U-20 MNT to Play Two Friendlies Against Morocco During Training Camp From Sept. 1-8 in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain; U-20 World Cup Kicks Off in Late September in Chile
HERRIMAN, UT / ATLANTA (Thursday, August 28, 2025) – Real Salt Lake attacking players Zavier Gozo and Marcos Zambrano have been named by U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Head Coach Marko Mitrović to a 23-player roster for the team’s upcoming training camp from Sept. 1-8 in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.
Teenage sensation Gozo, the West Valley-born RSL Academy product and native of Eagle Mountain, Utah, will not miss any games for Real Salt Lake, for whom he is tied as the Club’s second-leading goalscorer this year with three. The 18-year-old Gozo recently graduated from high school with several Academy teammates in late May, and has started 19 of the last 20 games across all competitions for RSL.
Zambrano was added to the RSL roster early on in the secondary MLS transfer window, arriving in late July following three years in Portugal with multiple teams. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Zambrano – a former Philadelphia Union academy product – has three goals in his five games with Real Monarchs in MLS NEXT Pro action since his Utah move.
Real Salt Lake (9-14-4, 31 points, 10th West / 20th Shield) will host a “mini-preseason” the next few weeks, with four of its next five matches to be played at home beginning with a Sporting Kansas City visit to America First Field in Sandy on Sat., Sept. 13. This weekend’s originally scheduled road trip to Seattle has been moved to Sat., Oct. 11, due to the Sounders’ advancement in Leagues Cup.
In the final camp before the upcoming 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup from Sept. 27-Oct. 19 in Chile, the gathering 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.
While in Spain, Mitrović and his staff will get one last chance to evaluate the squad prior to the World Cup during friendly matches against Morocco on Fri., Sept. 5 and Sun., Sept. 7 at Pinatar Arena Football Center. Both matches kick off at 7 p.m. local time (11 a.m. MT). The final roster for the World Cup is due to FIFA on Thursday, Sept. 18.
For this training camp, Mitrović called up 12 players born in 2005, 10 born in 2006 and one born in 2007. A total of 12 Major League Soccer clubs are represented on the roster, led by four players from Western Conference-leading expansion side San Diego FC and the two players from Real Salt Lake.
Atlanta United, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Inter Miami, NewYork Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders each have one player on the squad for Spain. Two other players currently on loan from MLS clubs to USL sides are also part of the roster: Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Adam Beaudry (Colorado Springs Switchbacks) and Nashville SC midfielder Matthew Corcoran (Rhode Island FC). Meanwhile, five players will join camp from European clubs: goalkeeper Diego Kochen (FCBarcelona); defenders Matai Akinmboni (Bournemouth), Ethan Kohler (SC Verl) and Josh Wynder(Benfica); and forward Cole Campbell (Borussia Dortmund).
U-20 MNT ROSTER – SEPTEMBER TRAINING CAMP (CLUB; HOMETOWN):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adam Beaudry* (Colorado Springs Switchbacks; Castle Pines, Colo.), Duran Ferree* (San Diego FC; San Diego, Calif.), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP; Miramar, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (8): Matai Akinmboni (Bournemouth/ENG; Upper Marlboro, Md.), Reed Baker-Whiting(Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.), Luca Bombino* (San Diego FC; Saugus, Calif.), Noah Cobb(Colorado Rapids; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Ethan Kohler (SC Verl/GER; Campbell, Calif.), Nolan Norris* (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas), Francis Westfield (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.),Josh Wynder (Benfica; Louisville, Ken.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Matthew Corcoran (Rhode Island FC; Dallas, Texas), Benjamin Cremaschi (InterMiami; Key Biscayne, Fla.), Taha Habroune* (Columbus Crew; Columbus, Ohio), Brooklyn Raines(Houston Dynamo; Chicago, Ill.), Pedro Soma (San Diego FC; Coconut Creek, Fla.), Niko Tsakiris*(San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): Luke Brennan (Atlanta United; Atlanta, Ga.), Cole Campbell (Borussia, Dortmund/GER; Peachtree City, Ga.), Zavier Gozo* (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Serge Ngoma Jr. (New York Red Bulls; North Plainfield, N.J.), David Vazquez* (San Diego FC; Los Angeles, Calif.), Marcos Zambrano* (Real Salt Lake; Gladwyne, Pa.)
*Part of 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship roster
LAST TIME OUT
Fifteen players return from the U-20 MNT’s last camp held in early June in Cairo, Egypt: Reed Baker-Whiting, Luca Bombino, Luke Brennan, Noah Cobb, Matthew Corcoran, Zavier Gozo, TahaHabroune, Diego Kochen, Ethan Kohler, Serge Ngoma, Jr., Nolan Norris, Brooklyn Raines, Pedro Soma, Francis Westfield and Marcos Zambrano. During that gathering, the USA narrowly fell 1-0 to Norway on June 6, before using an 88th-minute goal from new RSL man Zambrano to earn a 1-0 win against Colombia on June 10.
TICKET PUNCHED
Fourteen players on the September camp roster helped the USA secure its U-20 World Cup berth with a runner-up showing at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Mexico, including Pedro Soma, Niko Tsakiris and Marcos Zambrano, who each scored two goals during the tournament and Brooklyn Raines, whose 86th-minute goal gave the USA a 2-1 win against Panama in the semifinal.
EXPERIENCE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi has already collected three caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, while goalkeeper Diego Kochen and defender Josh Wynder have been part of past senior team camps. Meanwhile, six players were part of the U.S. squad that advanced to Round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia: Adam Beaudry, Matthew Corcoran, Duran Ferree, Taha Habroune, Pedro Soma and David Vazquez.
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 **www.ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way**.
