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Klinsmann's son makes U.S. Under-20 World Cup qualifying squad
Sporting Kansas City center back Erik Palmer-Brown will captain the USA's Under-20 World Cup qualifying team, which was announced Thursday and includes a player with a familiar last name.
Jonathan Klinsmann, son of ousted U.S. men's national team manager Jurgen, is one of two goalkeepers called in by Tab Ramos, who has turned to a largely professional-team-based group of 20 players hoping to qualify for this year's tournament in South Korea. Two years ago, under Ramos, the U.S. finished as a quarterfinalist, falling to eventual champion Serbia in penalty kicks.
Real Salt Lake boasts four players on the roster–defender Justen Glad, midfielders Danny Acosta and Sebastian Saucedo and forward Brooks Lennon, a homegrown product who returned to the club on loan from Liverpool for this season–while there are a pair of players from Fulham in defender Marlon Fossey and midfielder Luca De la Torre.
A pair of early 2017 MLS SuperDraft picks also made the cut, with attacking talents Jonathan Lewis (NYCFC) and Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers) helping guide Ramos's attack.
The U.S. will play in a group later this month with Panama, Haiti and Saint Kitts and Nevis in CONCACAF's qualifying tournament in Costa Rica, which features three groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to a second round, which features two groups of three teams. The top two teams in those two groups will advance to the World Cup, while the group winners will play for the region's title.
"This process is always difficult," Ramos said about choosing his roster in a statement. "Inevitably you always end up leaving a couple guys out who deserve to be on the roster. When selecting a roster for a tournament like this, where you are trying to qualify to the world cup, you are putting together a best 11 and then players who can play multiple positions. So that's what we've done. We are happy with the team and we are looking forward to qualifying."
Here is the USA's qualifying roster in full:
GOALKEEPERS: Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California; Newport Beach, Calif.), JT Marcinkowski (Georgetown; Alamo, Calif.)
DEFENDERS: Marlon Fossey (Fulham F.C.; Surbiton, England), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (New Mexico; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee's Summit, Mo.), Tommy Redding (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS: Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; Salt Lake City, Utah), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; Wappingers Falls, N.Y), Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Luca De la Torre (Fulham F.C.; San Diego, Calif.), Jonathan Gonzalez (CF Monterrey; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Jeremiah Gutjahr (Indiana University; Bloomington, Ind.), Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC; Plantation, Fla.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah), Eryk Williamson (University of Maryland; Alexandria, Va.)
FORWARDS: Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Emmanuel Sabbi (UD Las Palmas; Libertyville, Ill.)
