After a four-year hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the FIFA U-17 World Cup is back this fall and the USA kicks off the tournament on Sunday, Nov. 12 vs. Korea Republic. As the world’s best at this age group gather in Indonesia, here are five things to know about the competition.
Contested every two years, the FIFA U-17 World Cup determines a world champion for soccer at the U-17 age level. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are eligible for this year’s tournament. Twenty-four teams from around the world qualified through their regional championships to earn berths to Indonesia.
The USA qualified from Concacaf with Canada, Mexico and Panama through the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship earlier this year. Host Indonesia, IR Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Uzbekistan earned berths from Asia; Burkina Faso, Mali, Morocco and Senegal punched their tickets from Africa; Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela will represent South America; New Caledonia and New Zealand carry the banner for Oceania; England, France, Germany, Poland and Spain will represent Europe.
The 24 nations were drawn into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best-ranked third-place teams will advance to the Round of 16. From there, it’s a knockout round bracket to the tournament final. The competition will be played at four venues across Indonesia. It’s the first U-17 World Cup in Southeast Asia and first FIFA tournament in the region since the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Malaysia.
Head coach Gonzalo Segares has assembled a versatile 21-player roster for the 2023 World Cup. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are age-eligible for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Segares called up 17 players born in 2006, four born in 2007 and one born in 2008 – Charlotte FC forward Nimfasha Berchimas. The 15-year-old forward is the USA’s youngest player at the U-17 World Cup since 14-year-old Freddy Adu at Finland 2003.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; 7/0; Castle Pines, Colo.), Zackory Campagnolo (Colorado Rapids; 1/0; Ft. Myers, Fla.), Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal SC; 4/0; San Diego, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Noahkai Banks (Augsburg/GER; 3/0; Dietmannsried, Germany), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; 14/0; Miramar, Fla.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 11/1; Reston, Va.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; 16/0; Fox Island, Wash.), Tahir Reid-Brown (Orlando City SC; 0/0; Orlando, Florida), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; 16/0; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Matthew Corcoran (Birmingham Legion FC; 1/0; Dallas Texas), Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; 9/4; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; 18/6; San Francisco, Calif.), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; 3/0; Unionville, Conn.), Santiago Morales (Inter Miami CF; 1/0; Weston, Fla.), Paulo Rudisill (Unattached; 18/2; Irvine, Calif.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; 16/1; Coconut Creek, Fla.)
FORWARDS (5): Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; 4/2; High Point, N.C.), Micah Burton (Austin FC; 17/5; Mounds View, Minn.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; 10/8; Warrington, England), Bryce Jamison (Orange County SC; 4/0; Lake Forest, Calif.), David Vasquez (Philadelphia Union; 13/0; Los Angeles, Calif.)
The roster features players from 17 clubs, including 10 from Major League Soccer. Two players each come from the Colorado Rapids, Inter Miami and the San Jose Earthquakes. Several members of the squad played key roles for their clubs during the recently completed MLS Next Pro campaign, as nine players logged more than 1,100 minutes on the season. Forward Micah Burton helped Austin FC II lift the championship trophy in the league’s second season.
Thirteen players from the team’s Concacaf U-17 Championship squad return for the World Cup: Adam Beaudry, Burton, Duran Ferree, Keyrol Figueroa, Tyler Hall, Aiden Harangi, Taha Habroune, Stuart Hawkins, Cruz Medina, Paulo Rudisill, Pedro Soma, David Vazquez and Oscar Verhoeven. Three players have appeared in nine of the 11 training camps since the cycle began: Burton, Hall and Medina.
The USA clinched its record 18th FIFA U-17 World Cup berth with a runner-up finish at the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship. All 20 members of the squad played significant minutes in Guatemala as the red, white and blue reached its third-straight Concacaf final.
The U.S. punched its World Cup ticket with a wild back-and-forth 5-3 victory against the host nation before a raucous crowd in Guatemala City. Forward Keyrol Figueroa, who finished second at the tournament with seven goals, and midfielder Cruz Medina were named to the competition’s Best XI.
The U.S. has faced 17 different nations since kicking off the cycle during the Youth National Teams’ return to programming in November 2021, compiling an 11-8-0 record. All but one player has been capped at the U-17 level, led by Medina and Rudisill’s 18 appearances. After leading the U.S. in goals in World Cup qualifying, Figueroa is the team’s top scorer with eight goals this cycle, while Medina has added six.
A number of stars for the senior USMNT have launched their international careers at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the last few U-17 cycles have made a significant impact on the current squad. Ten players from the USA’s 2022 FIFA World Cup roster represented the U.S. at a U-17 World Cup: Kellyn Acosta (2011 U-17 WC), Tyler Adams (2015), Luca de la Torre (2015), Sergiño Dest (2017), Christian Pulisic (2015), Gio Reyna (2019), Josh Sargent (2017), Joe Scally (2019), Haji Wright (2015) and Tim Weah (2017).
In total, 59 players named to a U-17 World Cup roster have been capped by the senior USMNT, while 26 have been called to a senior World Cup. The competition has long been a launchpad for future USMNT stars. Landon Donovan won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player at New Zealand 1999 as he helped the U.S. finish fourth alongside DaMarcus Beasley and current U.S. Soccer Vice President of Sporting Oguchi Onyewu. Future 100-cap club members Claudio Reyna and Tim Howard represented the U.S. at Scotland 1989 and Ecuador 1995, respectively.
The USA launches its U-17 World Cup campaign on Sunday, Nov. 12 vs. Korea Republic, takes on Burkina Faso on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and finishes the group stage on Saturday vs. France. All three matches will be played at Jakarta International Stadium in the nation’s capital and will be broadcast on FS1 and Telemundo platforms.
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