SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that midfielder Niko Tsakiris has been called by U.S. Soccer to join the USA Under-21 team in Denmark and Serbia for matches on Friday, Nov. 14, and Tuesday, Nov. 18, respectively against their youth national teams.
Tsakiris, 20, most recently starred in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where the Stars and Stripes outscored their opponents 17-6 en route to the Quarterfinals. The Saratoga, California, native netted two goals in the competition before the USA fell to the eventual champions, Morocco. In 2024, Tsakiris was nominated for Young Male Player of the Year by U.S. Soccer after earning Golden Ball honors as the best player at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship.
The midfielder found the back of the net for the first time in his Major League Soccer career in the Quakes’ Oct. 18 Decision Day match this season against Austin FC, when he replicated his 2025 U-20 World Cup set-piece goal to secure the game-winner. Tsakiris has tallied 61 career appearances (33 starts) in four MLS seasons and tallied four goal contributions (1g/3a) after graduating from the Quakes Academy to sign a contract as a Homegrown Player in 2022. He was also one of the youngest players to appear in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs at age 18.
U.S. UNDER-21 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – NOVEMBER CAMP (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP Miramar, Fla.), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (6): Reed Baker-Whiting (Seattle Sounders; Seattle, Wash.), Noah Cobb (Colorado Rapids; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Brandan Craig (CF Montreal/CAN; Philadelphia, Pa.), Ethan Kohler (SC Verl/GER; Campbell, Calif.), Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas), Thomas Williams (Orlando City; Titusville, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (6):Santiago Castañeda (Paderborn/GER; Tampa, Fla.), Jackson Hopkins (D.C. United; Fredericksburg, Va.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.), Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo; Chicago, Ill.), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.), Gerardo Valenzuela (FC Cincinnati; Boca Raton, Fla.)
FORWARDS (6): Cole Campbell (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Peachtree City, Ga.), Damion Downs (Southampton/ENG; Werneck, Germany), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Mykhi Joyner (St. Louis City; Bloomington, IL), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; Unionville, Conn.), Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.)
