Eagle Mountain Native Gozo w/ One Goal, Three Assists for USA U-20s at FIFA Youth World Cup in Chile, Preparing to Face Italy in Thursday Round of 16 Match
HERRIMAN, Utah / NEW YORK (Wed., Oct. 8, 2025) – Emerging Real Salt Lake star Zavier Gozo was unveiled today as the 10th-ranked player in Major League Soccer’s annual “22 Under 22” young player class, as voted by an expert panel of MLS coaches, sporting directors, coaches and select media / Apple MLS Season Pass talent.
The 18-year-old Gozo provided the highlight of his breakout 2025 professional season back on Sept. 17 at America First Field in Sandy, cutting the LAFC lead in half in the 76th minute with an athletic, acrobatic, twisting inverted volley in the box for his fourth goal of the year. In a Sept. 13 2-1 home win over Kansas City, Gozo assisted on both RSL goals for his first-ever multi-assist match, his six goal contributions this season the most ever in RSL’s 21-year history for a player prior to his Age 20 season (Luis Gil, 2013).
During this 2025 MLS campaign, Gozo appeared in 27 of RSL’s last 29 games overall prior to missing the Austin and Colorado wins due his World Cup duty, after deputizing in CONCACAF Champions Cup action earlier this year and playing 45 second-half minutes March 29 at Minnesota. Gozo did start 22 times in a 24-game RSL span prior to the Austin win, making his MLS debut in October, 2023 at LA Galaxy, and playing just a handful of minutes last year while juggling RSL Academy, Monarchs, USA U-18 and USA U-20 duties in an eventful season.
On the heels of his Sept. 17 wondergoal – a 76th-minute inverted volley, one of the most athletic and acrobatic goals in RSL’s 21-year history – Sept. 21 at LAFC saw the dynamic young attacker return to his natural right wing position, after also recently playing as a second striker or a right-sided 10. Back on May 24 at home vs. Vancouver, Gozo scored his MLS debut goal just 50 seconds after the opening whistle, the 7th-fastest in RSL’s 21-year history, while adding his second MLS goal as insurance late in the 2-0 win over D.C. at home on June 14. Gozo’s Aug. 10 opener at NYRB marked his third career RSL/MLS goal, all coming this season.
Gozo is one of multiple players in this year’s MLS “22 Under 22” rankings to have utilized an MLS NEXT Pro developmental pathway to first-team success, scoring six times in 26 appearances for the Real Monarchs in his 2023/24 seasons.
Eagle Mountain native Gozo – born in West Valley – and recently acquired Real Monarchs standout Marcos Zambrano have been critical amongst the named amongst the 21 players that led the United States to first in its group at the ongoing 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, taking place in Chile through Oct. 19. On Thursday, Gozo and the U.S. will face Italy in the Round of 16 contest to be played at 1:30p MT.
Gozo – with his game-winning goal against France and three assists in the group stage – now owns three goals and 14 appearances for the USA U-20s during his young career, even as he remains age-eligible for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“This is something I’ve been looking forward to for quite awhile,” said Gozo, the 18-year-old Eagle Mountain, Utah resident who just graduated from high school in late May. “I’m very excited to represent my family, my Club and my country. Obviously, I want to play my best, help the team however they need, score as many goals as I can,” continued Gozo, who will miss two RSL reg. season games during the World Cup group stage. “We have the players to win the tournament, that’s clearly our goal; we will work hard, put our heads down, and hopefully play our best.
“It’s been really cool to be with Marcos (Zambrano) here at RSL, and again with the national team. We expect to represent our fans the best we can, let the world know what Utah is all about, and make the RSL fans proud.”
The U.S. will look to build on its history of success at the U-20 World Cup as the only nation to reach the quarterfinals of the last four tournaments and one of just two countries to qualify for the last six editions alongside New Zealand.
The USA qualified for the World Cup with a runner-up finish at the 2024 Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship in Mexico. Twelve players return from the squad that helped the U.S. clinch a sixth-straight U-20 World Cup berth and 18th overall appearance in the competition.
The participation in FIFA tournaments by U.S. Soccer’s Youth National Teams is part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
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