract with the Fire in March at 14-years-old, making him the youngest Homegrown signing in MLS history.
ACADEMY NOTES
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Sixteen of 18 players have spent at least one season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Fifteen just wrapped up the 2018-19 Academy season last month.
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The roster’s players from LAFC helped lead the club to a runner-up finish at the first Boys U-15 Academy Championship.
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Defender Antonio Leone won the Golden Ball as the Academy postseason’s best player, while forward Christian Torres tied for the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer.
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Goalkeeper Damian Alguera played up with De Anza Force’s U-16/17 squad during the Academy Playoffs, helping the team reach the national semifinals.