SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has announced that DF Boyd Okwuonu has been called in by the U.S. U-23 National Team for the Toulon Tournament in France from May 27-June 7.
U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team Head Coach Andi Herzog called 19 players to the tournament and will add one more player Tuesday before the roster deadline.
“Toulon is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world at this age level, and we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in the world,” said Herzog said in a release from U.S. Soccer. “Having seen matches here many times before, I know the type of talent we will face. This is huge for us as we get ready for qualification this October, and is another step in the development of our players in international competition.”
Okwuonu was selected in the second round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft (27th overall) by Real Salt Lake. He has yet to play with RSL, but has logged 483 minutes in six starts with Real Monarchs SLC in the USL. With the U.S. U-23 National Team this year, he has played 183 minutes in three appearances, two of them starts.
In his international career, Okwuonu has previously played in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2012 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In the Toulon Tournament, the U.S. will compete in Group A, facing France (May 27, 11 a.m. MT), Netherlands (May 29, 9 a.m. MT), Costa Rica (May 31, 9 a.m. MT) and Qatar (June 2, 10 a.m.). All matches will be televised live on BeIN Sports.
The Full U-23 Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.), Charlie Horton (Cardiff City; Cleveland, Ohio), Tyler Miller (Zweibrücken; Woodbury, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (7): Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmond, Okla.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Jalen Robinson (D.C. United; Catonsville, Md.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Sam Strong (Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (4): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Daniel Metzger (Unattached; Holmdel, N.J.), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool; Sunnyvale, Calif.)
FORWARDS (5): Julian Green (Bayern Munich; Tampa, Fla.); Alonso Hernandez (C.F. Monterrey; El Paso, Tex.), Jerome Kiesewetter (Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Alfred Koroma Shams (Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.).
