Head Coach Marko Mitrović Names 21 Players as USA Will Face New Caledonia, France and South Africa
in Group Stage; Twelve Players Return from 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship Squad
HERRIMAN, Utah / ATLANTA (Fri., Sept. 19, 2025) – Emerging Real Salt Lake star Zavier Gozo and recently acquired Real Monarchs standout Marcos Zambrano have been named amongst the 21 players that will represent the United States at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, taking place in Chile from Sept. 27 – Oct. 19.
\\* Registration link for Friday’s 10a MT Zoom press conference with U-20 MNT head coach
Marko Mitrović is available by clicking here – ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED *
The USA kicks off Group E play on Monday, Sept. 29 against New Caledonia (5:00p MT; Fox Sports 1, Universo), faces France on Thursday, Oct. 2 (2:00p MT; Fox Sports 2, Universo) and closes the group stage against South Africa on Sunday, Oct. 5 (2:00p MT; Fox Sports 2, Telemundo). All three matches will be played at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua, Chile.
Gozo and Zambrano will each depart for Chile following this weekend’s games in Los Angeles, with Zambrano and the MLS NEXT Pro Real Monarchs traveling to face LAFC 2 in Friday night action at Titan Stadium in Fullerton (8:00p MT kickoff on www.MLSNextPro.com). Gozo and Real Salt Lake compete Sunday night at BMO Stadium against LAFC in Major League Soccer competition (7:00p MT kickoff on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass and Fox Sports 1).
Gozo provided the highlight of his breakout 2025 professional season Wednesday night 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 Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Kansas City, Gozo assisted on both RSL goals for his first-ever multi-assist match, his six goal contributions the most ever in RSL’s 21-year history for a player prior to his Age 20 season (Luis Gil, 2013).
“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.”
Acquired in late July, Zambrano has scored four goals in seven games with Real Monarchs in MLS NEXT Pro action, the former Philadelphia Union academy player arriving on the Wasatch Front following three years in Portugal with Vitoria Guimarães and Benfica second teams. The Guayaquil, Ecuador-born Zambrano has been recently joined by his younger brother, Mateo, at the RSL Academy in Herriman.
“For me, this selection is a dream come true; since I was a child, my dream was to play in a World Cup,” said Zambrano prior to the Monarchs flight to Los Angeles late Thursday. “One cannot imagine how grateful and proud I am right now! I am very, very excited to have (Zavier) Gozo with me, he is a great player; together, we can win this tournament.
“My personal goal is to be a goalscorer, that’s my main objective, to put the ball in the back of the net; for the team, we hope to go as far as possible. The people in Utah have been very kind to me and my family, I hope the fans will support us, we will do everything we can to make them proud and bring honor to the Real Salt Lake name.”
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.
“We are very excited about the group of players that will represent the United States at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile,” said Mitrović. “Wearing your country’s crest in a World Cup is a special moment for every player, and as a Federation, we’re proud that each player has developed through our American soccer pathway. We are grateful to the clubs that released their players in support of our mission and now our goal is to make ourcountry proud.”
FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; U-20 CAPS/GOALS; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 12-Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; Castle Pines, Colo.; 7/0), 21-Duran Ferree (San Diego FC; San Diego, Calif.; 1/0), 1-Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP; Miramar, Fla.; 5/0)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Reed Baker-Whiting (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.; 7/0), 18-Luca Bombino (San Diego FC; Saugus, Calif.; 9/0), 5-Noah Cobb (Colorado Rapids; Chattanooga, Tenn.; 13/0), 16-Ethan Kohler (SC Verl/GER; Campbell, Calif.; 12/1), 3-Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas; 16/0), 17-Francis Westfield (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 7/0), 4-Joshua Wynder (Benfica/POR; Louisville, Ky.; 11/1)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 19-Matthew Corcoran (Nashville SC; Dallas, Texas; 5/1), 8-Benjamin Cremaschi (Parma/ITA; Key Biscayne, Fla.; 9/2), 14-Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; Columbus, Ohio; 14/2), 6-Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo; Chicago, Ill.; 15/1), 15-Pedro Soma (San Diego FC; Coconut Creek, Fla.; 15/2), 10-Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.; 23/8)
FORWARDS (5): 11-Luke Brennan (Atlanta United; Atlanta, Ga.; 10/2), 7-Cole Campbell (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Peachtree City, Ga.; 3/0), 20-Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah; 11/2), 13-Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; Unionville, Conn.; 6/1), 9-Marcos Zambrano (Real Salt Lake; Gladwyne, Pa.; 13/6)
The U-20 MNT players will begin gathering on Monday, Sept. 22 in Rancagua, Chile following this weekend’s club matches in North America and Europe.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2005, are age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Mitrović selected 11 players born in 2005, eight born in 2006 and two born in 2007. The youngest members of the USA 2023 U-20 World Cup roster, defender Joshua Wynder and midfielder Niko Tsakiris, return for a second edition of the tournament, while forwards Peyton Miller and Zavier Gozo are also age-eligible for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The roster features players from 19 clubs, including 16 from 12 different Major League Soccer teams. San Diego FC leads the way with three selections, followed by two each from Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake. Five players are based abroad: two in Germany, and one player each in Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Additionally, Chris Applewhite (Nashville SC) and Edward Davis (Philadelphia Union) will join the team as training players for the week leading up to the tournament.
ROAD TO CHILE
The USA qualified for the 2025 U-20 World Cup after a runner-up finish at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Mexico. The USA rolled through the group stage with wins against Jamaica (9-0), Cuba (4-0) and Costa Rica (1-0), before a 1-0 quarterfinal victory against Guatemala and 2-1 semifinal win over Panama. Despite taking the lead, the USA fell 2-1 in extra time to hosts Mexico in the final.
Twelve players from the Concacaf qualifying roster return for the World Cup: goalkeepers Adam Beaudry and Duran Ferree; defenders Luca Bombino, Noah Cobb, Ethan Kohler and Nolan Norris; midfielders Taha Habroune, Brooklyn Raines, Pedro Soma and Niko Tsakiris; and forwards Zavier Gozo and Marcos Zambrano.
U-20 WORLD CUP TO THE MAIN EVENT
The U-20 World Cup has been a proving ground for international stars around the globe and it’s certainly served its purpose in developing big contributors for the USMNT at future senior World Cups. Since first participating at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, 44 players that represented the USA at a U-20 World Cup went on to make a senior FIFA World Cup roster.
Twelve of those 44 players also went on to earn 100 caps for the USMNT: Jeff Agoos, Jozy Altidore, Marcelo Balboa, DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Paul Caligiuri, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Kasey Keller and Tony Meola. More recently, nine players with U-20 World Cup experience were part of the USA squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Luca de la Torre, Sergiño Dest, Shaq Moore, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin.
ABOUT THE FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP
The 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup will feature 24 countries divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-place teams advance to the Round of 16. From there, the tournament will feature a knockout bracket to the tournament final.
All three of the USA’s group stage games will be played at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua. The capital city of Santiago, as well as Talca and Valparaiso will also serve as hosts for the tournament.
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.
