FC Cincinnati midfielder Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela has been selected to a 20-player roster that will take part in the U.S. Under-21 Men’s National Team Training Camp from Nov. 10-18 in Europe during the November FIFA International Window, U.S. Soccer announced today.
Made up of players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004, the U21 MNT will train and play matches through summer 2026 in an effort to make up on national team programming that players in this age group missed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Men's Olympic Soccer Team, made up of players under the age of 23 that will be eligible for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, will officially begin play in the second half of 2026.
Valenzuela and the U21 group will play two friendly matches during the camp. The U.S. will train out of Vejle, Denmark from Nov. 10-13 before taking on the Denmark U21 side on Nov. 14 at Vejle Stadium. The U.S. then conclude the camp with a match against the Serbia U21 team at TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia. Both matches will kick off at 12 p.m. ET.
Since signing with the first team as a Homegrown Player from the FC Cincinnati Academy in May 2023, Valenzuela has made 68 appearances across all competitions for the Orange and Blue. Valenzuela has scored seven goals and tallied eight assists over those appearances.
The full roster for the upcoming U21 camp led by Michael Morris, who served as an assistant coach for the U20 MNT last cycle, is listed below.
U.S. U21 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.)