Union's Ghana-born Derrick Jones cleared to play for USA at U-20 World Cup
The men's Under-20 World Cup starts later this month, and good news for the U.S. came this week when FIFA cleared the Philadelphia Union's Derrick Jones to play for the U.S. at the tournament.
Jones, a 20-year-old midfielder, was born in Ghana but moved to the U.S. at age 14 and has dual U.S.-Ghanaian citizenship. (He had represented Ghana at the Under-15 level.) Jones, who's 6-foot-3 with good feet, has started five games this season for Philadelphia and will be eligible to play for the U.S. in not just the Under-20 World Cup, but also the 2020 Olympics.
Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic had been on the U.S.'s preliminary roster for the Under-20 World Cup, but Dortmund's advancement to the German Cup final means that Pulisic's slim chances of going to South Korea for the tournament are gone. The final is on May 27, while the USA U-20s' group games in South Korea are May 22, 25 and 28.
