[Part 1] US U-20 World Cup: A look at the development path of the 21 man roster: goalkeepers and defenders

With the hype of the U-20 World Cup well under way it’s important to look at the development of the 21 man roster in Poland. An insightful piece of information is where were these players at certain ages?

One of the reasons for the excitement of this group is the progress they’ve already made at their ages, whether that means getting some professional games (Weah, Pomykal, McKenzie) or promising moves abroad (Richards, Ledezma, Mendez, Soto, Llanez etc). With that said, there is still plenty of work to do.

The next three articles will break down the development path of these players according to their positions. Article 1 will be goalkeepers and defenders, Article 2 will be center midfielders, and Article 3 will be the forwards.

Without further ado, let’s begin with the goalkeepers and defenders.