MLS Homegrown Match to Star Hot New Players
Major League Soccer announced this week the roster for the 2018 MLS Homegrown Game which features the new stars from the youth national teams of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Coached by the highly respected and talented Tony Annan, the Atlanta United Academy Director, the team has high hopes of leaving their mark on the pitch.
As we embark on the fifth annual MLS Homegrown Game on Tuesday, July 31 at the Atlanta Training Ground, the world will be watching to see how bright the future looks.
The team includes some of the league’s most accomplished young stars and will take on Tigres UANL’s Under-20 Team.
The MLS Homegrown Match Roster:
The Philadelphia Union leads the way with four players followed by Sporting Kansas City, Atlanta United and FC Dallas each with two players selected. LA Galaxy has the youngest player on the squad, Southern California’s talented 16-year-old midfielder Efrain Alvarez.
| GK | MARCINKOWSKI, JT | San Jose Earthquakes |
| GK | MELVIN, Sean | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| D | CANNON, Reggie | FC Dallas |
| D | FARFAN, Marco | Portland Timbers |
| D | LINDSEY, Jaylin | Sporting Kansas City |
| D | MCKENZIE, Mark | Philadelphia Union |
| D | REAL, Matthew | Philadelphia Union |
| D | SANDS, James | New YorkCity FC |
| D | TRUSTY, Auston | Philadelphia Union |
| M | ALVAREZ, Efrain | LA Galaxy |
| M | DURKIN, Chris | D.C. United |
| M | FONTANA, Anthonyxxxxxxx |
Philadelphia Union |
| M | FRASER, Liam | Toronto FC |
| M | KUNGA, Lagos | Atlanta United |
| M | KUZAIN, Wan | Sporting Kansas City |
| M | LINDLEY, Cameron | Orlando City SC |
| M | POMYKAL, Paxton | FC Dallas |
| M | SAUCEDO, Sebastian | Real Salt Lake |
| F | CARLETON, Andrew | Atlanta United |
| F | MINES, Ben | New York Red Bulls |
Check out: Highlights of Philadelphia Union’s Four Homegrown Players Selected for 2018 MLS Homegrown Game
From MLS’ Press Release:
The event is part of the festivities around the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, which features MLS’s best taking on Italian giants Juventus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 1 (7:30 pm ET | ESPN, UniMás, TSN, TVAS).
Leading the way for the 2018 Homegrown squad are Atlanta United hometown products and U.S. youth national teamers Andrew Carleton, 18, and Lagos Kunga, 19. Other teenage talents include US U-17 national team captain Chris Durkin (D.C. United) and defenders Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City) and James Sands (New York City FC).
Three of Kunga’s US 2017 U-20 World Cup teammates are also on the Homegrown squad: goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes), midfielder Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake) and defender Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union), one of the league-high four HGPs representing Philly.
Representing the Canadian contingent are Canada national team goalkeeper Sean Melvin(Vancouver Whitecaps) and Canada U-20 midfielder Liam Fraser (Toronto FC).
Alvarez could face some familiar faces in Tigres UANL’s U-20 side, having played with Mexico’s U-15 and U-17 national teams.
Tigres, the defending Liga MX U-20 champions, features a roster with players who have represented Mexico at numerous youth national team stages, as well as the reserves and the first team side that has captured the Liga MX title in three out of the previous six tournaments. The Tigres U-20 traveling roster will be named at a later date.
Tickets to the Homegrown Game start at $15 and can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com, and also include admission to the Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Soccer Match presented by MLS WORKS and ESPN, held immediately prior.
