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USA Under-17 World Cup Roster announced

USAUnder17Squad 

The 21-player U.S. national team roster for the Under-17 World Cup has been finalized and it looks quite a bit like the squad that won the CONCACAF Under-17 Tournament back in February.

A total of 18 players from the CONCACAF Championship squad has been called up for the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, including Mario Rodriguez, Alejandro Guido and Mobi Fehr to name a few.

Here is the full squad:

GOALKEEPERS-21-Wade Hamilton (Arsenal FC; Murrieta, Calif.), 1-Kendall McIntosh (San Jose Earthquakes Academy; Santa Rosa, Calif.), 12-Fernando Piña (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas)

DEFENDERS– 16-Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas Academy; Plano, Texas), 4-Joe Amon (South Carolina United; Summerville, S.C.), 2-Zach Carroll (Vardar; Grand Blanch, Mich.), 6-Mobi Fehr (Tokyo Verdy 1969; Tokyo, Japan), 15-Alessandro Mion (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.), 3-Nathan Smith (Cal Odyssey; Clovis, Calif.),

MIDFIELDERS– 5-Matt Dunn (FC Cologne; Dallas, Texas), 10-Alejandro Guido (Aztecs Premier; Chula Vista, Calif.), 13-Nico Melo (Florida Rush; Kissimmee, Fla.), 11-Marc Pelosi (De Anza Force; Sunnyvale, Calif.), 8-Esteban Rodriguez (Cosmos Academy West; Palmdale, Calif.), 14-Tarik Salkicic (Strictly Soccer; Pinellas Park, Fla.), 17-Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids Academy; Brighton, Colo.), 20-Andrew Souders (Crew Soccer Academy; Amherst, Ohio)

FORWARDS– 18-Paul Arriola (Arsenal FC; Chula Vista, Calif.), 7-Alfred Koroma (Solar SC; Arlington, Texas), 19-Jack McBean (Los Angeles Galaxy; Newport Beach, Calif.) 9-Mario Rodriguez (Central Aztecs; North Hollywood, Calif.)

One player not on the team is Anthony Oliver, who led the team in scoring in CONCACAF qualifying. He was removed from the Under-17 Residency Program in April for disciplinary reasons.

The United States opens its Under-17 World Cup on June 19th against the Czech Republic in Torreon, Mexico. Group stage matches against Uzbekistan (June 22nd) and New Zealand (June 26th) soon follow. All three matches are being shown live on ESPNU.

What do you think of the roster? Which players are you looking forward to seeing?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I was curious about that. What did he do to get removed or asked to leave the residency program? Not gonna be easy replacing our leading scorer from qualifying.

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  2. Adam M,
    You know most of the world, including some terrible and mediocre soccer playing countries have had that access with nothing to show for it. I’d argue the positive you suggested is not the positives that exposure would bring. It might otherwise draw in kids that used to leave the sport because they had no idea what professional soccer meant and it might bring new kids to the game. Hopefully, we can have some kids take the game more seriously than they used to (akin to Popeye Jones’ son being a future stud Ice Hockey player).

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  3. Is Luis Gil not eligible? One would have thought he’d be invited….

    Also, no Scott Okoli? Very odd.

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  4. These under 17s are probably the first batch of American youth that have had tv and internet access to a wealth of European games for their entire teens. Nothing can replace top quality coaching, but my working theory is that the increased tv access in America to top-tier leagues will have a profound effect on the quality of the players we produce. These kids are the first group here to have had the ability learn by watching the best every week on tv. Very curious to see where this batch ends up at the U-23 level.

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  5. Except for Japan, South Carolina, Colorado, Michigan and Ohio. More than a quarter of the team….

    When you consider that California, Texas and Florida have more than a quarter of the total population and probably three-quarters of the population in areas where the weather is favorable enough for kids to play year-round, it ain’t surprising that almost 3/4 come from those 3 states. It evens out more in later years.

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  6. I dont understand how Cabrera got this gig after only two years of coaching at a community college and youth club. This U17 team has absolutely no discipline. Getting cards, arguing with ref; it’s embarassing. Maybe Cabrera has the brain to be a good coach someday but there has got to be someone better at the moment.

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  7. California, Texas and Florida are where a vast majority of talent for basketball, football and all other sports comes from. Has nothing to with immigration, popularity of the sport or otherwise.

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  8. 5 of the 6 national academy titles have gone to teams from the midwest conference. In other words, midwest domination = soccer talent at this age group.

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  9. Reading these names I realized the voice in my head was that of those Jamaican announcers from last tournament. Then they had a lengthy discussion about the merits of having two players named “Rodriquez” even though they weren’t related.

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  10. And areas with traditionally high immigrant populations with 1st and 2nd generations that have always made soccer their top sport, as opposed to other American sports.

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  11. Zach Pfeffer of the Union was a possibility in mid-field (from Pa.), but his appendectomy surgery a few weeks ago ruled him out of the tournament.

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  12. What do I think of the roster? I think that Jack McBean should have his name changed to Sylvester McMonkey McBean.

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  13. Was about to ask who is Mobi Fehr and what’s he doing in Japan?

    There was another Asian kid a year or so again, a right back I think, who made an impression on me when I saw him play in some tournament. Anyone have any idea where he went?

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  14. Marc Pelosi has been a solid player for them. Hope he continues to improve. Acosta is a good athelete but keeps on making bonheaded mistakes (in the televised or concacaf-streamed matches I’ve seen).

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