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?
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