The 18-year-old becomes the third American to join the Spanish side's academy, along with Diego Kochen and Adrian Simon Gill.

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• Pedro Soma joins Barcelona
• U.S. youth international will join U19 side
• Could earn minutes with club's B team

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  18-year-old U.S. youth international Pedro Soma has signed for Barcelona from Catalan side Cornella. The midfielder captained the United States at the 2023 U17 FIFA World Cup and has represented his country across the U16, U17, and U18 levels.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Soma is close friends with both Kochen and Gill, both of whom have already climbed the ranks of the Barcelona academy, according to ESPN. Kochen, who was a regular on the bench for the senior team in 2023-24, is expected to be Barcelona B's No. 1 goalkeeper in the 2024-25 campaign. Gill, meanwhile, is recovering from a long-term injury that sidelined him last campaign.

  Soma is expected to begin with the club's U19 team, coached by former Brazil international Juliano Belletti, but if he performs well he could find himself in the mix with their B team, Barca Atletic, who play in the third-tier of Spanish soccer.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  In the 2023 U17 FIFA World Cup, Soma made three appearances, captaining the USA into the quarterfinals of the tournament. They fell to eventual champions Germany 3-2 in their knockout clash.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SOMA?

  Matchday 1 of Barcelona's U19 side is Saturday, as they begin their 34-game campaign. They take on Huesca Juvenil A, but it remains to be seen if Soma will be in the mix.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News