SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes Homegrown midfielder Gilbert Fuentes has been called to the United States U-17 National Team for a domestic training camp in Carson, Calif. from July 26 to Aug. 7. The camp will serve as a preparation for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, which runs from Oct. 26 to Nov. 17.
The U-17s will face two USL Championship teams during its training camp in southern California: Orange County Soccer Club on July 31 at 11:30 a.m. at the Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine; and LA Galaxy II on Aug. 6 at 11 a.m. at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
The USA will face Senegal, Japan and the Netherlands in the group stage of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, where the U.S. will aim to best the fourth-place finish they achieved in 1999.
Fuentes, 17, has been a regular with the U.S. Youth National Team system, competing for the U-15s, U-16s and U-17s in the past. After competing extensively with the U-15s in 2017, including at the Concacaf U-15 Championship, Fuentes received his first call-up to the U.S. U-17s in November 2017 for the Men’s Nike International Friendlies. Recently, Fuentes represented the U.S. U-17s at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship where he tallied one assists in six appearances.
The Tracy, Calif. native joined the Quakes as a Homegrown Player on Jan. 28, 2018, becoming the team’s youngest-ever signing at the time. During his rookie season, he became the youngest player to feature for the club in MLS play at 16 years and eight months. Fuentes has tallied one assist in five appearances (four starts) for the Quakes’ USL Championship affiliate Reno 1868 FC so far in 2019.
U-17 Men’s National Team Roster (Club; Hometown)
GOALKEEPERS (4):Aaron Cervantes (Orange County Soccer Club; Chino Hills, Calif.), Bryan Dowd (FC United; Willow Springs, Ill.), Damian Las (Chicago Fire; Norridge, Ill.), Seth Wilson (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas)
DEFENDERS (10):Axel Alejandre (FC United; Chicago, Ill.), Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.), Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Mauricio Cuevas (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.), Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Mason Judge (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Tampa, Fla.), Joshua Ramsey (Solar Soccer Club; Plano, Texas), Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich City FC/ENG; Plano, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (6):Gilbert Fuentes (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.), Maximilian Dietz (SC Freiburg/GER; Frankfurt, Germany), Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.), Bryang Kayo (D.C. United; Poolesville, Md.), Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders FC; Las Vegas, Nev.), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6):Jack de Vries (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), Tyler Freeman (Sporting Kansas City; Shawnee, Kan.), Andres Jasson (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.), Noah Jones (RB Leipzig/GER; Berlin, Germany), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Kent, Wash.), Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.)
