Thomas Rongen has announced the 20-man squad that will represent the United States at the CONCACAF U-20 championship in Guatemala, and Dynamo Academy defender Sebastien Ibeagha, currently a freshman at Duke University, will join eight Major League Soccer professionals in Central Americafor the two-week tournament.
The United States play Panama and Suriname in the first round of the 12-team event. The four semifinalists earn a berth in the 2011 U-20 World Cup.
“We try to look at players who can fit into the way we play, out of a 4-3-3, so there are specific technical, tactical, mental and physical attributes that are required at every position," Rongen said when discussing his choices. "We spent a lot of time looking at which players fit our system best. We feel good about our selection that will go forward and represent us in Guatemala against Panama and Suriname.”
Ibeagha, 19, attended Fort Bend Hightower High School in Houston and was a standout on the Dynamo Academy's U-18 team over the past two seasons. He was named Dynamo Academy Player of the Year in 2009 and USSF Development Academy all-Central Conference in 2009-10. As a freshman at Duke this year, Ibeagha was named freshman all-ACC and third-team all-South Region as a central defender. He has been capped three times for the United States at the U-20 level.
From the college ranks, the roster also features two UCLA Bruins -- Kelyn Rowe, Eder Arreola -- as well as Notre Dame's Dillon Powers and beagha.
New York forward Juan Agudelo was expected to be part of the qualifying roster, but instead will be with the full US national team for friendlies against Argentina and Paraguay.
GOALKEEPERS (2): Zac MacMath (Philadelphia Union; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Cody Cropper (Ipswich Town; Athens, Ga.)
DEFENDERS (8): Gale Agbossoumonde (Djurgårdens IF; Syracuse, N.Y.), Greg Garza (G.D. Estoril Praia; Grapevine, Texas), Moises Hernandez (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Sacir Hot (New York Red Bulls; Fair Lawn, N.J.), Sebastien Ibeagha (Duke; Houston Dynamo Academy; Missouri City, Texas), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United; Indianapolis, Ind.), Zarek Valentin (Chivas USA; Lancaster, Pa.), Korey Veeder (Columbus Crew; St. Petersburg, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United; San Francisco, Calif.), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia Union; Sacramento, Calif.), Moises Orozco (UANL Tigres; Oxnard, Calif.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Kelyn Rowe (UCLA; Newport Beach, Calif.)
FORWARDS (5): Eder Arreola (UCLA; Chino Hills, Calif.), Conor Doyle (Derby County FC; McKinney, Texas), Joe Gyau (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim; Silver Spring, Md.), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; El Paso, Texas), Bobby Wood (TSV 1860 München; Irvine, Calif.)
