Many of the players called up to the US squad for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup , which kicks off in Chile this weekend, left their clubs amid tight races for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, or even the Supporters’ Shield.

Frankie Westfield ’s Philadelphia Union currently top the Shield race. Luca Bombino starts for record-breaking, Western Conference-leading San Diego FC . Brooklyn Raines is a central-midfield regular for a Houston Dynamo side perched just below the playoff line with three games to go, while the teams of Zavier Gozo ( Real Salt Lake ) and Niko Tsakiris ( San Jose ) are chasing a few points back. And that’s just a few examples.

Yet they’re now on the opposite end of the hemisphere, some 5,000 miles from home, to chase a dream, represent their country and

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