PREVIEW: U-17 MYNT Kicks Off World Cup Qualifying In Guatemala

U-17 MYNT STARTS CONCACAF U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP: The U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team will begin its journey at the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship on Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Barbados (8 p.m. ET; FS2, ViX+). The game serves as the USA’s first step towards qualification for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru.

The U-17 MYNT continues Group F play on Monday, Feb. 13 against Trinidad and Tobago (8 p.m. ET; FS1, ViX+) and wraps up the group stage on Wednesday, Feb. 15 vs. regional rival Canada (8 p.m. ET; FS2, ViX+).

All tournament matches will be broadcast in English on Fox Sports platforms and on the Fox Sports app with corresponding authentication. All matches will be available in Spanish on ViX+, TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service. Fans can sign up for a one-month ViX+ subscription for just 99 cents.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are age-eligible for the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship. Head coach Gonzalo Segares selected 19 players born in 2006 and one born in 2007.

Fans can follow all of the action from Guatemala on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2023 CONCACAF U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP; USA - GROUP F SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Venue	Time (ET)	TV Info
Saturday, Feb. 11	Barbados	Estadio Pensativo; Antigua, Guatemala	8 p.m.	FS2, ViX+
Monday, Feb. 13	Trinidad and Tobago	Estadio Pensativo; Antigua, Guatemala	8 p.m.	FS1, ViX+
Wednesday, Feb. 15	Canada	Estadio Pensativo; Antigua, Guatemala	8 p.m.	FS2, ViX+

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Using a variety of different formats since its inception in 1985, the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship will use the same 20-team tournament format introduced for the 2019 edition and since used for all of Concacaf’s Youth World Cup qualifying competitions. Sixteen countries are drawn into four groups of four, while four countries advance directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament.

The top three finishers in each group qualify to the Round of 16, where they will be joined by the four teams from pre-qualifying. From there, it’s a knockout bracket to the tournament final. The four winners of the quarterfinal matches will qualify to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru. After the Oceania Football Confederation, Concacaf is the second confederation to host its qualifying tournament for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Mexico	USA	Costa Rica	Honduras
Panama	Canada	Jamaica	Haiti
Guatemala	Trinidad and Tobago	Cuba	El Salvador
Curaçao	Barbados	Guadeloupe	Suriname

Advanced to Round of 16 via pre-tournament qualifying: Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

2023 CONCACAF U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; U-17 CAPS/GOALS; HOMETOWN)

GOALKEEPERS (2): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; 1/0; Castle Pines, Colo.), Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal; 0/0; San Diego, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Christian Diaz (LAFC; 4/0; San Bernardino, Calif.), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; 8/0; Miramar, Fla.), Aidan Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 3/0; Zwingenberg, Germany), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; 7/0; Fox Island, Wash.), Sawyer Jura (Portland Timbers; 3/0; Bend, Ore.), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/0; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Christopher Aquino (Seattle Sounders FC; 0/0; Pasco, Wash.), Adrian Gill (FC Barcelona/ESP; 3/0; Denver, Colo.), Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; 0/0; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/2; San Francisco, Calif.), Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes; 6/0; San Francisco, Calif.), Paulo Rudisill (LA Galaxy; 8/1; Irvine, Calif.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; 7/0; Coconut Creek, Fla.)

FORWARDS (5): Micah Burton (Austin FC; 7/2; Mounds View, Minn.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, U.K.), Brian Romero (Charlotte FC; 7/1; Concord, N.C.),Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo FC; 8/3; Menifee, Calif.) David Vasquez (Philadelphia Union; 3/0; Los Angeles, Calif.)

ROSTER NOTES:

• The roster features players from 16 clubs, including 11 from Major League Soccer. Three players come from the San Jose Earthquakes.

• Midfielder Cruz Medina (San Jose) and forward Brian Romero (Charlotte FC) are MLS Homegrown Players.

• Eight players have already made their professional debuts in MLS Next Pro and the USL Championship: goalkeepers Adam Beaudry and Duran Ferree, defenders Tyler Hall, Stuart Hawkins and Sawyer Jura, midfielders Medina and Paulo Rudisill plus forward David Vasquez.

• Four players are based abroad in Spain (two), England and Germany, including midfielder Adrian Gill at Spanish power FC Barcelona and forward Keyrol Figueroa at English giant Liverpool.

• Seven players have been called up to seven of the eight U-17 training camps since the cycle kicked off in November 2021: defenders Christian Diaz, Hall and Oscar Verhoeven, midfielders Medina and Edwyn Mendoza plus forwards Micah Burton and Ezekiel Soto. Every player has appeared in at least one training camp.

• Five players are tied for the team lead with eight international caps: defenders Hall and Verhoeven, midfielders Medina and Paulo Rudisill plus Soto. Soto is also the team’s leading scorer this cycle with three goals.

SPRINGBOARD TO SENIOR USMNT: The U-17 MYNT has long been an important step in development towards the senior USMNT. Of the 26 players who represented the USA at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 10 also played for the U.S. at this tournament: defenders Shaq Moore and Joe Scally, midfielders Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, forward Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah and Haji Wright.

From the previous U-17 cycle in 2018-19, five players who played at the Concacaf U-17 Championship or FIFA U-17 World Cup have debuted with the senior team: defenders Geroge Bello, Scally and John Tolkin, midfielder Gianluca Busio and forward Ricardo Pepi.

Previously, the U-17 MYNT has served as a launching pad for U.S. Soccer legends like Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, who first exploded onto the international stage at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Cup as the USA finished fourth.

EYES ON THE WORLD CUP: The USA has a history of success at this tournament, qualifying for a record 17 FIFA U-17 World Cups, tied with Brazil for the most all-time. Ten Concacaf nations have qualified for the U-17 World Cup. Behind the USA’s 17 appearances are Mexico (14), Costa Rica (10), Canada (seven), Honduras (five), Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago (two each).

CONCACAF U-17 HISTORY: This year marks the 20th edition of the Concacaf U-17 Championship. The tournament began in 1983 as the Concacaf U-16 Championship, qualified two teams to the FIFA U-17 World Cup from 1985-2005 and at least four teams from 2007 to now. The U.S. has participated in 19 of 20 Concacaf U-17 Championships, including each tournament since 1985. By winning the 1983 Concacaf U-16 Championship, the USA had already qualified for the 1985 U-16 World Championship.

The U.S. has taken home the Concacaf U-17 Championship three times, most recently in 2011 with a team featuring current USMNT players Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola. The USA has also finished runner-up seven times, with its 10 top-two finishes the most in competition history.

During the last tournament in 2019, the U-17 MYNT rattled off six straight dominant victories to qualify for the U-17 World Cup and reach the championship match. There, the U.S. took an early lead before falling to Mexico, 2-1, in the second period of added extra time. Reyna led the USA in scoring with six goals, while defender Kobe Hernandez-Foster, midfielders Busio and Danny Leyva plus Reyna were all named to the tournament Best XI.

ROAD TO GUATEMALA: World Cup qualifying marks the eighth training camp for the U-17 MYNT since its cycle kicked off in November 2021. Since then, they’ve been challenged against top tier international opposition, including Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Uruguay.

In May, the U-17s topped the table at a UEFA Development Tournament in Castelo Branco, Portugal, topping Belgium, 3-0, and the host, 2-1, to clinch first place. Most recently, they played three international matches against U-18 opposition at the Vaclav Jezek Tournament in the Czech Republic, finishing with a 4-1 win against the host nation.

QUALIFIED TO PERU: While host Peru qualified for the U-17 World Cup automatically, the Oceania Football Confederation was the first region to host its World Cup qualifying tournament. Played Jan. 11-28 this year, New Zealand and New Caledonia punched their tickets to the age group world championship.

USA VS. BARBADOS:

• Saturday marks the USA’s second consecutive meeting with Barbados at this tournament after also clashing during the 2019 group stage.

• The U.S. topped the Bajan Tridents 6-1 as five different players scored, including a brace from midfielder Gianluca Busio, who’s already earned nine caps for the senior USMNT.

• This year is Barbados’ fourth appearance at the Concacaf U-17 Championship. The island nation also participated in the 2011 and 2013 tourneys, earning its first point in the 2013 group stage with a 2-2 draw vs. Jamaica.

• Overall, the USA is 24-3-7 against Caribbean teams at this tournament.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• Each team will be allowed to make a maximum of five substitutions in a maximum of three opportunities throughout the match, not including halftime.

• If both teams make a substitution at the same stoppage, both teams will be charged an opportunity.

• If teams are tied on points at the conclusion of the group stage, the following tiebreakers will be used:
  • Goal difference in all group matches
  • Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches

• If teams are still tied, the following tiebreakers will be used:
  • Greater number of points in matches between the tied teams
  • Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points)
  • Greater number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points)
  • Lower number of points based on yellow and red cards in all group matches (First yellow - 1 point, second yellow/indirect red - 3 points, direct red - 4 points, yellow and direct red - 5 points)
  • Drawing of lots

• Two yellows received in different games during the competition will result in automatic suspension for the next game. Single yellow cards will be eliminated at the end of the group stage.

• In the knockout stage, if teams are tied at the end of regulation, extra time will be played with two periods of 15 minutes.

• In extra time, teams have the option to make one additional substitution.

• If the score is tied at the end of extra time, the match will go straight to kicks from the penalty mark.

• The U.S. will play all three of its group stage matches at Estadio Pensativo in Antigua, Guatemala. Home to Antigua GFC, the stadium previously hosted matches during qualification for the 2011 Concacaf U-17 Championship. 

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