The 18-year-old centre-back’s inclusion in Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad comes after he made his first two competitive appearances for Spurs in the recent EFL Cup matches against Gillingham and Liverpool.
In a surprise move, USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has opted to hand Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers his first senior call-up for the team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica.
The 18-year-old centre-back, who joined Tottenham at the age of 11, was born and raised in Southend, Essex, but has represented the US at youth level since late-2014 after acquiring an American passport through his father, former NBA player Howard Carter.
He was previously a key member of the Under-20 side, starting all five games at the World Cup last year as Tab Ramos’ youngsters made it to the quarter-finals in New Zealand, and was also an ever-present for the Under-23s at the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship.
At the club level, the physical defender has regularly featured on Tottenham’s first-team bench this season after captaining the Under-21s last term and made his competitive debut for Mauricio Pochettino’s men in the 5-0 EFL Cup win over Gillingham back in September.
He went on to sign a new contract at White Hart Lane until 2019 later that month and has since earned another senior start in the recent 2-1 EFL Cup last-16 defeat at Liverpool, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Kevin Wimmer in the heart of the backline.
His clear promise had led to reports that the English FA were trying to convince him to switch his international allegiances to the country of his birth, but the Spurs academy graduate will now be cap-tied to the US if he appears in either next Friday’s clash with Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, or against Costa Rica four days later – their first two matches in CONCACAF’s final round of qualification for Russia 2018.
“Obviously the Mexico clash is a six-pointer to start the Hexagonal right away,” Klinsmann told US Soccer after announcing his squad. “We badly want to continue the tradition of beating them in Columbus.
“Having 26 players coming in gives us many different options for both games. It allows us to evaluate certain players, like a Jermaine Jones, to see how far he has come along fitness wise. Bringing in the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Lynden Gooch and Caleb Stanko proves that the younger players are pushing through.”
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