Youth National Teams: 29 Players Gather for U-20 Training Camp

This week, the U.S. men’s U-20 national team kicks off the final, three-month journey that will eventually end in Nigeria and the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. Coach Sigi Schmid has gathered a squad of 29 players at the ARCO Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. for a Jan. 4-19 training camp — the first of several in 1999. Immediately following this camp, Schmid will select an 18-player squad to compete in the Copa Atlantico from Jan. 20-28 in the Canary Islands. Competing teams in the Copa Atlantico include Nigeria ’99 qualifiers Germany, Spain and Portugal, as well as Denmark. Here is the roster for the U-20 training camp: Goalkeepers — Tim Howard (North Brunswick, N.J.), Dan Popik (Syosset, N.Y.), Nick Rimando (Montclair, Calif.). Defenders — Carlos Bocanegra (Alta Loma, Calif.), Dan Califf (Orange, Calif.), Nick Garcia (Plano, Texas), Cory Gibbs (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Matt Goldsmith (Roswell, Ga.), Lee Morrison (Carmichael, Calif.), Ray Ramirez (Ontario, Calif.), Kevin Sakuda (Fremont, Calif.). Midfielders — Isaias Bardales (San Jose, Calif.), Nick Downing (Redmond, Wash.), Mike Feller (Richmond, Va.), Ryan Futagaki (Fountain Valley, Calif.), Francisco Gomez (Watsonville, Calif.), Ryan Mack (Beverly Hills, Mich.), Rusty Pierce (The Woodlands, Texas), Mike Potempa (Hunt Valley, Md.), John Thorrington (Palos Verdes, Calif.), Shaun Tsakiris (Saratoga, Calif.), Joey Worthen (St. Lake City, Utah). Forwards — Chris Albright (Philadelphia), Jamar Beasley (Ft. Wayne, Ind.), Nino DaSilva (Hoffman Estates, Ill.), Luis Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.), McKinley Tennyson, Jr. (Indianapolis, Ind.), Taylor Twellman (St. Louis).