Philadelphia Union Academy continues to provide a pathway to the national team as the Academy trio of Neil Pierre, Jeremiah White and Zachary Mastrodimos has been called in by new U.S. Under-16 Men’s Youth National Team head coach Michael Nsienwill for the Football Federations Cup U-16 in Ablir, Spain from Nov. 16-28.
The USA will face Spain in the opening match on Wednesday, Nov. 23. From there, the U-16 MYNT will play two placement games against a tournament field that also features Belgium, England, Japan, Germany, Mexico and Wales.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2007 are age-eligible for this U-16 MYNT cycle and 20 players will make the trip to Spain, 19 born in 2007 and one born in 2008 –Charlotte FC forward Nimfasha Berchimas. All 20 players are age-eligible for next winter’s Concacaf U-17 Championship in Guatemala.
U-16 MYNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Zackory Campagnolo (Orlando City SC; Orlando, Fla.), Mohammed Shour (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.)
DEFENDERS (6): Nichola Almeida (Inter Miami CF; Boynton Beach, Fla.), Michael Cortellessa (FC Dallas; Prosper, Texas), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; Unionville, Conn.), James Nyandjo (Charlotte FC; Huntersville, N.C.), Neil Pierre (Philadelphia Union; Woodlyn, Pa.), Jeremiah White (Philadelphia Union; Elkins Park, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Santiago Morales (Inter Miami CF; Weston, Fla.), Zachary Mastrodimos (Philadelphia Union; Exton, Pa.), Bryce Outman (FC Dallas; Fairview, Texas), Ervin Torres (Austin FC; Austin, Texas), Blake Willey (Sacramento Republic FC; Sacramento, Calif.), Nathan Worth (New York Red Bulls; Chester, N.J.)
FORWARDS (6): Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; High Point, N.C.), Montrell Culbreath (Kaiserslautern/GER; Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Germany), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy; La Puente, Calif.), Noah Santos (Portland Timbers; Vancouver, Wash.), Gavin Turner (D.C. United; Fairfax, Va.)
SCHEDULE -FOOTBALL FEDERATIONS CUP U-16
Wednesday, Nov. 23
A1: Spain vs. USA -11 a.m. local / 5 a.m. ET -La Nucía Estadi Olímpic
B1: Japan vs. Wales -6 p.m. local / 12 p.m. ET -La Nucía Camilo Cano
C1: Belgium vs. England -4 p.m. local / 10 a.m. -Benidorm (Guillermo Amor)
D1: Mexico vs. Germany -11 a.m. local / 5 a.m. ET -Alfax (Estadio Municipal Pau Gasol)
Friday, Nov. 25
E1: Winner A1 vs. Winner B1 -TBA
F1: Winner C1 vs. Winner D1 -TBA
G1: Loser A1 vs. Loser B1 -TBA
H1: Loser C1 vs. Loser D1 -TBA
Sunday, Nov.27
7th/8th Place: Loser G1 vs. Loser H1 -TBA
5th/6th Place: Winner G1 vs. Winner H1 -TBA
3rd/4th Place: Loser E1 vs. Loser F1 -TBA
Championship: Winner E1 vs. Winner F1 -TBA
The tournament matches will not be live-streamed, but will be posted on the tournament organizer’s YouTube channel post-game.
Twelve players return from the August training camp in Chula Vista, Calif. that kicked off the U-16 MYNT cycle. The 2007-birth year player pool most recently competed internationally at the Torneo delle Nazionithis spring in Austria, Italy and Slovenia as the U-15 MYNT. Ten players return from the tournament roster, where the USA won its group and finished fourth overall in the 12-team field.
Fifteen clubs are represented on the roster, including 13 MLS academies. Three players were called up from the Philadelphia Union and two each were selected from Charlotte FC, FC Dallas and Inter Miami CF, while one players is based abroad-Kaiserslautern forward Montrell Culbreath. The squad hails from 11 different states, led by three players each from Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas.
