As usual, U.S. under-20 coach Sigi Schmid is sifting through myriad issues and situations as he prepares his team for the FIFA World Youth Championship, which kicks off in the Netherlands next month.

Since last Saturday 16 college and high school players have been training at the Home Depot Center. As many as 10 professional players could be members of the 21-man squad Schmid will take the world championships, yet of that group only goalkeeper Quentin Westberg and defender Jonathan Spector, who play for Troyes (France) and Manchester United, respectively, and MetroStars midfielder Eddie Gaven are guaranteed of starting spots.

''These guys are done with their semesters, the majority of them,'' says Schmid, ''so we're trying to give them a competitive, daily training environment so they can gain fitness, stay sharp, so we can make the final selection going forward.

''For a couple of them, we really want to see how they progress. An example of that is Lee Nyugen, the high school kid. I really want to see how he progresses, day to day, against better players and bigger guys, where he's not going to be dominant and see how quickly he adjusts.''

Nyugen is the 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year from Dallas who has committed to attend Indiana next fall. He might be a longshot to make the squad, but Greg Dalby (Notre Dame), Benny Feilhaber (UCLA), Charlie Davies (Boston College), Sasha Kljestan (Seton Hall), Nathan Sturgis (Clemson), Marvell Wynne (UCLA) and several other college players will surely be on the roster even if not all of them start.

As Schmid tells it, a more than a few starting spots are up for grabs.

He is hoping to integrate Tim Ward, Michael Bradley and Gaven (MetroStars), Chad Barrett and Will John (Fire), Danny Szetela (Crew), Hunter Freeman (Rapids) and Freddy Adu (D.C. United) with the game against Canada May 18 in Blaine, Minn., and a match to be confirmed May 25 either in Florida or at HDC.

''Middle of the back is still open,'' he says. ''Spector we expect to start, Nate Sturgis has probably been our best defender on our last two trips. Left back is open, whose going to be the center back next to Spector is open, right back we expect it to be Marvell.

''In the midfield, we expect Dalby to play a lot. Benny has played well more times than he hasn't played well. The left side of midfield is a little bit open, attacking mid should be Gaven, really the forward positions are a battle between three or four people.''

Barrett had three assists and goals were scored by Feilhaber, Ward, Szetela and John in the under-20s' 4-1 win over the USL Seattle Sounders April 26.

The MetroStars, Rapids and Crew play on May 25, so Schmid may not have their teamÆs players available for selection if a U-20 game is scheduled. The team departs for Holland June 1; the roster must be submitted to FIFA one week before the team's opening game, which is June 11. The U.S. plays Argentina, Germany and Egypt in the first round of the 24-team competition.

Like D.C. coach Peter Nowak, Schmid is grappling with how and where to use Adu. He hasn't been with the team since the CONCACAF qualifiers in January. ''It's the same problem for us,'' says Schmid. ''Freddy was the only player who was not released for our trip to Korea [in March], and he was the only MLS player we couldn't get for Seattle.

''So I'm not sure right now where Freddy fits into the puzzle. Freddy has to prove he belongs on the field with us, and where he belongs. It could be at left wing, it could be as a second forward. It could be that we play one guy up with a left and right winger and he plays on the left. He could play as a left midfielder.''

Schmid is hoping to bring in striker Jemal Johnson, who plays in England for Blackburn, before the June 4 roster deadline. He says Manchester United striker Guiseppe Rossi, a native of New Jersey eligible to play for both Italy and the United States, has told him he wants to play for Italy.

As to what formation the team will play, Schmid says it has yet to be determined. ''A 4-3-3 is a possibility,'' he says, ''an unbalanced 4-4-2 works. We could play a 4-5-1 basically letting two guys underneath the forwards attack or letting two wide guys go forward.

''It's just semantics really, the object is to get the best 11 players on the field.''