SANDY, Utah (Monday, November 30, 2020) – U.S. National Team Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has called in Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa as part of the 22-man roster for training camp in Florida. The U.S. will face El Salvador in a friendly on December 9 at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at 5:30 p.m. MT. The match will be broadcast live on an ESPN Network station, UniMas and TUDN.
Ochoa will be one of 13 players from the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup roster that have been called to the USMNT under Berhalter.
“We are happy for David. He’s a player that we’ve had at the Academy who has a high ceiling and this is another part of his development. We are excited for him and he’s earned it,” RSL Head Coach Freddy Juarez said. “As a young goalkeeper he helped the Monarchs to a championship and now he’s made his debut with RSL. Anytime someone goes into the national team, their mentality and drive hit another level. We are excited for him to continue his development.”
A Real Salt Lake Academy product, Ochoa receives his first call to the senior national team under Berhalter having previously helped the U.S. reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. He has been a regular call-up for the U.S. at the U-20 and U-18 levels since 2018.
Ochoa, 19, signed with RSL prior to the 2019 season. He made his professional debut in 2018 with the Real Monarchs as an Academy call-up on April 22, 2018 before becoming a staple in goal for the Monarchs in 2019, where he helped the club to the 2019 USL Championship title. Ochoa made his Major League Soccer debut on November 8 in a 2-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Rio Tinto Stadium.
In 2017 the Oxnard, California native appeared in 14 matches for the Real Salt Lake Academy U-17s and 17 for the U-19s. He helped the U.S. contingent qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, earning shutouts in both matches he appeared in, including a 1-0 shutout of Honduras in the CONCACAF Championship semifinal round and played in two matches at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The full U.S. Men’s National Team roster for its match against El Salvador is as follows:
DETAILED ROSTED BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): CJ Dos Santos (Benfica/POR; 0/0), Bill Hamid (D.C. United; 7/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; 0/0), Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls; 0/0), Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers; 0/0, Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 17/3), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; 1/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 12/2)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 23/2), Frankie Amaya (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 16/3)
FORWARDS (6): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy; 0/0), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 33/5), Daryl Dike (Orlando City SC; 0/0), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; 5/1), Chris Mueller (Orlando City SC; 0/0)
