Thursday, February 27th, 2020 -- It was another big month for Arizona players at the international level as 10 were named to U.S. Soccer senior and youth national teams and three players were named to a preliminary roster. Below is a brief recap on each player and which team they were called up to.
U.S. Women's National Team
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on the horizon, the U.S. Women's National Team will begin the process of gearing up with the upcoming 2020 SheBelieves Cup which features the U.S., England, Japan, and Spain. Mesa's Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars) and Phoenix's Jessica McDonald (North Carolina Courage) were both named to the squad. The tournament starts on March 5th for the U.S. when they take on England. They'll then face Spain on March 8th and Japan on March 11th.
U-23 Men's National Team
CONCACAF released the preliminary rosters for the upcoming 2020 Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship which starts on March 20th in Guadalajara, Mexico. U-23 Men's National Team manager, Jason, Kries, named 50 players to this roster and he will name a final 20-player roster by March 10th. On the preliminary roster, three Arizona natives were named. Tucson's Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Paradise Valley's Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United), and Phoenix's Richie Ledezma (PSV). At this year's CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, the U.S. has been drawn into Group A with Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. The top two teams advance to the knockout round alongside the top two from Group B. The top two teams - those who advance to the championship match - will qualify for the Olympic Games. The U.S. has failed to qualify for the last two Olympic Games.
U-16 Girls' National Team
Phoenix's Maggie Cagle (Phoenix Rising FC Youth Soccer) just wrapped up the 10-day UEFA Development Tournament in England that featured matches against the hosts, Spain, and Denmark. Maggie played in all three matches, earning starts in victories over England and Denmark.
U-14 Boys' National Team
Seven Arizona players were named to the U-14 Boys' National Team Camp. The camp was held in California and the seven players named were: Noah Segura (RSL-AZ), Carter Burrup (RSL-AZ), Izahi Ampara (RSL-AZ), Chris Grote (RSL-AZ), Pierce Rizzo (Phoenix Rising FC Youth Soccer), Omar Ibarra (SC del Sol, and Raul Elizarraraz (SC del Sol). The U.S. is divided into three YNT Identification Centers in 25 key markets with Phoenix designated in the Southwest Select with San Diego. The purpose of this is designed to discover and introduce a larger base of tap talent at the U-14 age group into the scouting funnel of the older U-15 to U-20 YNTs.