Giovanni Reyna and Gianluca Busio headline the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team World Cup roster.
Raphael Wicky named his 21-player roster on Thursday ahead of the start of the 2019 U-17 World Cup, which runs from Oct. 26 – Nov. 18 in Brazil. Also, making the cut are experienced Under-17 players Griffin Yow, George Bello, Joe Scally, and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez.
“I’m excited that the World Cup is finally here and I’m excited about this roster,” Wicky said. “This is the biggest stage you can reach at this age group, and I think the team is excited for this amazing moment in their young careers. We have talented players all over the field and one of their biggest strengths is that they have a great team spirit. There were some tough choices to make when selecting the final roster, but that’s always a good problem to have.”
The U.S. U-17’s kick off Group D play on Oct. 27 vs. Senegal, before facing Japan on Oct. 30 and finishing the group on Nov. 2 against the Netherlands. The 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup can be found on the Fox Sports network.
“To be able to go to a Word Cup and match yourself up against the world’s best teams and the best players in your age group is something that everyone looks forward to,” Wicky said. “I want to see a team which gives everything in every single game, I want to see a team which is proactive on the field and I want to see a team with a clear identity. I’m excited to get started in Brazil.”
Here’s the entire 21-player roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Aaron Cervantes (Orange County SC), Damian Las (Fulham), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City).
DEFENDERS: Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC), George Bello (Atlanta United FC), Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC), Kobe Hernandez-Foster (LA Galaxy), Joe Scally (New York City FC).
MIDFIELDERS: Maximilian Dietz (Freiburg), Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders FC), Bryang Kayo (Orange County SC), Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders FC), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy).
FORWARDS: Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City), Andres Jasson (New York City FC), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Griffin Yow (D.C. United).
Met Gio’s dad today randomly at Hudson Yards. What an homor! THanks for all thegreat years Claudio for then USMNT!
Was he there looking for the non-existent NYCFC stadium? ?
hehe. He was in the Warner Media building at CNN.
Great roster hoping these kids go very far. I really enjoy youth tournaments because you will see the teams that show good qualities defensively attacking and there is great games in the k.o. stages.
Why couldn’t Raphaël Wicky be the senior mens national team coach. He is way more experienced than Beerholder ???♂️??♂️!
No, he’s not. Before becoming USA coach, GB had been a head coach for 7 years (2 with Hammarby and 5 with Columbus Crew). Before becoming USA U17 coach, Wicky’s only head coaching experience was one year at FC Basel. Wicky did coach about 8 years with club youth teams before getting the job at Basel. On balance, you can’t say that Wicky is more experienced. If you don’t count Wicky’s time as club academy or youth team coach, GB actually has much more experience.
As far as playing career, GB played professionally for 17 years (15 in Europe and 2 in MLS), while Wicky played 15 years (all in Europe except for 5 games with Chivas USA).
Anyone is better than Beerholder?. Also Wicky senior career surpasses Beerholder by miles.