Coach Richie Williams released his roster for the AGS Cup in Alicante, Spain earlier this week. The 20-player roster will begin play in Group B with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The tournament runs September 29 – October 6 with the United States coming off a second place finish in the 2011 AGS Cup. All the players are part of the full time residency program in Bradenton. The roster is after the jump.
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jeff Caldwell (NC Fusion; Todd, N.C.), Paul Christensen (Seattle Sounders FC; Woodinville, Wash.)
September11, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; A view of a sold-out crowd during a World Cup qualifying match between the USA and Jamaica at Columbus Crew Stadium. USA won the game 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE
DEFENDERS (7): Bryce Cregan (PA Classics; Dallastown, Pa.), Conor Donovan (NC Alliance; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Elijah Martin (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Jorge Miranda (LA Galaxy; Van Nuys, Calif.),Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), John Requejo Jr. (Real So Cal; Carpinteria, Calif.),Tyler Turner (South Central Premier; West Haven, Conn.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Mukwelle Akale (Minnesota Thunder; Minneapolis, Minn.), Junior Flores (McLean Youth Soccer; Manassas Park, Va.), Angel Heredia (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Christopher Lema(New York Red Bulls; Ridgefield, N.J.), Rolando Muñoz (LA Galaxy; Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Ben Swanson (Crew Soccer Academy; Grove City, Ohio)
FORWARDS (5): Corey Baird (San Diego Surf; Escondido, Calif.), Rubio Rubin (Portland Timbers; Beaverton, Ore.), Ahinga Selemani (CSA Wolves; Ann Arbor, Mich.), Wesley Wade (New York Red Bulls; South Orange, N.J.), Alan Winn (Solar Chelsea FC; Garland, Texas)
This squad faced UAE earlier in the year and fared well, but Williams expects the competition level to be higher in a tournament that goes a long way in the development of young players. The international competition and getting used to traveling can be very helpful.
"At the younger age groups, it’s hard to tell which teams are going to be good. You never know which one might have a good age group coming through. We just hope that we have good, competitive games and that we’re able to compete with these teams. The key is to get our guys competitive matches and experience so that they’re ready for when we go to Panama next year for World Cup qualifying."
Williams has a squad that is experienced in AGS Cup play including last year’s Golden Boot winner, Wesley Wade. Wade is looking at the new format of a playoff system eyeing a rematch with Mexico in October. Wade scored four goals last year as the top scorer in the tournament. Wade and his teammates will start play against Azerbaijan on September 29th. However, Wade has his eyes on a bigger prize with the AGS Cup as a stepping stone.
"Going to Spain and then Argentina [in October] will be good preparation for qualifying, and hopefully when we qualify for the tournament we can reach our main goal to win the World Cup."
Williams witnesses heavy competition among the 31 players in the residency program with a challenge of picking the 20 players that get to travel.
"We keep preaching to the guys about consistency and with anything we need guys that we can trust, guys who play consistently and guys we can trust to put in international games and go out and do a good job. That’s what we keep preaching to the guys, that every day in training is important and training for the two hours on the field and all the other things we do at Residency that we’re looking at – the way they handle themselves and go about training, preparing for training, school and their responsibilities at Residency – all those things go into us evaluating the players and seeing how they’re developing and ultimately bringing them on a trip. We look for the 20 guys that give us the best chance of playing well as a team and winning competitions. In the same token, if we have certain tournaments we would like everyone to have the opportunity to get a chance to play in some kind of international competition so we can see them perform. That’s something that we try to look at also."