ATLANTA (July 17, 2026) — Canada Soccer announced today that Jonathan Ransom has been named to the Under-20 Men's National Team that will represent Canada at the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship, set for July 24-August 9 in Mexico. Ransom joins Cooper Sanchez, who was named to the U.S. U-19 squad, as Atlanta's second player to participate in the competition. The tournament serves as the confederation’s qualifying competition for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Ransom will be available for Atlanta United 2's match at Huntsville City FC (8 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here) before leaving for camp.
Canada was drawn into Group C alongside Honduras, Panama and Jamaica. The team opens play against Panama on Saturday, July 25, followed by Honduras on Tuesday, July 28 and Jamaica on Friday, July 31. All three group stage matches will be played at Estadio Universitario BUAP in Puebla.
The top two teams in each group, as well as the two best third-place teams, will advance to the all-important quarterfinals from August 4-5 in Puebla. The winners of those matches will qualify for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan as well as the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. The competition will shift to the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the semifinals on August 7, before the famed venue hosts the final on August 9. The tournament winner will also qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics, but should the U.S. win the tournament, the Olympic berth will be awarded to the runner-up.
All tournament matches will be broadcast in English on FOX Broadcast networks with select matches on the Concacaf YouTube channel.
Ransom, 18, signed through the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season with ATL UTD 2 on Oct. 13, 2025, and is set to become a Homegrown on Jan. 1, 2027. He made his NEXT Pro debut on June 30, 2023, against Inter Miami CF II and has since tallied 25 starts, 80 saves and four clean sheets. He kept his first professional clean sheet in a 3-0 win at Orlando City B on May 25, 2025, becoming the youngest-ever ATL UTD 2 goalkeeper to do so at the time, and earned a selection to the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game. This season, he has started 10 matches, boasting a career-high two clean sheets and 66% save percentage.
The goalkeeper has previously represented the U-17 and U-20 Canada National Teams. In 2025, Ransom was called up to represent Canada in the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar where he started all four games, making 18 total saves and keeping a clean sheet against France U-17. On June 6, 2026, he made his debut for Canada U-20 at the Maurice Revello Tournament in France, making three saves against Japan U-20.
