USMNT
Everything you need to know: CONCACAF U-17 Championship
Since the 2021 youth national team cycles were canceled, it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen the U.S. compete in regional youth championships. After the American U-20 group destroyed every opponent they played in the CONCACAF Championship last summer, the U-17s will be looking to repeat the trick, boasting one of their most talented teams ever. Here’s everything you need to know before you watch the U.S. baby nats’ run towards their fourth U-17 CONCACAF title.
What is at stake?
Four spots in the 2023 U-17 FIFA World Cup are on the line; the semifinalists will all qualify directly to that tournament in Peru. The tournament’s champion will claim the U-17 CONCACAF trophy.
As the United States are currently holders of the Gold Cup, Nations League, and W-Championship, as well as the U-20 Men’s, U-20 Women’s, U-17 Women’s Championship, and U-15 Girl’s Championships, winning this title would put the U.S.A. one trophy away (U-15 Boys Championship) from sweeping every single available CONCACAF trophy; an unprecedented feat anywhere in the world.
Who will the U.S. face?
The U.S. were drawn into group F, and will face Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Canada in the first round. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Round of 16, where they will join four teams that already qualified from a prior qualifying tournament. The U.S.’ most likely route to the trophy runs through the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
This edition of the U-17 Championship will be held in Guatemala, and all of the U.S.’ group stage matches, in addition to the round of 16, are set to be held at the scenic Estadio Pensativo in Antigua, Guatemala. The Pensativo will also serve as the U.S.’ training location. The matches from the quarterfinals onwards will be held at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala’s national stadium, which seats 26,000 fans. Most matches will likely be sparsely attended, barring those involving the host nation.
The tournament will be played between February 11th and February 26th.
Who is on the U.S. roster?
The full roster selected by coach Gonzalo Segares is listed below. All players born January 1st, 2006, and later were available for selection, barring those who are injured or were not released by their clubs:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; Castle Pines, Colo.), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona/ESP; Miramar, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (6): Christian Díaz (LAFC; San Bernardino, Calif.), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; Miramar, Fla.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Zwingenberg, Germany), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; Fox Island, Wash.), Sawyer Jura (Portland Timbers; Bend, Ore.), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Christopher Aquino (Seattle Sounders FC; Pasco, Wash.), Adrian Gill (FC Barcelona/ESP; Denver, Colo.), Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; San Francisco, Calif.), Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes; San Francisco, Calif.), Paulo Rudisill (LA Galaxy; Irvine, Calif.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornellà/ESP; Coconut Creek, Fla.)
FORWARDS (5): Micah Burton (Austin FC; Mounds View, Minn.), Brian Carmona (Charlotte FC; Concord, N.C.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, U.K.), Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo FC; Menifee, Calif.) David Vásquez (Philadelphia Union; Los Angeles, Calif.)
One thing that is worth mentioning about this team is that it leans heavily on older players within the age group. 16 of the 20 players were born in the first half of 2006, with just three players born in the summer months and one (Ezekiel Soto) born in January of 2007.
The most notable absences from the squad are Jude Wellings (not called up), Axel Pérez (not released by club), Christian McFarlane (injured), Andre Gitau (not called up), Luis Moreno (not called up), Aaron Heard (injured), and Matai Akinmboni (not released by club).
Who are the players to watch?
Though this is not the strongest possible U-17 team in part due to the absences listed above, there are still a number of extremely talented players in this group who should lead this team to success.
Diego Kochen of FC Barcelona follows Gaga Slonina and Chris Brady as the next great goalkeeping prospect in the pipeline. Kochen was nominated for U.S. Soccer Young Player of the Year, and was the only ‘06 put up for the award. Kochen has already debuted for Barça B and has regularly made their matchday squads for league games. A star in the making, Kochen is confident with his feet and is excellent in one-on-one situations; he may captain this team, and will be key to its success defensively.
Edit: After this story was posted, Kochen was forced to withdraw from camp due to injury. He was replaced on the roster by San Diego Loyal’s Duran Ferree. Adam Beaudry, of the Colorado Rapids, is now the presumptive starter. While the loss of Kochen is a huge blow, Beaudry will now have an unexpected opportunity to prove himself.
A case could be made that Pedro Soma is the best prospect in this team, and arguably in the YNT pool, at the moment. The UE Cornellà man is a well-rounded and dynamic player who can play both in the pivot and as a box-to-box midfielder. Soma is both sound defensively and an effective passer; if he develops well, he may very well be the first player from this group to break into the senior USMNT in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Tyler Adams’ backup. With Villarreal and other top Spanish clubs keeping close tabs, this tournament will be a great opportunity to shine in the shop window and earn his move to a big academy.
San Jose’s Cruz Medina has also received lots of recognition over the past year, and is another elite talent for this level. Leading the U-17 group throughout 2022, he will also be hoping to showcase his talent to the wider public at this tournament as he looks to establish himself as one of the top prospects in the pipeline and earn first-team minutes with the Earthquakes. As technically gifted as anyone else here, he could find minutes both in the attacking midfield roles and on the wing. Club teammate Edwyn Mendoza will compete for minutes at the 6, and could even be good enough to push Pedro Soma up to the 8 in order to get both of them on the field together.
The Bay Area’s third representative, Oscar Verhoeven, is a gifted fullback who also has enormous potential. Though he is yet to sign a homegrown contract with the Quakes, he is easily the most talented defender on this roster, and can play on either side of the back four. Eintracht Frankfurt’s A.J. Harangi will likely be the opposite full-back, having chosen to play for the U.S. in this tournament despite previous involvement with Hungary’s youth teams.
A well-known prospect since a young age, Adrian Gill provides an intriguing option in a variety of positions. Though he recently made his debut for Barça B in a friendly, it’s not clear what position he would start in for this group, whether that be in his natural role as a box-to-box or advanced midfield, or in his secondary position as a fullback. Though he clearly as talent, he will have to fight for minutes in this tournament to prove his doubters wrong.
Finally, it will be interesting to see who earns the starting job up top, as there will be competition for minutes between three very different number 9s. Keyrol Figueroa comes into camp preparing to be cap tied to the United States, despite being the son of Honduran legend Maynor Figueroa. The Liverpool academy striker did not necessarily impress in his previous appearances for the U.S. U-17s, but has great talent and could prove to be a reliable goalscorer at this level. Ezekiel Soto is the youngest player on the team, and has been proving his talent throughout the cycle despite often being nearly a year younger than everyone else; he has the highest ceiling amongst these #9s, which makes him significant in a YNT pipeline that lacks any blue-chip center forwards. An alternative to the traditional #9s is Austin FC’s Micah Burton, who would be more of a false nine type. He is naturally a 10 and can also play on the wing, but could be effective in a central attacking position for this team if the other two alternatives are not performing.
How will the U.S. line up?
Are there any players from other teams to keep an eye on?
At this level, a huge number of U.S.-born players represent their second nationalities. Many different teams throughout the region will call upon Americans during this tournament, though only a few would have been members of the U.S. pool.
Mexico’s squad consists of three Americans: Fernando Delgado, Javen Romero, and Fidel Barajas. All three are talented players, and Delgado in particular would likely have made the U.S. roster as Kochen’s backup. He had been involved in U.S. camps earlier in the cycle, as had Fidel Barajas, who had some great performances for the U.S. last spring. Barajas would be on the fringes of the American team due to his limitations but will be a star for Mexico at this tournament playing on the wing.
A center forward who may have made the U.S. team had he been eligible would be Inter Miami’s Bryan Destin, who will represent Haiti. He was already provisionally cap tied when he played for Haiti at the U-20 Championship last summer, and will be one of the best players in this tournament; once he acquires American citizenship, he could represent the U.S. in the future.
The Canadian team consists of a large number of players from MLS academies, and two are notable dual-nationals. Victor Fung is a gifted center back who was born in 2007 and he has been involved in Canada camps throughout the cycle. Meanwhile, Lazar Stefanović of Toronto FC is a good left-back prospect who has previously played for the United States, but chose to represent Canada in this tournament. Both Canadian-Americans will face the nation of their birth in the final game of the group stage.
How can I watch?
The group matches against Barbados, Trinidad, and Canada will be held on the 11th, 13th, and 15th of February. All will kick off at 8pm eastern time, and will be aired on Fox Sports networks and Vix+. The full schedule, along with the projected knockout route and TV information, is listed below:
U.S.A. vs Barbados – February 11th – 8pm ET – FS2/Vix+
U.S.A. vs Trinidad & Tobago – February 13th – 8pm ET – FS1/Vix+
U.S.A. vs Canada – February 15th – 8pm ET – FS2/Vix+
R16 – U.S.A. vs Dominican Republic* – February 18th – 5pm ET – TBD
QF – U.S.A. vs TBD – February 21st – 8pm ET – TBD
SF – U.S.A. vs TBD – February 24th – 8pm ET – TBD
F – U.S.A. vs TBD – February 26th – 5pm ET – TBD
Club News
The constructing of a World Cup roster
Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X and us_keeper on Instagram)
With the September FIFA window now in the rearview mirror, and only three more windows left before final rosters are set in late May or early June 2026, Mauricio Pochettino has drawn a clear line.
He’s stated that September’s camp was the “last camp to have the possibility for new faces.”
If we take him at his word, the nearly 70 players who’ve been called across six camps and the Gold Cup will form the pool from which he selects the 2026 World Cup squad.
Of the 60 players named to the 2025 Gold Cup provisional roster, only five, Maxi Dietz, Richie Ledezma, Tim Tillman, Caleb Wiley, and Griffin Yow, have yet to appear on a #USMNT roster under Pochettino.
Comparing the 2025 Nations League provisional roster to the Gold Cup list reveals over a dozen different players, raising the question: are these minor differences simply the edges of the player pool Pochettino intends to draw from?
Goalkeepers
Nine goalkeepers have been called into Pochettino’s camps, but it’s clear that Matt Freese is his first-choice right now, with Matt Turner likely the No. 2 as we sit just 10 months from the World Cup.
- Chris Brady
- Drake Callender
- Roman Celentano
- Matt Freese
- Ethan Horvath
- Jonathan Klinsmann
- Diego Kochen
- Patrick Schulte
- Zack Steffen
- Matt Turner
Fullbacks
Outside of Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson, the USMNT’s fullback depth remains a concern. Pochettino appears high on MLS defenders Alex Freeman and Max Arfsten, while Caleb Wiley, though yet to feature in a USMNT camp but named to recent provisional rosters, could still be on his depth chart.
- Max Arfsten
- Sergino Dest
- Alex Freeman
- Marlon Fossey
- DeJuan Jones
- Kristoffer Lund
- Shaquell Moore
- Antonee Robinson
- Joe Scally
- John Tolkin
Centerbacks
Center back remains another position with uncertain depth. Chris Richards and the veteran Tim Ream look like locks for now, leaving three spots up for grabs. If Pochettino opts for a back three, that tactical shift could influence which players ultimately make the cut. Notably, Jackson Ragen and Maxi Dietz are the only center backs from the recent provisional rosters who haven’t been called into a USMNT camp.
- Noahkai Banks
- Tristan Blackmon
- George Campbell
- Cameron Carter-Vickers
- Mark McKenzie
- Tim Ream
- Chris Richards
- Miles Robinson
- Auston Trusty
- Walker Zimmerman
Central Midfielders
The central midfield position is the deepest for the #USMNT, with many players in the pool capable of also playing fullback, center back, or winger. Although Richie Ledezma has primarily played as a right back and right wing-back for his current club and for PSV last season, USMNT coaches view him primarily as a midfielder. This likely explains why he hasn’t yet been called into a USMNT camp.
- Tyler Adams
- Sebastian Berhalter
- Gianluca Busio
- Johnny Cardoso
- Ben Cremaschi
- Luca de la Torre
- Emeka Eneli
- Jack McGlynn
- Weston McKennie
- Aidan Morris
- Yunus Musah
- Tanner Tessmann
- Sean Zawadzki
Attacking Midfielders
There are several players at this position who could add real quality and play pivotal roles for the #USMNT at next summer’s World Cup. Gio Reyna remains a major question mark, but his talent is undeniable. With his recent club change, there’s hope he can return to the high level of form we’ve seen from him in the past.
- Brenden Aaronson
- Paxten Aaronson
- Brian Gutiérrez
- Djordje Mihailovic
- Matko Miljevic
- Gio Reyna
- Malik Tillman
Wingers
The winger position remains thin for the #USMNT, though several players there can also slot in as attacking midfielders, strikers, or even fullback. Notably, two young wingers, Cole Campbell and Griffin Yow, appeared on provisional rosters but have yet to be called into any Pochettino camp.
- Cade Cowell
- Diego Luna
- Christian Pulisic
- Quinn Sullivan
- Indiana Vassilev
- Tim Weah
- Haji Wright
- Alejandro Zendejas
Strikers
Another area of concern for the USMNT is striker depth. While the top options have all produced well for their clubs when healthy, injuries have kept the pool thin. If everyone is fit, the primary competition for the starting role likely comes down to three players: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Josh Sargent. Haji Wright and Tim Weah can also step in as center-forward options if needed.
- Patrick Agyemang
- Folarin Balogun
- Damion Downs
- Jesus Ferreira
- Ricardo Pepi
- Josh Sargent
- Brandon Vazquez
- Brian White
Conclusion
It’s tough to read Pochettino’s mindset right now. Many expect fewer MLS players to be called for the October window, partly because the league continues through FIFA dates and the regular season ends mid-October.
Most World Cup rosters largely select themselves, with only a few surprising omissions, think of the 1994 squad, which left out several players many felt deserved a spot.
But with Pochettino still showing a shaky grasp of the USMNT player pool, this cycle could produce more notable snubs than ever, though there’s still time for him to get it right.
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Launching Caring Excellence in Northern Kentucky
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Concacaf Gold Cup is becoming tarnished
Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X and us_keeper on Instagram)
Not long ago, winning your confederation’s tournament earned a spot in the FIFA Confederations Cup, a prestigious competition held in the World Cup host nation the summer before the world’s biggest tournament.
The tournament featured the champions of all six confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA), along with the reigning FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, rounding out the field to eight teams. The tournament was last played in 2017.
The Concacaf Gold Cup is a semi-cycle tournament played in the first and third years of the cycle. The CAF Africa Cup of Nations is the only other confederation that plays two tournaments a cycle, and in many circles, the frequency of the Concacaf Gold Cup and the addition of the Concacaf Nations League has made the Gold Cup a throwaway tournament for the USMNT, as it’s been six years since the so called A list player pool has played in the event.
It raises the question for FIFA and Concacaf: should the Gold Cup be played once a cycle, and should FIFA consider bringing back the Confederations Cup?
The USMNT won the inaugural Gold Cup in 1991 and has claimed seven of the 17 editions since. Only two other CONCACAF nations Mexico (9) and Canada (1)—have lifted the trophy, and both are contenders in this edition.
The USMNT has a strong track record at the Gold Cup, finishing first in their group every year except 2011. They’ve reached 12 finals, with a record of 69 wins, 12 draws, and 9 losses, scoring 189 goals and conceding just 60
Gold Cup Player Stats
Across 17 editions of the Gold Cup, the USMNT has netted 189 goals, conceded just 60, and recorded 50 clean sheets. Here’s a look at the players who made it happen, those who found the back of the net, and those who kept it out.
Goals
18-Landon Donovan
13-Clint Dempsey
9-Eric Wynalda
8-Brian McBride
7-Jesus Ferreira
Assists
16-Landon Donovan
7-Michael Bradley
6-DaMarcus Beasley
6-Alejandro Bedoya
6-Eric Wynalda
5-Clint Dempsey
Wins
17-Kasey Keller
11-Tim Howard
8-Tony Meola
7-Matt Turner
Shutouts
14-Kasey Keller
8-Tim Howard
6-Tony Meola
6-Matt Turner
Captain
10-Michael Bradley
10-Kasey Keller
9-Carlos Bocanegra
8-Tony Meola
7-Claudio Reyna
Gold Cup Manager Stats
Over the past 34 years, the USMNT has reached 12 of the 17 Gold Cup finals under the leadership of seven different managers. Here’s a look at how each of them performed.
Matches Coached
25-Bruce Arena
18-Bob Bradley
12-Gregg Berhalter
12-Jurgen Klinsmann
10-Bora Milutinovic
8-Steve Sampson
5-B.J. Callaghan
Matches Won
19-Bruce Arena – GF-52-, GA-14
14-Bob Bradley – GF-34, GA-17
11-Gregg Berhalter – GF-26, GA-3
9-Jurgen Klinsmann – GF-32, GA-9
8-Bora Milutinovic – GF-15, GA-8
6-Steve Sampson – GF-14, GA-5
2-B.J. Callaghan – GF-16, GA-4
Gold Cup Trophies
3-Bruce Arena
1-Gregg Berhalter
1-Bob Bradley
1-Jurgen Klinsmann
1-Bora Milutinovic
Conclusion
In the future, U.S. Soccer and the USMNT should clearly communicate roster expectations for the Gold Cup, especially if a full A-list squad is not planned. Transparency on this front is essential, as it directly affects fan interest and attendance.
The constructing of a World Cup roster
Launching Caring Excellence in Northern Kentucky
Concacaf Gold Cup is becoming tarnished
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