Sporting Kansas City defender Kayden Pierre has been named to the United States U-20 Men’s National Team for the Revelations Cup in Celaya, Mexico.
Pierre, an 18-year-old right back and a product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy, will join a 23-player squad assembled by new U.S. U-20 head coach Mikey Varas for a round-robin tournament consisting of marquee matches against Brazil on Nov. 10, Colombia on Nov. 13 and Mexico on Nov. 16. All three fixtures will air live on TUDN.
The Revelations Cup marks the first U.S. training camp of the new U-20 cycle as the Americans begin preparation for the 2022 Concacaf Championship, which will serve as qualification for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia as well as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
U-20 USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN) - REVELATIONS CUP
GOALKEEPERS (2): Alexander Borto (Fulham/ENG.; South Plainfield, N.J.), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire FC.; Addison, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (7): Justin Che (FC Dallas; Richardson, Texas), Jacob Greene (D.C. United; Crofton, Md.), Kobi Henry (Orange County S.C.; Lake Forest, Calif.), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.), Kayden Pierre (Sporting Kansas City; Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Casey Walls (Mill Valley, Calif.; San Jose Earthquakes), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United F.C.; Atlanta, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls; Wayzata, Minn.), Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.), Jeremy Garay (D.C. United; Crofton, Md.), Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders F.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.), Diego Luna (El Paso Locomotive; Redwood, Calif.), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.)
FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.), Brian Gutierrez (Chicago Fire F.C.; Chicago, Ill.), Missael Rodriguez (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Malick Sanogo (1. FC Union Berlin/GER; Berlin, Germany), Dante Sealy (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Frisco, Texas), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.)
REVELATIONS CUP SCHEDULE
All matches broadcast on TUDN
- Wednesday, Nov. 10 - USA vs. Brazil - 5 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Nov. 13 - USA vs. Colombia - 3:30 p.m. CT
- Tuesday, Nov. 16 - USA vs. Mexico - 5 p.m. CT
This event marks the U-20 U.S. MNT’s first international action since the team faced Mexico in two friendlies to open the 2020-21 cycle in January 2020. The 2020 Concacaf U-20 Championship and 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pierre was a mainstay for Sporting Kansas City II throughout the recently completed 2021 USL Championship campaign. He made 28 appearances and finished second on the team in both starts (26) and minutes (3,252). Pierre, who opened his professional scoring account in a 1-1 home draw against FC Tulsa on Sept. 24, also recorded two assists and placed fifth on the team with 16 chances created.
Born and raised in Michigan, Pierre joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2018 from Vardar SC in his native state. He went on to represent Sporting at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels, making upwards of 60 academy appearances and guiding the U-17s to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs in 2019. While in Kansas City, Pierre has lived with a host family through a program currently supported by the Audi Goals Drive Progress initiative.
Capable of playing at both outside back positions, Pierre gained his first professional experience during the latter half of 2020 when he signed an amateur academy contract for Sporting KC II. He started two of three USL Championship appearances last year, including a 90-minute outing in a dramatic 2-1 road victory over Indy Eleven.
Pierre has previously competed for the United States U-14 and U-16 national teams over the last five years. He participated in multiple U-14 training camps from 2016-2017 before jumping to the U-16s for training camps from 2018-2019.
Sporting Kansas City (17-9-7, 58 points) will close out the regular season Sunday when the club hosts rival Real Salt Lake (13-14-6, 45 points) in a pivotal Decision Day clash at Children's Mercy Park. Currently a point out of first place, Sporting will look to finish atop the Western Conference standings for the third time in four years and clinch a berth in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League with a top-two finish in the West. Kickoff is set for 5:25 p.m. CT with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and live coverage on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest, ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM.
