Anthony Fontana and Matthew Real in camp with United States U18 team

Philadelphia Union Academy duo Anthony Fontana and Matthew Real are in California with the U.S. U18 team for a week-long training camp in Chula Vista, California.

Real, a left back, has made 14 appearances and 11 starts this season for the U18 team and has spent time training and playing in preseason friendlies with Bethlehem Steel FC. The Upper Darby resident is verbally committed to play college soccer at Wake Forest in the fall and is considered a top prospect in his class by Top Drawer Soccer.

Fontana, a midfielder, has spent the second half of the season with the U18 team, scoring a goal in five appearances and two starts after scoring four times for the U16 team in 14 appearances in U.S. Development Academy play. The Newark, Delaware native also scored a pretty goal late to give the Union a come-from-behind win over Tokyo FC in the Generation adidas Cup back in March.

Real last spent time with the head coach Omid Namazi’s U18 squad in March for a 10-day training camp in Argentina and both Real and Fontana were called into a U.S. U18 camp back in January. Mark McKenzie and Justin McMaster were also part of that camp – Namazi’s first at the helm – in Florida.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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