¡Rumbo a Celaya! Sergio Oregel is ready to shine for the U.S. U-20s
It’s been quite the week for Sergio Oregel.
On Tuesday, the 19-year-old midfielder found out that he would be a part of the United States national team for the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in Mexico. A day later, he scored one of Chicago Fire II’s best goals of the season, helping his team to a 2-0 win over Toronto FC II.
Oregel has appeared for the U.S. at a variety of age levels dating back to 2019 and has long been identified as a top talent in his group. He signed a homegrown contract with the Fire ahead of the 2022 season, and though he’s predominantly played with the second team, he has continued to earn national team call-ups and excel when called upon to represent his country.
“I’m excited and honored to be able to represent my country again,” Oregel told MIR97 Media this week. “The CONCACAF qualifiers are a big tournament. To be able to help the team qualify for the World Cup next year is a big opportunity, and I'm just excited.”
The U.S. are reigning champions in the U-20 age group, having come out on top in the 2022 edition. Chris Brady was the goalkeeper that year, and he guided the team through the entirety of the knockout rounds without conceding a goal. He was named the Golden Glove winner as the U.S. cruised to a third straight title, beating hosts Honduras 3-0 in the semifinal and the Cinderella Dominican Republic 6-0 in the final.
This time around, the tournament will be hosted in Mexico, specifically the state of Guanajuato, with stadiums in Celaya and Irapuato set to be used for matches. That aspect will make the tournament even more interesting for Oregel, who, while born in the Chicago area, is of Mexican descent. In his youth career, he has only represented the U.S., but he has expressed his love for both countries in the past, and he feels that playing such an important tournament in Mexico will be a special experience.
“I feel like the environment over there is going to be amazing,” Oregel said. “I'm really excited to play there. Hopefully, we end up playing against Mexico in the final and have the whole crowd there. That would be great.”
Despite making his MLS debut in the final minutes of the 2022 season against the New England Revolution, Oregel hasn’t yet broken through into the first team. Most of his minutes have been with Fire II, and he is the all-time appearance leader for the second team. He has also regularly been involved with national team camps, including starring for the U.S. U-19s under now-Olympic coach Marko Mitrović and for Michael Nsien at the Pan-American games; Nsien will now be his U-20 coach.
This season has also been a strong one for the Evergreen Park native in MLS Next Pro. He’s appeared 13 times already and is closing in on 1,000 league minutes while finding more consistency week after week. That, and continued growth as a dominant player on both sides of the ball, will help bring him closer to more first team opportunities; the CONCACAF U-20 Championship could also prove to be a stage to earn more minutes, as in the past, players who excelled there have been rewarded at their clubs.
His aforementioned screamer against Toronto earlier this week could be a sign of things to come as he finds form at the right moment coming into the biggest tournament of his career so far.
“I'm very happy for Sergio because it can help his confidence to grow that he can do that,” Fire II coach Ludovic Taillandier said Wednesday. “He can and he should do that more. He's a great player, he has a huge potential. Let's not forget that he was born in 2005. Sometimes we forget that he is so young.”
“It's a great exposure and it's well deserved. He is definitely working so hard, and he's getting more mature; I see him growing as a human being also, and it's great to see. It's an amazing accomplishment, and that will be a bit more exposure for him as he deserves.”
The U.S. will kick off their tournament on Friday, July 19th, when they face a promising Jamaica team that will feature Oregel’s Fire II teammate, Romain Blake. Provided that the U.S. can top their group with further results against Cuba (July 22nd) and Costa Rica (July 25th), they would likely not have to face host and tournament favorite Mexico until the final on August 4th. El Tri is looking to claim its fourth title after an embarrassing quarterfinal exit to Guatemala in the 2022 edition.
In the scenario that the two giants of CONCACAF do meet in Celaya at the conclusion of the tournament, Oregel knows which side his family will be pulling for, despite their split allegiances otherwise.
“U.S.A., of course! They’re with me always.”
