It begins.
It’s that time of the year for all the diehard USMNT prospect followers out there. The popular Nike International Friendlies are here. The annual under-17 showcase for some of the world’s top national teams has arrived.
The four-nation tournament is always one of the highest profile events for this age group and has recently featured the likes of Christian Pulisic, Haji Wright, and Luca de la Torre.
Head Coach John Hackworth and named his roster for this year’s tournament. This current crop of U-17’s is headlined by Andrew Carleton and Chris Durkin, both of whom recently signed MLS Homegrown Player contracts with Atlanta United and D.C. United respectively.
The Nike International Friendlies is always the unofficial beginning of the U-17 hype cycle. All the matches are streamed and we finally get our first look full look at the main crop of players who’ll attempt to qualify for the World Cup at the CONCACAF Championships in April of next year.
Here’s the USA’s Schedule (all games streamed on U.S. Soccer’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel):
Wednesday, November 30th: USA vs Portugal - 7 p.m. ET
Friday, December 2nd: USA vs Turkey - 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, December 4th: USA vs Brazil - 5 p.m. ET
Full USMNT U-17 Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (S.L. Benfica; Philadelphia, Penn.), Justin Garces (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Asensio (Atlanta United FC; Roswell, Ga.), Sergino Dest (Ajax; Almere-stad, Netherlands), Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls; Montclair, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), Carlos Ritaccio (BW Gotschee; Westbury, N.Y.), James Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Arturo Vasquez (FC Golden State; Mira Loma, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): George Acosta (Weston FC; Hollywood, Fla.), Isaac Angking (New England Revolution; Providence, R.I.), Christopher Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Tex.), Rayshaun McGann (Philadelphia Union; Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy; Savannah, Ga.)
FORWARDS (5): Ayomide Akinola (Toronto FC; Brampton, Ont.), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Bryan Reynolds Jr. (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Tex.), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallen, Mo.) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain F.C.; Rosedale, N.Y.)