SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes midfielders Cruz Medina, Niko Tsakiris (United States) and goalkeeper Emi Ochoa (Mexico) have been called up by their respective youth national teams for the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Under-20 Championship, which will take place in Celaya and Irapuato, Mexico. The tournament is open to players born on or after Jan. 1, 2005.
Tsakiris, Medina and Ochoa will be unavailable for three Major League Soccer regular-season matches against Sporting Kansas City (July 13), Houston Dynamo (July 17) and Minnesota United (July 20). They will also be absent for the upcoming 2024 Leagues Cup group stage against Club Deportivo Guadalajara, also known as Chivas (July 27), and the LA Galaxy (July 31).
Medina, 17, will join head coach Michael Nsien’s U.S. U-20s as they battle Jamaica on July 19, Cuba on July 22 and Costa Rica on July 25 in Group A action. The midfielder starred for the U-17 United States Men’s Youth National Team in 2023, making the Concacaf U-17 Championship Best XI. He later served as team captain in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup group stage in Indonesia. Earlier this year, the San Francisco native was called up to the USMYNT U-19 training camp in Morocco. Mexico’s Youth National Team has also showed interest in Medina, calling him up to their training camp which he attended in March.
Tsakiris, 19, will also represent the Stars and Stripes alongside Medina. Hailing from Saratoga, California, the midfielder has stepped up for the Earthquakes’ first team this season, tallying 16 appearances in MLS play, including 14 starts. Internationally, Tsakiris was a standout in helping the USMYNT qualify for the last FIFA U-20 World Cup at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship, where he scored three goals. He also represented the USA at the subsequent U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where he featured in all three group stage games, scoring a goal against Slovakia.
Ochoa, 19, will represent Mexico’s U-20s as they face Haiti on July 21, Guatemala on July 24 and Panama on July 27 in Group C. The Salinas, California, native made his professional debut in May for the Earthquakes in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32, where he secured a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory against Oakland Roots SC. The dual-national goalkeeper has been called up to both the U.S. and Mexico’s Under-20 national camps, most recently with El Tri’s U-20s in June friendly victories over Guatemala and Jamaica.
