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Familiar faces lead USMNT U-17 roster for Nike International Friendlies

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With 12 players returning from the team that participated in the 2015 edition of the Nike International Friendlies, the 2016 roster has a familiar look.

U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team coach John Hackworth named his 20-man roster for the upcoming tournament on Tuesday, blending a mix of several newcomers with a veteran core.

The group returning for a second shot at the Lakewood, FL-based competition include young Atlanta United product Andrew Carleton, who thrived in last month’s friendlies against Jamaica. Joining him are a slew of U.S. development academy players, as well as a handful foreign academy products. The only non-domestic player returning for a second appearance is Paris Saint-Germain product Timothy Weah.

Also hailing from foreign clubs are goalkeeper Carlos Dos Santos of Benfica, and Sergino Dest of Ajax, each of whom makes their first appearance at the tournament.

The U.S. U-17s open play on Wednesday, November 30th against Portugal at 7 p.m. ET. They’ll follow that match with one against Turkey on December 2nd at 7 p.m. ET, and Brazil on December 5th at 5 p.m. ET. All matches can be viewed via the U.S. Soccer YouTube channel, Facebook page, or on ussoccer.com.

Here’s a closer look at the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (S.L. Benfica; Philadelphia, Penn.), Justin Garces (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Asensio (Atlanta United FC; Roswell, Ga.), Sergino Dest (Ajax; Almere-stad, Netherlands), Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls; Montclair, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), Carlos Ritaccio (BW Gotschee; Westbury, N.Y.), James Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Arturo Vasquez (FC Golden State; Mira Loma, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (6): George Acosta (Weston FC; Hollywood, Fla.), Isaac Angking (New England Revolution; Providence, R.I.), Christopher Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Tex.), Rayshaun McGann (Philadelphia Union; Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy; Savannah, Ga.)

FORWARDS (5): Ayomide Akinola (Toronto FC; Brampton, Ont.), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Bryan Reynolds Jr. (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Tex.), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallen, Mo.) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain F.C.; Rosedale, N.Y.)

Comments

  1. From what I have seen (granted from limited highlights), Ayomide Akinola is a smooth player in the center of the park, with pretty good passing skills in the final third. Will be interested to see more going forward.

    Reply
  2. I checked it out and Timothy Weah is, indeed, the son of George Weah, one of the greatest African footballers of all time. Not only that, early this year he scored 5 goals in a PSG youth game. I didn’t even know he was an American. One never knows, but if he ends up being half as good as his father, we could have quite an addition to the US national team in about 4 or 5 years.

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    • Gary where have you been we’ve been talking about this kid for over a year.

      Did you see McBean has come off the bench for Coventry’s first team the last two weeks?

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      • I had been looking for some mention of McBean in Americans Abroad and hadn’t seen that. As for Weah, I guess I missed some articles on the youth teams. Also, his name may not have captured my attention before. Sometimes on the youth team articles I just scan them quickly.

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