USA take "honor and responsibility" into FIFA U-20 World Cup | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

Many of the players called up to the US squad for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which kicks off in Chile this weekend, left their clubs amid tight races for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, or even the Supporters’ Shield.

Frankie Westfield’s Philadelphia Union currently top the Shield race. Luca Bombino starts for record-breaking, Western Conference-leading San Diego FC. Brooklyn Raines is a central-midfield regular for a Houston Dynamo side perched just below the playoff line with three games to go, while the teams of Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake) and Niko Tsakiris (San Jose) are chasing a few points back. And that’s just a few examples.

Yet they’re now on the opposite end of the hemisphere, some 5,000 miles from home, to chase a dream, represent their country and live an experience that could prove priceless – for both them and their clubs – in the bigger picture of their development as top prospects.

“Any time you have the opportunity to represent your country, I think you have to take it,” Raines told MLSsoccer.com from Rancagua, Chile this week, “because that's not something everyone's guaranteed.”

Maximizing opportunities

Not so long ago, it was a relative rarity for teenagers to log heavy minutes in MLS; releasing them for major international events like this one was a more straightforward decision. But as the league evolves in a markedly younger direction, that picture is changing. Yet, US U-20 coach Marko Mitrović secured releases for almost all the selections he wanted on his roster, even in the heat of MLS’s late-summer stretch run.

International action remains a cherished proving ground, and the U-20 World Cup is one of the planet’s biggest stages for elite talent, shining a particular spotlight on both the players and clubs involved.

“The last several months, we were talking to the clubs, presenting our schedule, presenting agenda, and talking in general, the big picture about what is the World Cup and what means this for the players, playing for the country – but also what that means, playing on a high stage, and how the club can benefit from that as well,” explained Mitrović, who spent four years at Chicago Fire FC as an assistant under Veljko Paunović from 2016-19.

“I'm very grateful that the majority of the clubs understand the situation,” he added. “I'm also grateful for the guys and the commitment that they have to go there and play for the country.”

"The world will be watching"

Sixteen members of his 21-man squad hail from MLS, and three more (Cole Campbell, Benjamin Cremaschi and Ethan Kohler) spent time in MLS teams or academies. All cherish the opportunity to wear the United States’ badge in such a momentous setting and recognize the tournament’s power to change the trajectory of their soccer lives.

“[There’s] the honor and responsibility of representing your country, and I think from the other side of things, getting this exposure is really something special,” said Bombino. “Because as a player, we're all trying to make the next steps in our career, and know the world will be watching at the World Cup.

"So it's very beneficial to us, just from an experience standpoint, but also from an exposure standpoint. I think that's another thing that the clubs value, too.”

Conversely, the rising levels of trust invested in young players like these across MLS have raised the ceiling for those individuals as well as both the U-20s and the senior national team program.

“The main thing is they have to play, and they have to find a place where they can play,” said Mitrović. “To cross that bridge from youth to senior, the only way you can cross is by playing time. And that's something I always say to the players: You have to find the best, the highest level that you can play.

“You have those talented players that got promoted to the senior team very young, and then they don't play for a year or two. You're around good players, you're around the senior guys, but you don't play – and that just stops development.”

Time to shine

The young Yanks kick off their group-stage slate vs. Oceania upstarts New Caledonia on Monday (7 pm ET | FS1, Universo), before facing mighty France on Oct. 2 (4 pm ET | FS2, Universo) and South Africa on Oct. 5 (4 pm ET | FS2, Telemundo).

First and second-place finishers will advance to the knockout phase, as will the top four third-place sides.

All three of the USA's Group E matches are at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua, a host venue for the 1962 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Copa América with the rugged peaks of the Andes for a backdrop.