Adu left at home

MLS regulars Convey, Quaranta lead U.S. roster for U-20 World Cup

CHICAGO (AP) -- D.C. United's Bobby Convey and Santino Quaranta were picked Thursday for the U.S. roster for the FIFA World Youth Championship, but Freddy Adu was not.

Eight players from Major League Soccer were selected for the 20-man roster for the tournament, to be played in the United Arab Emirates from Nov. 27-Dec. 19.

Mike Magee and Ricardo Clark were picked from the MetroStars, Ed Johnson and Jordan Stone from Dallas, Justin Mapp from Chicago and Arturo Alvarez from San Jose.

"All of these players have worked hard to convince me and the rest of the coaching staff that they are ready to compete at the World Championship," Rongen said. "We've been preparing for two years now and I believe this team is ready for the challenge they will be faced with in UAE.

"We have a mix of college and professional players that can hopefully lead us out of our group and towards our ultimate goal of getting to the final."

The tournament is limited to players under 20. Coach Thomas Rongen had said that barring injuries he would bypass the 14-year-old Adu, who starred earlier this year at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship, where the U.S. lost to eventual champion Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Among those selected were defender Zak Whitbread, who is with Liverpool, and midfielder David Johnson, with Willem II Tilburg in the Netherlands. Half the roster played for the Americans at the 2001 Under-17 championship in Trinidad and Tobago, where the U.S. failed to advance from the first round.

The United States plays three first-round game in Abu Dhabi, facing Paraguay (Nov. 29), Germany (Dec. 2) and South Korea (Dec. 5). All three U.S. games will also be televised in the U.S. on Spanish-language Galavision.

At the 2001 Under-20 championship in Argentina, the U.S. lost to Egypt in the second stage with a team featuring Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley.

The complete roster:

Goalkeepers: Steve Cronin, Ford Williams

Defenders: Ryan Cochrane, Jordan Harvey, Craig Jared Klaas, Chad Marshall, Drew Moor, Jordan Stone, Zak Whitbread

Midfielders: Arturo Alvarez, Ricardo Clark, Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey, Ned Grabavoy, David Johnson, Justin Mapp

Forwards: Knox Cameron, Ed Johnson, Mike Magee, Santino Quaranta.