Two Houston Dynamo FC Academy players received invitations to the upcoming U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team camp to compete at the UEFA Development Tournament. The two players that were invited by U.S. Soccer are forwards Andre Gitau and Zeke Soto.
The team will be in Portugal from May 1-11, and will play matches against Italy on May 5th, Belgium on May 7th and Portugal on May 10th.
“Andre and Zeke have worked extremely hard to become regular members of the U.S. Youth National Team and the upcoming Portugal trip will be a great test for them, facing three top youth national teams,” Houston Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad said. “We aim to be one of the top youth development clubs in the country and this is another positive sign that our Academy is moving in the right direction under the leadership of Paul Holocher and Tony Vigil.”
Gitau is a 15-year-old native of Houston who consistently trained with the first team throughout the 2022 preseason. This is the fourth USYNT appearance for Gitau and was recently named to Major League Soccer's 2022 Rising XI presented by Body Armour.
Soto joined the Houston Dynamo Academy this past August from his hometown club, Murrieta Soccer Academy. This is the third USYNT appearance for Soto, with his first having come in January, when he was one of only two players born in 2007 to earn an invite to the camp, with the rest of the invitees having been born in 2006.
