With a second-place finish at the 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, the United States qualified for the upcoming U-20 World Cup, set to be held in Chile next fall. The competition serves as both a scouting ground and a preview of talents who could make a potential impact at the senior level. Sergio Oregel could be one of the key players on the roster, provided his club grants the young talent his release. The 19-year-old Chicago Fire midfielder is in the initial stages of a breakout season and has lodged himself into the starting lineup.
Born in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, Oregel competed with Raiders FC and won the Golden Ball at the 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championship. He then joined the Chicago Fire academy with the Under-14 group, contributing nine goals and 15 assists in his first season. His side claimed the inaugural MLS NEXT Under-19 championship, with the then-16-year-old’s performance meriting the Golden Ball.
“I wasn’t a very disciplined player growing up,” Oregel told the club’s official website. “I just had talent. You need to have everything to be [on] the first team, so [the Academy] taught me how to be responsible and more disciplined. I know it was hard for them, but we worked through it.”
In October of 2021, the club signed Oregel to a homegrown player contract that would begin a few months later, describing him as “a talented young midfielder with excellent vision and a strong passion for the game.” In his first year as a professional, he made 17 appearances in MLS Next Pro, racking up six assists from a variety of roles. His first-team debut came in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, starting and going 91 minutes in the shootout loss. After making the bench several times, his number was called in the final MLS match of the schedule, playing 11 minutes in the 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution.
In 2023, Oregel stayed mainly with Chicago Fire II, compiling three goals and two assists in 24 MLS Next Pro regular season and playoff matches. His lone senior appearance came in the third round of the Open Cup, playing 45 minutes in the 3-0 win against Chicago House AC. Last year was along a similar line, with one goal and three assists in 23 combined reserve fixtures and two starts with the first team in the Open Cup while operating mostly as a holding midfielder.
This season, Oregel has seen his fortunes change under the leadership of former USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter. The teenaged midfielder started in all eight fixtures to start the schedule and went the full 90 minutes in four of them, with the Fire likely to push for a playoff spot. He is being praised as a “difference-maker,” having acclimated to the tempo of MLS and become more aggressive with his attempts into the box.
“Things have been different in many ways, and this is the first preseason that I felt like I’m really part of the group,” Oregel shared with MIR97 Media. “For me, always being with the starting squad or in the games, playing most of the minutes with the team… It’s a great confidence booster… Gregg (Berhalter), he’s coached some great players, and there are so many things that I’m learning from him. It’s just great being around him, and everything feels so new and fresh… On the ball, they want players who are comfortable and confident playing in tight spaces, and I feel like that’s something that suits me very well.”
At the international level, Oregel is eligible to represent the United States by birth and Mexico through heritage. He is a long-term member of the former program (which has “always had his heart”) and was a part of the squads that won the 2022 Slovenia Nations Cup and finished in fourth place at the 2023 Pan American Games. The midfielder was a key figure during last summer’s runners-up finish at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, playing in five matches and assisting on the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over Guatemala in the quarterfinal round. His most recent duty came with the Under-20 team in January, being named to the training camp roster, but American Soccer Now considers him “outside of the picture” with the U-20 World Cup set to take place next fall.
Standing at five-foot-nine, Oregel is a versatile midfielder who can line up in all of the central positions, described as a “dynamic, creative” presence with “vision and playmaking.” His preferred position is in an attacking role with the opportunity to “be in pockets, break lines, and assist [his] teammates.” He is performing well in a system that promotes “combining well in the [center]” and “being confident on the ball,” which gives him the opportunity to attempt audacious distribution to the forwards and hit searching shots from distance.
Despite his breakthrough, the club expects his development to continue. “We would like to see Sergio have a little bit more control of the game offensively,” said Berhalter. “We know he has it in him. He’s a young player but we think he can help dictate the game for us… We want to see him continue to build.”
For the first time in his professional career, Oregel is receiving regular playing time at the senior level. As with most young players, he will have good and bad weeks, particularly at a high-usage spot like center midfielder. Ideally, his club will stick to his development and eventually reap the rewards, with his potential leading to further on-field success and progression at the international level.
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