CHICAGO (May 22, 2019) — U.S. forward Ayo Akinola has been ruled out of the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup due to an ankle injury. After FIFA granted U.S. Soccer’s request to have Akinola replaced, LA Galaxy defender Julian Araujo 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 50-player provisional roster and approved by the tournament medical committee.
Araujo was a part of the U.S. squad that won the 2018 Concacaf Under-20 Championship last November, picking up an assist in two group stage starts. Most recently, the 17-year-old played in two friendlies for the U-23 MNT against Egypt and Netherlands in March.
At the club level, Araujo has become a regular contributor for the LA Galaxy this season, logging 289 minutes in five appearances.
The USA kicks off the U-20 World Cup on Friday, May 24 against Ukraine (2:30 p.m. ET; FS1, Universo), faces Nigeria on Monday, May 27 (2:30 p.m. ET; FS1, Universo) and wraps up the group stage on Thursday, May 30 vs. Qatar (2:30 p.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): CJ Dos Santos (Benfica/POR; Foxchase, Pa.; 2/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.; 4/0), Brady Scott (Köln/GER; Petaluma, Calif.; 9/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, Calif.; 2/0), Sergino Dest (Ajax/NED; Almere-Stad, Netherlands; 8/1), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96/GER; Montclair, N.J.; 11/0), Aboubacar Keita (Richmond Kickers; Columbus, Ohio; 2/0), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.; 10/3), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union; Drexel Hill, Pa.; 10/0), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; Birmingham, Ala.; 8/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 0/0), Chris Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.; 2/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Phoenix, Ariz.; 4/0), Alex Mendez (Freiburg/GER; Los Angeles, Calif.; 15/8), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas; 9/3), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas; 8/2)
FORWARDS (5): Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; Miami, Fla.; 2/1), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; Lynwood, Calif.; 11/7), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution; South Hamilton, Mass.; 13/6), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96/GER; San Diego, Calif.; 5/2), Tim Weah (Celtic FC/SCO; Rosedale, N.Y.; 0/0)