When the US national team roster was released on Thursday for the Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand, there was an unusual caveat to the list.
Instead of naming a full 21-man squad, US U-20 head coach Tab Ramos named 20 players, with the deadline of submitting a full roster to FIFA coming May 15.
The reason for the single open slot at present? The possibility of bringing Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem along to the World Cup, if he is deemed eligible in time. Zelalem obtained US citizenship in December, but reports in February said he was still ineligible by FIFA guidelines, although he was seeking an exemption from the governing body.
But with the U-20 World Cup set to kick off at the end of the month, and the roster deadline coming next week, time may be running out on Zelalem getting on the plane to New Zealand.
Ramos explained the situation in a conference call with reporters on Thursday following the release of the 20-man roster.
"We're leaving a little window here a few more days in case something can be worked out [with Zelalem's eligibility]," Ramos said. "I don't know the specifics of the paperwork. We've seen Gedion play, and we believe he can help the team."
And if Zelalem isn't deemed eligible in time? Ramos will turn to Philadelphia Union Homegrown midfielder Zach Pfeffer.
"If it doesn't happen we have Zach Pfeffer who's ready to go," Ramos said. "I've already spoken with him and told him the situation. This is where we are. We're prepared to make that call as well."
Regardless of whether Zelalem or Pfeffer is on the team, Ramos was asked about the likely formation for the US, who will face hosts New Zealand, Ukraine and Myanmar in Group A action.
"The thought right now is to be playing in a 4-4-2," Ramos said. "Whether that's 4-4-2 in a diamond or if that becomes two with two more advanced or if that becomes more of a 4-4-1-1, we'll see over the next week or week and a half. I think the important part is at this point we have our best players on the field and ... players who can make a difference from all kinds of positions.
"Gedion will certainly add to the group, but it won't necessarily change the way we play. He will fit right in with what we do if he's the player who comes. And if he's not the player who comes, we know Zach Pfeffer can do that as well."
Ramos also expressed his satisfaction with the amount of first-team minutes many of the players on the World Cup roster have been getting lately.
"Very happy with the selections we've made. I think this is a strong group and a group in which more than ever before we have players who are playing first division and who are getting a lot of minutes, and from a physical standpoint this will be a group that will be able to handle it better than groups we've had in the past."
As for expectations for the World Cup tournament itself, Ramos acknowledged the rising goals with the increase in professional experience on the team.
"I can tell you this is probably the most professional team in the last two, three cycles. As far as the expectations, we're always hoping we're getting better and we expect that. Our expectations for ourselves are always higher and higher, and it's normal other people's expectations are higher as well. In the end, you always depend on results and sometimes results come your way and sometimes they don't. There's no reason not to have higher expectations than we've had in the past."
He continued: "[Winning the CONCACAF U-20 Championship] was our goal to begin with. In this case we're going to the World Cup, and we're hoping we can win every game, and to do that we have to win the first one and we'll get through it one at a time."
