SSFC Spotlight: Emeka Eneli enjoys good January camp

The United States Men’s National Team recently concluded winter camp with two friendly victories over Venezuela (3-1) and Costa Rica (3-0). The annual gathering saw several players impress in their international debuts while others received further experience. Emeka Eneli is one newcomer who made an impression in his first call-up. The 25-year-old Real Salt Lake midfielder is an intriguing option in the engine room who could continue to take leaps forward after a late start to his professional career.

Born Chukwuemeka Somto Eneli in Lansing, Michigan, he moved with his family to Dublin, Ohio at the age of eight. The midfielder (who was “very difficult to knock off the ball with a low center of gravity”) competed with the Columbus Crew academy before jumping to Ohio Premier, winning an Elite Clubs Premier League national title and being named ECNL All-Midwest and All-America. His youth career also included a single season at the high school level with the Dublin Coffman Shamrocks, enjoying the challenge and providing “a different dynamic” with his superior field vision on the way to claiming a regional title.

Eneli then matriculated to Cornell University in order to study biological engineering, contributing seven goals and two assists as a freshman and earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-Ivy honors. His sophomore campaign was held back by an injury, but he managed three goals and two assists in 12 appearances. After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his junior-year bounce back involved seven goals and seven assists, meriting All-Ivy League First Team. His Big Red career ended with four goals and seven assists in 17 matches and receiving Second Team All-America from the United Soccer Coaches and a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection as the team won the conference and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. His summers were spent with Lionsbridge FC and Flint City Bucks in USL League Two.

“One time when I was at Cornell, my assistant coach told me something that really stuck with me,” Eneli shared with Salt City FC. “He thought that I could always go pro, even in my freshman, sophomore, junior year; he said I had what it takes to make it as a professional. But it was just about mindset. He knew I was going to see a bunch of other people — my friends with the academy — that are going pro. But it was all about finding the right path for me. Don’t get discouraged when they make their own pathway. And that really stuck with me. I always felt like I had to do what was best for me.”

Entering into the professional ranks as a fullback, Emeli was selected by Real Salt Lake with the 25^th pick in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, impressing during the preseason. He made 31 appearances across all competitions in his first season, including picking up two starts in the playoffs. His standout performance may have come in a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders, with his “[refusal] to take a play off and consistent tracking back preventing the opponent from crossing the ball with excellent blocks and clean tackles.” Unsurprisingly, the club opted to exercise the option on his contract.

Last year, Emeli was in the starting lineup on opening day and featured in 38 total matches for the club, becoming “one of the league’s best defensive midfielders.” He also added two goals and an assist, finding the back of the net in an early fixture against the Colorado Rapids and providing the tying tally in a loss to Minnesota United in the second leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs first round. Citing his “toughness, skill, savvy, and locker room presence,” Real Salt Lake signed him to a contract extension through the 2028 season with an option for 2029 while also naming him the Most Valuable Player.

“I haven’t done anything so far,” Eneli told the New Ground podcast. “I’m just way at the bottom of the totem pole. I think [my goal is] continuing to put in the hard work each day in trainings, outside of trainings, and games, and just take it day by day, week by week, game by game, and see what comes of it.”

At the international level, Eneli is eligible to represent the United States by birth and Nigeria through his heritage. He earned his first call-up with the former program at the most recent January camp, making his debut and playing 25 minutes as a substitute in the opening 3-1 victory over Venezuela. His first start came in the subsequent 3-0 win against Costa Rica, with a 92% pass completion percentage from a deep-lying role and his assist setting up Caden Clark’s insurance goal in the 77^th minute.

Standing at five-foot-nine, Eneli is a “tactically versatile and athletic” defensive midfielder who can also line up at right fullback, registering some of the best interception and pass completion percentage statistics among his positional cohort in MLS. He is praised as an “ironman” who is “omnipotent and omnipresent” with the ability to be “everything, everywhere, almost all at once.” His reading of the game is quick with intelligent movement into space with and without the ball while also beating opponents to 50/50 battles.

“Emeka came in as an attacking midfielder, and over the course of a year, we played him at right back and in the middle, because one of his strengths is carrying the ball and being aggressive with his dribble,” said RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni. “The third man running in football is the hardest thing to defend, and Emeka is a very special player like that, in that he can play multiple positions and he’s great in the final third… He gets the ball, drives, dishes, gets it back; I think that’s how he just makes plays. We can talk about him getting in these spots and being dangerous. But when you’re in those spots, you have to make plays.”

Eneli accomplished the difficult task of getting his foot in the door with the USMNT and making his debut at January camp. There is still a tall mountain to climb if he is going to break into the crowded midfield rotation, as the center of the formation is arguably the program’s deepest positional group. Time will tell if there are more call-ups in his future as his profile continues to grow because nothing is settled until the 2026 or 2030 World Cups kick off.