Eagle Mountain Native Gozo Included in Preparations for 2028 Summer Olympic Cycle
on Heels of Record-Setting 2025 RSL / MLS Campaign
HERRIMAN, Utah / ATLANTA (Mon., Nov. 10, 2025) – Real Salt Lake winger Zavier Gozo has been called in by U.S. Soccer amongst its 20-player roster that comprises the Europe-based U.S. Under-21 Men’s National Team training camp from now through Nov. 18 in Europe. During this camp, the U-21 MNT will play away matches against Denmark on Friday, Nov. 14 and at Serbia on Tues., Nov. 18.
An 18-year-old attacker, the Eagle Mountain, Utah native Gozo – unveiled in early October 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 – finished his breakout 2025 MLS season with four goals and three assists four a record-setting seven goal contributions, the most ever in RSL’s 21-year history for a player prior to his Age 20 season (Luis Gil, 2013, five goals).
Emerging star Gozo provided the highlight of his 2025 campaign back on Sept. 17 at America First Field in Sandy, cutting the visiting LAFC lead in half in the 76th minute, with an athletic, acrobatic, twisting inverted volley in the box that found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the year, a highlight-reel score featured as that day’s top overall play on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10.
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 to his USA U20 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 late September 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 – was one of a handful of breakout stars in the recent FIFA Youth World Championship in Chile, starting four of five USA U-20 contests and providing the game-winning goal against France and three assists in the group stage – now owns three goals and 16 appearances for the USA U-20s during his young career, even as he remains age-eligible for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Made up of players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004, the Under-21 MNT will train and play matches through summer 2026 in an effort to make up on national team programming that players in this age group missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Men's Olympic Soccer Team, made up of players under the age of 23 that will be eligible for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, will officially begin play in the second half of 2026. Michael Morris, who served as an assistant coach for the U-20 MNT last cycle, will lead the U-21 MNT in November.
Set to train in Vejle, Denmark from today, Nov. 10 through Thursday, the USA will face the Denmark U-21 side on Friday, Nov. 14 at Velje Stadium. The USA will then face Serbia U-21 on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia. Both matches will kick off at 6:00 p.m. local time (10:00a MT).
This month’s camp 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.
U.S. UNDER-21 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – NOVEMBER CAMP (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP Miramar, Fla.), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (6): Reed Baker-Whiting (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.), Noah Cobb (Colorado Rapids; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Brandan Craig (CF Montreal; Philadelphia, Pa) Ethan Kohler (SC Verl/GER; Campbell, Calif.), Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas), Thomas Williams (Orlando City; Titusville, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Santiago Castañeda (Paderborn/GER; Tampa, Fla.), Jackson Hopkins (D.C. United; Fredericksburg, Va.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.), Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo; Chicago, Ill.), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): Cole Campbell (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Peachtree City, Ga.), Damion Downs (Southampton/ENG; Werneck, Germany), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Mykhi Joyner (St. Louis City; Bloomington, IL), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; Unionville, Conn.), Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.)
About the U.S. Way
The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments, including scaled Talent Identification, expanded Youth National Team programming and accelerated development and foundation building across the Extended National Teams; Shared and Scaled Infrastructure, highlighted by the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, U.S. Way digital platform and unified youth calendar; and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem, featuring formal courses, technical and administrative staff community building, leadership development, and best practice resource sharing.
For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.
-- www.RSL.com --
