Atlanta United defender Efrain Morales and Atlanta United 2 goalkeeper Vicente Reyes have both been called up to participate in the 2023 South American U-20 Championship this month. Morales, 18, was called up by Bolivia, meanwhile Reyes, 19, will suit up with Chile.
Morales spent the 2022 season on loan with Atlanta United 2 and played in 24 USL Championship matches, starting 17 of them. Morales signed a Homegrown contract with Atlanta United in 2020 and has previously represented the USMNT at youth levels.
Reyes signed with Atlanta United 2 from the Atlanta United Academy in 2022 and made 16 appearances with the 2s last season. Despite sharing the starting goalkeeper role with three other keepers, he finished the 2022 campaign setting a new club record with 86 saves, good for sixth-best in the USL Championship in 2022.
Previously, Reyes was called up to the Chile U-20s for the Costa Cálida Supercup, held in Murcia, Spain, in September 2022. He was involved in camps with the Chile senior national team last year as well.
The tournament, which starts on January 19 and hosted in Colombia, serves as a qualifier for two international events. The top four teams will qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia as the CONMEBOL representatives. The top three teams will also qualify for the 2023 Pan American Games men's football tournament, in addition to Chile who automatically qualified as hosts.
Bolivia and Chile were both drawn in Group B along with Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The top three teams from each group advance to the knockout rounds.
