Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown was selected to the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team roster for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, U.S. Soccer announced Thursday.
Palmer-Brown was named captain of the U.S. U-20s earlier today by head coach Tab Ramos. Sporting KC’s Homegrown center back joins a 20-player roster for a pivotal CONCACAF competition that doubles as the team’s 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifying tournament.
The CONCACAF U-20 Championship will run from Feb. 17 – March 5 in San Jose, Costa Rica, sending four teams to South Korea for the U-20 World Cup in May. The United States was drawn into Group B alongside Panama, Haiti and Saint Kitts and Nevis. All three matches will be broadcast in the U.S. on Univision networks. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter at @ussoccer_ynt.
Palmer-Brown, 19, is the only player on the 20-man roster who was also a member of the United States’ 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup team.
“Being at the 2015 U-20 World Cup before, it was an amazing experience. It was awesome,” Palmer-Brown told U.S. Soccer. “The environment in New Zealand, just to see all the teams and all the nations there, made it such a great tournament to compete in. I think being there helped me learn that I wanted to be there again. I wanted to go there with the next U-20 cycle. I want to go there with the (senior) U.S. Men's National Team, so the goal is to get back there. We must do our job down in Costa Rica first. It's not going to be an easy task and we are going to have to work hard to do that."
A revamped format for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship will see three groups of four teams compete in the first phase of the tournament. The top two teams in each group will advance to a second-round stage, featuring two groups with three teams each. The top two finishers in each group will qualify for the U-20 World Cup, with the first-place teams in each group playing for the tournament championship.
Palmer-Brown returned to Sporting Kansas City this offseason after a year-long loan at Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri native played 17 games for FC Porto B en route to winning the LigaPro title in May and scoring his first professional goal against the Leicester City U-23s in the Premier League International Cup in November.
Palmer-Brown has played 13 matches in all competitions since signing for Sporting KC’s senior team in August 2013 — 10 in MLS, two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and one in the CONCACAF Champions League. He became the youngest defender in MLS history to appear in a game when he made his Sporting KC debut as a 17-year-old in May 2014. The center back developed in the Sporting Kansas City Academy, becoming one of the brightest youth prospects in the country.
In addition to featuring regularly for the U-20s, Palmer-Brown has represented the U.S. at the U-15, U-17 and U-18 levels.
U.S. U-20 Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), JT Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Marlon Fossey (Fulham F.C.; Surbiton, England), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (New Mexico; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee's Summit, Mo.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, Utah), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; Wappingers Falls, N.Y), Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Luca De la Torre (Fulham F.C.; San Diego, Calif.), Jonathan Gonzalez (CF Monterrey; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Jeremiah Gutjahr (Indiana University; Bloomington, Ind.), Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC; Plantation, Fla.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah), Eryk Williamson (University of Maryland; Alexandria, Va.)
FORWARDS (3): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Emmanuel Sabbi (UD Las Palmas; Libertyville, Ill.)
