The FIFA Under-17 World Cup is contested every two years for players under 17 years of age. The U.S. is the only country in the world to qualify for every U-17 World Cup, dating back to the tournament’s inception in 1985. The first three tournaments were actually referred to as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, but FIFA changed the event to the U-17 World Championship status in 1989. In 2007, the tournament increased from 16 teams to 24 and became known as the FIFA U-17 World Cup. 

In the latest U-17 World Cup in 2005, the U.S. finished atop the standings in Group C and John Hackworth’s squad advanced to play the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The U.S. fell, 2-0, narrowly missing the semifinals for the second-straight tournament (and finishing in fifth place for the third time in history).

The USA’s best finish at the event came in 1999, when a John Ellinger-led team advanced to the semifinals, the first time for a U.S. team at any men’s FIFA event (save the 1930 FIFA World Cup). The team posted three victories in their run, and fell to Australia in the semifinal in penalty kicks. Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley were awarded the Golden and Silver Balls, respectively, as the tournament’s first and second most valuable players.

Before that historic feat, the U.S. mostly struggled, finishing 10th or higher in four out of six tournaments (1985-1997). The highlight during that stretch was in Italy in 1991 when the U.S. won all three of their group matches against Italy (1-0), Argentina (1-0) and China PR (3-1).  In their quarterfinal match against Qatar, the U.S. looked impressive when they scored in the third minute, but eventually fell 5-4 in penalty kicks and finished in fifth place. Two years later, the U.S. once again advanced to the quarterfinal round, but was handed the same fate as Poland sent them home with a 3-0 defeat and a seventh-place finish.

The U.S. slipped up again in 2001, losing all three group matches in Trinidad & Tobago during a difficult task of trying to concentrate on soccer just days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks back home. The 2003 edition saw the return of the U.S. fight and the emergence of then-14-year-old Freddy Adu, who scored four goals (including a hat trick against South Korea) in group play to lead the U.S. to the quarterfinals. As the second-place team in Group D, Ellinger’s team met eventual runner-up Brazil in the round of eight, falling 3-0 to the perennial powerhouse, and finishing in fifth place.

For a recap of each FIFA U-17 World Cup, including a list of results and rosters, click on the year in the table below.