RSL well represented on latest U.S. U-20 camp roster

The Salt Lake Tribune

Published: January 15, 2017 12:58 pm
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Real Salt Lake continues to be represented quite well in the U.S. youth national team picture.

A trio of RSL first-teamers were again named to the U.S. U-20 national team January camp on Sunday. Defender Justen Glad, midfielder Danny Acosta and forward Sebastian Saucedo are among the 24 players called up to the U-20 January roster, Jan. 15-23, at the National Training Center in Carson, Calif.

Also included in the mix are RSL academy products Brooks Lennon — who could be on his way back to RSL from Liverpool FC — and defender Aaron Herrera who just concluded his sophomore season at the University of New Mexico. This camp is the first of 2017 for a U-20s team prepping for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Costa Rica, which begins on Feb. 18 against Panama.

"We are very excited to be getting closer to competing for a U-20 World Cup spot," said U.S. U-20 coach Tab Ramos in a release. "We are now working with players within our core group of 35, and I am confident that with the hard work during this camp we will be closer to achieving our goals."

The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off May 20 in South Korea. The top four finishing teams from the CONCACAF Championships (Feb. 18-March 5) will qualify for the U-20 World Cup. The U-20s are set for another camp in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 31 through Feb. 10 in preparation for the tournament in Costa Rica.

Glad's rapid rise at RSL has been recognized. The 19-year-old center back made 28 total appearances with RSL in 2016. Saucedo, who turns 20 next week, returned from his one-year loan at Liga MX club Veracruz in December. During his time in Mexico in 2016, he scored his first professional goal in a Copa MX match. Acosta featured 10 times with the U-20s last year, but spent much of his inaugural season in the organization with Real Monarchs, making 18 appearances.

The Tribune reported on Wednesday that a return for Lennon, the 19-year-old from Paradise Valley, Ariz., could be a possibility in 2017. On Saturday a report from Liverpool Echo stated that the striker, who has spent much of his time with Liverpool's U-23s, is set to spend the upcoming season on loan at RSL.

Lennon signed with Liverpool in July 2015 after starring at RSL's Arizona-based academy. He scored 31 goals for the academy in 2014-2015. The forward is reportedly under contract at Liverpool until the summer of 2018.

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani

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