Per San Jose Earthquakes Press Release:
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose Earthquakes forward Tommy Thompson was among 10 players called to United States U-20 Men's National Team duty by head coach Tab Ramos on Tuesday as the squad travels to Bradenton, Fla. for a fitness camp.
The group features 10 field players, most of which play for MLS clubs. With a little more than a month before the start of the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica, head coach Tab Ramos sees this stretch as a valuable time to keep his side playing at a high rate with the MLS season nearly in the books.
"It's finally getting down to that time where we have to focus on the final stages of World Cup qualifying," Ramos said. "At this point, because the MLS season has ended for a lot of teams, we needed to bring the players who are not continuing to train with their teams and do a fitness camp. Some of the players have been off, and we want to have them catch up a little bit with the guys that we have in Europe.
Thompson, 19, has five caps with the U.S. U-20s. He scored in his debut, a 4-0 win against Bermuda on July 16, and logged 90 minutes in a scoreless draw against Australia on July 18 to help the Americans win the NTC Invitational earlier this year. He also made three appearances, including two starts, for the USA in the Spanish-hosted Marbella Tournament. The Loomis, Calif. native signed as the club's first Homegrown Player on Jan. 22, 2014 and made 13 appearances in his inaugural season. He also became the second-youngest player in club history to start a game when he took the field in Seattle on Aug. 20, 2014 at 19 years, 5 days old.
The U-20 MNT have a 4-1-2 international record this year, highlighted by their championship run at the 2014 National Training Center Invitational in July. The squad will convene once more in December for another fitness camp, this time in Honduras starting on Dec. 15.
The USA will take a break after the foreign fitness camp with their next reunion coming in January as they prepare for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica from Jan. 9-24. The Americans were drawn with Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, Panama and Guatemala in Group A for that event and open against Guatemala on Jan. 9 with an aim of qualifying for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
U.S. U-20 MNT Roster by Position:
Goalkeepers (0): None
Defenders (4): Conor Donovan (North Carolina State; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Matthew Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Tyler Turner (Orlando City SC; West Haven, Conn.)
Midfielders (3): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; Plano, Texas), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC; Glendora, Calif.), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew; Herndon, Va.)
Forwards (3): Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union; Dresher, Pa.), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes; Loomis, Calif.)
