SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris has been called up by the United States Under-20 team for its upcoming training camp in L'Albir, Spain, from March 17-25. The USA will face Mexico on March 22 and Japan on March 24 in a pair of international friendlies.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2005 are age-eligible for this fall’s FIFA U-20 World Cup, set for Sept. 27-Oct. 19 in Chile. Head coach Marko Mitrović called up 22 players — 11 born in 2005, nine born in 2006 and two born in 2007.
Tsakiris, 19, is now in his fourth season with the Earthquakes’ first team, tallying 51 appearances (29 starts) in Major League Soccer play after graduating from the Quakes Academy to sign a contract as a Homegrown Player in 2022. He was one of the youngest players to appear in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs at age 18. On Oct. 2, 2024, he recorded his first MLS assist in a 3-2 win over FC Dallas.
Internationally, Tsakiris has been a standout for the United States on various youth teams. At the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship, he scored three goals to help the USA qualify for the subsequent U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where he featured in all three group stage games and scored a goal against Slovakia. Last year, he 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 Stars and Stripes were finalists and clinched qualification to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
U.S. UNDER-20 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – MARCH TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
Goalkeepers (2): Julian Eyestone (Brentford/ENG; Dallas, Texas), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP; Miramar, Fla.)
Defenders (8): Matai Akinmboni (Bournemouth/ENG; Upper Marlboro, Md.), Noahkai Banks (Augsburg/GER; Dietmannsried, Germany), Noah Cobb (Atlanta United FC; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Reston, Va.), Ethan Kohler (Werder Bremen/GER; Campbell, Calif.), Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas), Francis Westfield (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.), Joshua Wynder (Benfica/POR; Louisville, Ky.)
Midfielders (6): Matthew Corcoran (Nashville SC; Dallas, Texas), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Fla.), Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; Columbus, Ohio), Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo FC; Chicago, Ill.), Pedro Soma (FC Barcelona/ESP; Coconut Creek, Fla.), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.)
Forwards (6): Luke Brennan (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta, Ga.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, England), Kristian Fletcher (Nottingham Forest/ENG; Bowie, Md.), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Ruben Ramos Jr. (Los Angeles Galaxy; La Puente, Calif.), Marcos Zambrano (Vitoria Guimaraes/POR; Gladwyne, Pa.)
