Editor's Note: MFUSA is happy to welcome Ben McCormick, a high school senior from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the fold.  A supporter of Newcastle United and the USMNT, Ben will matriculate to Marquette University in the fall where he plans to major in journalism. Follow Ben on Twitter. 


- Ben McCormick

When Thomas Rongen released his 20-man roster for the CONCACAF U-20 Championships, he wasn’t a happy man. Despite being what some consider the deepest squad in the history of American U-20s, the omissions were glaring. Missing from the squad were Juan Agudelo, Josh Gatt and Alex Zahavi, all considered key cogs of Rongen’s team. Agudelo’s omission is understandable, with the full US national team’s striker pool extremely thin. Gatt and Zahavi, on the other hand, are victims of what is becoming an annoying (and potentially costly) re-occurrence for the United States: clubs refusing to release their players.

- Jason Davis

Should there be pride taken from the provenance of the players on our national team? As a developing soccer nation, how much of our desire to win should be balanced against our desire to produce those winning players here? Is a straight line progression away from the Stewarts and Dooleys a goal we collectively possess, or does it not matter if the players who represent us come from somewhere else?

Germany's multi-ethnic World Cup team, a reflection of that country's new attitude both on soccer and national identity, has received a lot of attention. The side includes players born in several countries other than Germany itself; this would hardly be unique for a second-tier soccer nation like the U.S., but is noteworthy within the roster of a traditional power. The Germans, for lack of a better phrase, are less "German" than they used to be. And, from all appearances both on and off the field, this new look has fit the team and the nation well. German players are German because they learn their football in Germany; the nation of their birth hardly matters.

In the years the United States spent establishing itself as a respectable participant in international game, players with little connection to the U.S. were drafted into the National Team. Earnie Stewart ended his career as an American great, but he'll always be Dutch by birth and upbringing. The story is similar for German-American Thomas Dooley, who never met his American father, but was tapped by U.S. Soccer in 1991 and served admirably for his adopted nation. These men are Americans in the technical sense, and formed bonds with the country because of their National Team status, but neither were products of our system or representative of American soccer's growth.

The reasonable belief is that American soccer is now far enough along that our national team players should, and can, be reared here. Of the twenty-three selected by Bob Bradley to the U.S. World Cup squad, only two were born outside of the country: Stuart Holden, who arrived in the States at the age of 10, and Benny Feilhaber, who was six when his family left Brazil. Neither player is comparable to Stewart or Dooley because they received the bulk of their soccer education in the U.S.; both, in fact, played college soccer, an element that is wholly unique to our system.

Notably, between 1994 and 2006, the number of foreign-born Yanks in the World Cup dropped with each successive tournament (the number went from one in 2006 - Pablo Mastroeni - to two this year). With allowances made for players who, like Feilhaber and Holden, weren't born in the U.S. but spent their formative years here, the reliance on players developed elsewhere is essentially non-existent. The days of calling up a naturalized citizen with only nominal ties to the United States (see: Regis, David) appear to be long over. Thanks to the better utilization of domestic resources, it's no longer necessary; like the new Germany, the U.S. uses its varied ethnic makeup to form a team. Through parental connections, ten foreign nations are represented in the 2010 U.S. World Cup roster; but with twenty-one of twenty-three born in the U.S. and all twenty-three coming of age playing the sport here, the independence of the American soccer nation appears to be complete.

That doesn't mean U.S. Soccer or American fans have closed the door on the old ways. The potential inclusion of German midfielder Jermaine Jones, like Stewart and Dooley the son of an American serviceman, had many hearts racing on this side of the Atlantic. Because Jones was unavailable due to injury, it's impossible to know if Bob Bradley would have called him into the team; the difficult question of Jones' "American-ness" (meaning his worthiness to play for the U.S.) never truly materialized. As a matter of putting together the best team possible, Jones in a U.S. shirt made sense; but because we have largely left behind the days of relying on the other nations to provide us capable players, it's no longer a forgone conclusion that he would be accepted with open arms.

For American fans, the issue of what makes a player "American", and how forgiving we are in accepting "foreign" players like Jones into the team is only now becoming relevant. For some, nothing will ever trump the desire to win; if Jones makes the team better, it matters little how "American" he is, feels, or desires to be. In part because of the trails blazed by Stewart and Dooley, there may even be a bit of nostalgia attached to welcoming in a player of Jones' background. But as the fan base matures and expands, there is likely to be as much push back as there is enthusiasm; should the U.S. National Team be made of up of players meeting a criteria greater than the legal definition of "American"? As a soccer nation we're growing up, twenty years after our return to the World Cup. So...does it matter where our players come from?

Perhaps it's not a matter of philosophy or preference, but one of pragmatism. Jones' pedigree led most observers to believe he would walk into Bob Bradley's roster, if not the first team. Another German with American blood, Freiburg fullback Daniel Williams, received his own wave of will-he-play-for-the-U.S. interest when he broke into his Bundesliga squad. There simply aren't enough Americans of similar quality to reject outright the idea that these players might suit up for the United States. If U.S. Soccer failed to unearth players yet to be cap-tied by their native countries who have U.S. eligibility, certain segments of the fan base would accuse them of shirking their duty. "Leave no stone unturned" is practically a U.S. Soccer credo.

Soccer as the fringe sport, as the sport of outsiders, expats, immigrants and the younger generation in America means that we've never had to contend with analyzing our national team as a reflection of our national image. Nationalism and xenophobia are only cursory parts of the narrative, and even then come only from a discounted minority of marginalized voices. Unlike France, the failure or success of our team is not distastefully connected to the ethnic makeup of our country - win and the variety of ethnicities is lauded, lose and the same variety is a weakness.

Without the weight of national identity tethered to the make up of our soccer team, the U.S. is freer to explore the breadth of its player pool without complication. Despite the widely held belief that American soccer is disproportionately white and privileged at the youth levels, the National Team stands in contrast to perception; that the picture is more complicated is born out in the backgrounds of the men who represent us. Although the newness of the team's relevance means national identity plays a smaller role here than in many countries abroad, politics are still part of the game; the slow integration of Latino Americans into the U.S. setup has long been a point of contention for fans, and as long the national immigration debate remains unsettled, the two will inevitably collide. Thomas Rongen has called in a U-20 roster that indicates a new emphasis on Latin players; how this will shape the future of the team and whether it will hasten discussion of our National Team as reflection of American society is unclear, though it's undoubtedly a positive step from a soccer standpoint.

Meanwhile, the names Mwanga and Najar are on the tips of American tongues. The two young MLSers have burst onto the domestic scene brilliantly, each garnering their own bit of interest as potential U.S. players from anxious fans. Talent is talent after all, and with both players having landed in the U.S. as adolescents (Mwanga from the Congo, Najar from Honduras), they meet our rather low threshold for "American" status. Living and playing here is enough.

In the end, winning is the cure-all for any discomfort. Should another Stewart - clearly the best option at a position we simply don't have an American-raised player of similar quality - present himself and help the team win, fans will quickly get over their misgivings. Principle is a luxury the United States can yet afford; from a slightly different angle, this attitude is one of inclusiveness and opportunism, characteristics often claimed as part of the American mindset, not a condition which to shed as we continue our growth as a serious footballing nation.

In other words, we should be more like Germany.

This week on Match Fit USA, Jason and Zach discuss the US roster for the next round of World Cup qualifiers, the issue of cursing in the stands and the efforts of clubs to curb it, the failure of the American U-20s in Egypt, David Beckham's imminent departure to Milan (again), and the Honda Player of the Year Award.

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The US Under-20 team, in Egypt for the U-20 World Cup, went down to South Korea today 3-0. The Americans never really threatened their opponents, and while they maintained possession for decent stretches of the match, had nothing to scare the Koreans in the attacking third of the field.

After rebounding with a 4-1 win over Cameroon in their second group match, a win which came on the heels of a drubbing at the hands of Germany in the opener, today's result is extremely disappointing. The young Americans seemed disinterested at best, poor at worst, and were certainly not mentally prepared to proactively punch their ticket to the round of sixteen.

While there isn't as much quality in the US team as in year's past, the talent on the field could hardly be called incapable. The problems, beginning with a toothless attack that seemed lost for ideas in the Korean's end of the field, were overwhelming. Undisciplined in almost every aspect of the game, the Americans consistently allowed South Korea to dictate play; on more than one occasion, US players responded hesitantly to Korean moves forward, resulting in defenders scrambling back to recover.

The Koreans quickness appeared to be too much for the Americans, though I'm not entirely convinced it should have been. How much of the sloppiness that the US exhibited is on the players and how much should be laid directly at the feet of Thomas Rongen is debatable; but the Americans showed against Cameroon that when properly motivated and organized, they could play well enough to give themselves a chance to win. They just didn't do so against South Korea, despite the match being "must-win" for them to advance (as of this writing, they still have an extreme outside shot to advance as a third place team, but it's slim).

I honestly wasn't sure of what to make of this team headed into the tournament. Perhaps, like many, I was hopeful that the players I knew would lead the team while a few I didn't would emerge as solid contributors. Still, to say we're disappointed might be a bit of an overstatement. if you're intimately familiar with the players that Thomas Rongen had at his disposal and you believe this team underachieved, I certainly can't argue with you; but I didn't see enough there to truly believe that the US could threaten anything more than a decent showing. Of course, after the streak of knockout round qualification that the US has put together in this tournament over the years, we at the least expected to get out of the group.

That possibility still exists, if just barely, but it's not the kind of advancement that would fill us with pride. The Americans, if they do slip through, don't truly deserve to be beyond the group stages. Ultimately, despite the poor play that plagued the Americans against Germany and South Korea, Rongen must get some of the blame. Getting beaten by a clearly superior opponent is one thing; but since the Koreans, and possibly the weakened Germans, were not well beyond the US, tactics and direction are at the top of the list for reasons the Americans find themselves where they do.

Overreacting to this setback, two years after the US had a strong showing in the same tournament, by deriding the American youth program as failing would be ridiculous. The United States has still not progressed to the point of producing strong under-20 players cycle after cycle (whether or not we should have by now is a different argument); while 2009 is a setback, the US could just as easily take a massive step forward in 2011.

If you watched the game today, share your thoughts. Who do you blame the poor tournament on? Rogren, the players, or the system in general?

U-20 National Team Defender Kyle Davies
Two years ago in Canada, the United States U-20 team called some attention to themselves with clever attacking play, a undefeated group round, a 6-1 drubbing of Poland, and a victory over Brazil before going out in the quarterfinal round. Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore in particular shone during the tournament, their performances directly leading to their moves to big clubs in Europe. Others, like Sal Zizzo, Danny Szetela, also made names for themselves, and looked to be bright prospects on the US National Team radar.

While this year's edition of the U-20 squad, might not have the star power that the '07 team did, they will attempt to replicate the success in ten days time when the seventeenth edition of the competition kicks off in Egypt.

Once again coached by Dutchman Thomas Rongen, the young Americans head to Africa with little to no hype following them. The roster is made up of MLSers, college players, and a few Europe-based players, and many (if not most) of the names will be unfamiliar to the casual US soccer fan.

That doesn't mean, of course, that one or two Americans can't make a name for themselves while on the greater world stage; just as with any team in modern age of American soccer, there's talent there. Which players, if any, step up and move to the forefront of the National Team discussion or become the "next big thing" (which, of course, doesn't guarantee that they will be) remains to be seen.

Injuries have changes the look of this team in recent days; original selections Sam Garza and Anthony Wallace are both out with knee injuries. Bryan Arguez and Gerson Mayer were named as replacements.

The US U-20 Roster, by position:

GOALKEEPERS (3):
Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.)
Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.)
Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6):
Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.)
Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.)
Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.)
Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.)
Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (9):
Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin, Miami)
Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.)
Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway)
Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.)
Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.)
Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas)
Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA; Los Angeles)
Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.)
Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas)
Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (3):
Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas)
Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

The US faces a difficult challenge to repeat the 2007 feat of advancing out of the group stage; they are matched up against Germany, Cameroon, and South Korea.

What do you make of the Americans' chances in Egypt?