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