CHICAGO – U.S. Under-20 men’s youth national team defender Mauricio Cuevas has been ruled out of the U-20 World Cup due to an ankle injury, it was announced on Thursday.
After FIFA granted U.S. Soccer’s request to have Cuevas replaced, Orlando City SC defender Michael Halliday has been added to the 21-player roster for the World Cup.
Per regulations, an injured player may be replaced on the roster up to 24 hours prior to a team’s opening match. The replacement must come from the 55-player provisional roster and approved by the tournament medical committee.
Halliday was a part of the U.S. team that won the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras last summer, playing in six of seven matches. Most recently, the outside back was called in for the USA’s March training camp in Spain, appearing against France and England.
On the club front, Halliday has enjoyed a strong start to the season with Orlando City SC, appearing in eight of the team’s 12 games and both of the club’s Concacaf Champions League matches.
The USA kicks off Group B play on Saturday against Ecuador (Fox Soccer Plus, Telemundo), faces Fiji on Tuesday, May 23 (FS2, Universo) and closes the group stage vs. Slovakia on Friday, May 26 (FS2, Universo). All three matches kick off at 2 p.m. ET.
2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Alexander Borto (Fulham/ENG; South Plainfield, N.J.; 2/0), 12-Antonio Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 4/0), 1-Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.; 5/0)
DEFENDERS (7): 17-Justin Che (Hoffenheim/GER; Dallas, Texas; 6/0), 5-Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 10/1), 14-Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy; Santa Clarita, Calif.; 11/0), 13-Jonathan Gomez (Real Sociedad/ESP; Keller, Texas; 6/0), 2-Michael Halliday (Orlando City SC; Apopka, Fla.; 8/0), 3-Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta, Ga.; 5/0), 4-Joshua Wynder (Louisville City FC; Louisville, Ky.; 2/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.; 10/0), 10-Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; Sunnyvale, Calif.; 16/4), 8-Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.; 16/2), 20-Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.; 12/1), 15-Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.; 5/3), 18-Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC; Anchorage, Alaska; 4/0), 16-Owen Wolff (Austin FC; Austin, Texas; 3/1)
FORWARDS (4): 9-Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.; 7/2), 11-Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Va.; 6/2), 7-Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.; 15/7), 19-Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.; 3/0)
