FC Barcelona teen Konrad makes U.S. roster for Wales game

Konrad de la Fuente’s increase from Miami youth participant to worldwide phenom carries on as the 19-year-outdated Haitian-American, who performs winger for FC Barcelona, was named to the U.S. national workforce for two forthcoming games.

U.S. men’s national workforce coach Gregg Berhalter on Tuesday introduced his 24-participant roster as the Usa prepares to gather in Wales for its second camp of 2020. The gamers will get started reporting Sunday to Cardiff in advance of the team’s welcoming match versus Wales Nov. 12 in Swansea.

Four times later, the U.S. crew will encounter Panama on Nov. 16 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Both equally matches will kick off at 2:45 p.m. and will be broadcast are living on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.

Konrad, as he is acknowledged in the soccer planet, in July turned the very first American to engage in for FC Barcelona’s initial team when he played the second fifty percent of a preseason match from Gimnastic Tarragona. He has appeared in quite a few friendlies below new mentor Ronald Koeman.

He signed a deal extension with Barcelona via 2022 this earlier June and has reportedly created interest from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Girona. Konrad has played primarily for Barca’s Underneath-19 crew and B team. He has 7 targets and three assists in 21 matches this season.

“We have a relationship with the Barcelona coaching personnel of the very first workforce, and one thing they are astonished at is what Konrad presents them on the discipline, which is verticality, this capacity to stretch the opponent,” Berhalter said Tuesday on a online video conference phone. “He is often earning the opponent move backwards, and when you can do that, you generate space concerning the lines. He’s relentless with his functioning behind the back again line. It’s one thing he’s genuinely labored on.”

Berhalter said the teenager’s video game has progressed quite a bit in the previous year.

“If you search at his progression from the Below 20 Environment Cup, he required ball to ft all the time, but he’s experienced this evolution in his recreation where he realizes to be thriving, he’s going to have to use the timing of his runs and his movement driving the back again line,” Berhalter explained. “That’s what he’s been executing non-cease. It is been a true pleasure to look at. He’s a man we’re authentic thrilled to function with and get in camp to include that component to our game also.”

Konrad’s job began at Kendall SC. He also skilled at Schulz Academy in Boca Raton.

When Konrad was 10 decades previous, his father, Conrad, took a work as a industrial attache with the Haitian Embassy in Madrid and the relatives relocated there.

“It was a big move to depart Miami, wherever I even now have a good deal of mates, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I beloved the Warmth and LeBron James,” de la Fuente explained to the Herald by cell phone previous calendar year from Poland, wherever he was taking part in for the United States in the U20 Entire world Cup. “But I realized they choose soccer actually critically in Spain, so that was fascinating. I spoke some Spanish from residing in Miami, so that assisted.”

Soon right after arriving in Madrid, he was noticed by a scout and invited to attempt out for Marcet Football’s Tecnofutbol club in Barcelona. He manufactured the crew, and moved to Barcelona with his mom, Jennifer, a self-used accountant who graduated from Barry University, and his brother. He was then observed by an FC Barcelona scout who invited him to sign up for their famed “La Masia” youth academy, the place he has properly trained and moved up the ranks for 5 many years.

“We picked him up when he was 12, and he is a incredibly fascinating participant we hope to hold in the club as long as we can,” Denis Silva, Barca’s U19 coach, stated by telephone. “He has been doing quite perfectly, and is generally in our very first 11. He is the regular Barca wing, can perform still left or ideal, has pace and very good crossing passes, and is extremely courageous 1-on-1, trusts his techniques. That is incredibly difficult to locate. He has the combination of the American operate ethic and the Spanish soccer mentality.”

In addition to Konrad, the U.S. roster for the Wales and Panama online games will contain eight other players who are on golf equipment taking part in the UEFA Champions League, the most in crew background.

The roster is completely created up of players taking part in professionally outside the house the United States, as Main League Soccer is about to start off playoffs and COVID-19 tends to make vacation far more complex. Berhalter has coached in MLS and claimed he didn’t want to disrupt the league at this important part of the period, but said subsequent yr, as Entire world Cup qualifiers get underway, he won’ be ready to be as adaptable.

“We are thrilled about receiving this group again alongside one another,” reported Berhalter. “I’m happy of the way the gamers have taken care of the demanding situations — they actually trapped with each other. We have designed a reliable basis, and now we get a chance to continue our function together ahead of what is likely to be a significant 12 months for our staff.”

A whole of 10 gamers will be actively playing their initially match with the senior nationwide team, such as Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna, the 17-year-previous son of previous U.S. star Claudio Reyna.

Comprehensive ROSTER

▪ Goalkeepers (3) : Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge), Chituru Odunze (Leicester Metropolis), Zack Steffen (Manchester Town)

▪ Defenders (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich), Antonee Robinson (Fulham)

▪ Midfielders (6): Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton)

▪ Forwards (8): Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Uly Llanez (Heerenveen), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen), Sebastian Soto (Telstar), Tim Weah (Lille).