ATLANTA (Jan. 22, 2026) – U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Alex Aldaz has selected the 21-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers, set for Feb. 5-10 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The USA will aim to qualify for a record 20th FIFA U-17 World Cup as eight teams will earn berths to the 48-team tournament, set for November in Qatar.
"These young men have been selected to represent our country in one of the most meaningful events of their respective careers,” Aldaz said. “It is an honor to compete in the Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers and represent our country for qualification to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup. We appreciate all the clubs' support of our Youth National Teams as we embark on this qualifying journey."
The U.S. was drawn into Group E and kicks off its qualifying campaign against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, Feb. 5 (6 p.m. ET), faces St. Kitts and Nevis on Saturday, Feb. 7 (7 p.m. ET) and finishes the competition against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, Feb. 10 (1 p.m. ET). All three matches will be played at Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown. Broadcast information for the competition will be confirmed at a later date. The team will hold pre-camp in West Palm Beach, Fla. beginning Jan. 27 before transitioning to St. Vincent on Feb. 2.
The participation in Concacaf qualifying tournaments by U.S. Soccer’s Youth National Teams is part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
2026 CONCACAF U-17 QUALIFIERS ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Keller Abbott (Columbus Crew; New Albany, Ohio), James Donaldson (Atlanta United; Woodstock, Ga.), Matthew White (Philadelphia Union; Atherton, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Daniel Barrett (Houston Dynamo; Pearland, Texas), Edward Chadwick (Unattached; Los Angeles, Calif.), Tyson Espy (Orange County SC; Dana Point, Calif.), Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew; Des Moines, Iowa), Astin Mbaye (AC Milan; Jersey City, N.J.), Liam Vejrostek (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Vicente Garcia (LA Galaxy; West Covina, Calif.), Peter Molinari (New York City FC; Bayside, N.Y.), Roko Pehar (Chicago Fire; Glenview, Ill.), Paul Sokoloff (New York Red Bulls; Brooklyn, N.Y.), Kaedren Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Landry Walker (San Antonio FC; San Antonio, Texas)
FORWARDS (6): Mattheo Dimareli (Houston Dynamo FC; Pearland, Texas), Myles Gardner (Houston Dynamo FC; Houston, Texas), Malik Jakupovic (Philadelphia Union; Sterling Heights, Mich.), Aaron Medina (LA Galaxy; Long Beach, Calif.), William Ostrander (PSV Eindhoven; Mill Valley, Calif.) Maximus Steelman (LA Galaxy; Carlsbad, Calif.)
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2009 are age-eligible for the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers and all but one of the 21 players selected were born in 2009. LA Galaxy midfielder Vicente Garcia was born in 2010.
The squad features players from 14 clubs, including 10 from Major League Soccer. Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy lead the contributors with three players each, followed by two from the Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union. Eleven players have seen professional action in MLS NEXT Pro and the USL Championship.
Two players come from USL Championship clubs: Orange County SC defender Tyson Espy and San Antonio FC midfielder Landry Walker.
The Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers feature 34 teams divided into eight groups (six of four teams, two of five teams) played across six different countries. No knockout stage will be contested. Each of the eight group winners will punch its ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
2026 CONCACAF U-17 QUALIFIERS
| Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
| Mexico |
Panama |
Haiti |
Costa Rica |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
Nicaragua |
Guatemala |
Puerto Rico |
| Barbados |
Guadeloupe |
Antigua and Barbuda |
British Virgin Islands |
| Saint Martin |
Anguilla |
Grenada |
Turks and Caicos |
| Sint Maarten |
Dominica |
|
|
| Group E |
Group F |
Group G |
Group H |
| USA |
El Salvador |
Canada |
Honduras |
| Dominican Republic |
Curaçao |
Jamaica |
Bermuda |
| St. Kitts and Nevis |
Cuba |
Aruba |
Guyana |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
Belize |
Cayman Islands |
Suriname |
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Three alternates will travel to Florida to train with the team prior to the tournament: midfielder Willyam Ferreira (Philadelphia Union) and defenders Nash Dearmin (Inter Miami) and Gianmarco Di Noto (Columbus Crew). In the case of injury, players on the final roster can be replaced up to 24 hours prior to the team’s first match.
- All 21 players on the final roster have MLS NEXT experience.
- The players hail from nine states, led by eight from California and five from Texas.
- Five players logged more than 400 minutes in MLS NEXT Pro last season: Barrett, Dimareli, Jakupovic, Molinari and Spivey.
- Midfielder Peter Molinari played the second-most minutes of any 2009-born player in MLS NEXT Pro with 2,158 total minutes across 26 games.
- Forward Malik Jakupovic scored nine goals during the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro campaign, the most of anyone born in 2009.
- Fifteen-year-old midfielder Vicente Garcia was the first 2010-born player to earn minutes in MLS Next Pro. At the time of his debut, he was the sixth youngest player (14 years, 8 months, 11 days) in MLS NEXT Pro history to appear in a match.
- Barrett, Chadwick, Espy, Forfor, Jakupovic, Molinari, Spivey and Steelman were all named MLS NEXT All-Stars in 2025.
