3 players with Atlanta United ties called to U.S. Under-20 World Cup team
Headlined by Luke Brennan, three players with ties to Atlanta United were selected for the U.S. Under-20 national team that will compete in the World Cup in Chile.
Along with Brennan, Noah Cobb, a central defender on loan to Colorado, and Cole Campbell, a former academy player who is now with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, were called up by manager Marko Mitrović on Friday.
The tournament is scheduled to be played Sept. 27-Oct. 19. The U.S. will play New Caledonia at 7 p.m. Sept. 29, France at 4 p.m. Oct. 2 and South Africa at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 in the group stage.
“At the beginning of the season, I was hoping to be on this, and (I’m) looking forward to it,” Brennan said.
Brennan found out he had been selected by email after a training session earlier this week. He said his first call was to his dad. Brennan, who has 20 appearances for Atlanta United and 10 for the U.S. U-20s, didn’t want to share his personal goals for the tournament. The U.S. has reached the tournament’s quarterfinals the past four times.
“It’s a big statement for the academy, what they’ve done,” Atlanta United manager Ronny Deila said. “Getting two players into the Under-20 World Cup is a big thing, so I’m very happy for them and also for the club.”
Brennan was in Atlanta United’s inaugural academy class as an Under-10 player. Cobb soon joined. Campbell joined later and was a year under them but frequently would move up to play with the older class. Cobb, a 20-year-old central defender, made 35 appearances for Atlanta United and four for Colorado since he was loaned during the recently closed summer transfer window. Campbell, a 19-year-old winger, has made seven appearances for Dortmund.
Deila said Brennan broke into the starting lineup as a left winger this season because of his work ethic, his ability to take coaching and his technical ability. He has created four chances this season.
“Atlanta’s given me everything,” Brennan said.
The trio became the fourth, fifth and sixth of the team’s players or former players to be selected for U-20 World Cups, joining past call-ups Lagos Kunga, Caleb Wiley and Ezequiel Barco.
The selections are another nod to the quality of the players Atlanta United’s academy is producing. Fullbacks George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld) and Wiley (Chelsea) were sold to clubs in Europe. Central defender George Campbell was traded to Montreal and then sold to West Bromwich Albion in England’s Championship.
Four academy players, Fred Bond, Josh Brown, David Ilevbare and Kai Martinez, recently were called to the U.S. Under-16 team for its upcoming camp. Atlanta United players had more selected than any other team. Midfielder Cooper Sanchez, who made his Atlanta United debut in last week’s loss to Columbus, seems likely to be selected by the U.S. Under-17s for its World Cup matches in Qatar in November. Deila said Sanchez’s first touch and ability to read the match is very good. He just needs to be braver when he has the ball.
Brennan, speaking about himself — though the sentiment likely fits all of the academy players — said the more competitive the academy, the better it will make all of the players as they try to fulfill their goals.
“I have dreams of playing for the U.S. men’s national team, so just being in that environment (in Chile) and just learning from the guys around me, the coaching staff, and just playing in intense games that you need to win will help me so much,” he said.
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