PREVIEW: USA Starts Knockout Stage at 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup Against Germany

Sunday, Nov. 12
France 3, Burkina Faso 0
USA 3, Korea Republic 1

Wednesday, Nov. 15
USA 2, Burkina Faso 1
France 1, Korea Republic 0

Saturday, Nov, 18
France 3, USA 0
Burkina Faso 2, Korea Republic 1

2023 FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; U-17 CAPS/GOAL; HOMETOWN)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; 9/0; Castle Pines, Colo.), Zackory Campagnolo (Colorado Rapids; 1/0; Ft. Myers, Fla.), Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal SC; 5/0; San Diego, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Noahkai Banks (Augsburg/GER; 5/0; Dietmannsried, Germany), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; 17/0; Miramar, Fla.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 12/1; Reston, Va.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; 19/0; Fox Island, Wash.), Tahir Reid-Brown (Orlando City SC; 2/0; Orlando, Florida), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; 18/0; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Matthew Corcoran (Birmingham Legion FC; 3/0; Dallas Texas), Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; 12/4; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; 20/7; San Francisco, Calif.), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; 6/0; Unionville, Conn.), Santiago Morales (Inter Miami CF; 2/0; Weston, Fla.), Paulo Rudisill (Unattached; 21/2; Irvine, Calif.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; 18/1; Coconut Creek, Fla.)

FORWARDS (5): Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; 7/4; High Point, N.C.), Micah Burton (Austin FC; 21/5; Mounds View, Minn.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; 13/8; Warrington, England), Bryce Jamison (Orange County SC; 7/0; Lake Forest, Calif.), David Vasquez (Philadelphia Union; 16/0; Los Angeles, Calif.)

ONTO THE ROUND OF 16

After two wins to open the tournament, topping Korea Republic, 3-1, and dispatching Burkina Faso, 2-1, the U.S. fell 3-0 to France in its group stage finale. With advancement already secured for both teams, the final match determined who would finish first and second in Group E. The young Americans played France evenly throughout the opening 45 but conceded just before the halftime whistle on a goal from Joan Tincres. The U.S. had a number of chances to equalize in the second, including a number of hard-hit shots from midfielder Cruz Medina, but France put the game away in the final 10 minutes, with Tincres bagging his brace in the 82nd and Bastien Meupiyou capping things off after a free kick in the 86th.

GERMANY TOPS GROUP F

Germany finished the group stage with a perfect 3-0-0 record. In its opener, Die Mannschaft took down Concacaf champion Mexico 3-1 on three unanswered goals from Noah Darvich, Max Moerstedt and Eric Da Silva Moreira before Mexico pulled one back late. Facing New Zealand in its second match, The All Whites held strong until Paris Brunner broke through in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time. Moerstedt and Bilal Yalçinkaya tallied in the 60th and 81st before conceding again late. Germany left little doubt in the group stage finale vs. Venezuela, as Robert Ramsak netted in the first minute before adding another in the 57th. A 42nd-minute goal from Da Silva Moreira made it 3-0.

USA ROSTER NOTES:

• UNAVAILABLE: Defenders Noahkai Banks and midfielder Paulo Rudisill are suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the group stage. Defender Tyler Hall was shown a red card late in the game vs. France and will also be suspended for the Round of 16.

• The USA finished second in Group E, its best group stage finish since 2011.

• Forward Micah Burton and midfielder Paulo Rudisill made their cycle-leading 21st appearances against France.

• With goalkeeper Duran Ferree’s start vs. France, 20 of 21 players have appeared through the first three matches, with only goalkeeper Zackory Campagnolo yet to see the field.

• With three goals, forward Nimfasha Berchimas is tied for third all-time in goals for the U.S. at this tournament with Landon Donovan (1999), Mykell Bates (2007), Josh Sargent (2017) and Tim Weah (2017). Judah Cooks (1993) and Freddy Adu (2003), each scored four goals.

• Berchimas’ brace vs. Korea Republic made him the fifth player to put together a multi-goal game for the USA at the U-17 World Cup following Cooks (three goals vs. Qatar in 1993), Taylor Twellman (two goals vs. Austria in 1997), Adu (three goals vs. Korea Republic in 2003) and Weah (three goals vs. Paraguay in 2017).

• Berchimas (15 years, 267 days) is the fourth-youngest player to score for the U.S. at this tournament, behind Adu (14 years, 76 days; three goals vs. Korea Republic in 2003), Imad Baba (15 years, 91 days; one goal vs. Brazil in1989) and Jason Moore (15 years, 148 days; one goal vs. Qatar in 1993).

• Berchmias is the 17th player to score in multiple games for the USA at the U-17 World Cup.

• Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are age-eligible for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Segares called up 17 players born in 2006, four born in 2007 and one born in 2008.

• The roster features players from 17 clubs, including 10 from Major League Soccer. Two players each come from the Colorado Rapids, Inter Miami CF and the San Jose Earthquakes. Four are based abroad in Germany (two), England and Spain.

• Three players have appeared in nine of the 11 training camps since the cycle began: Micah Burton, Tyler Hall and Cruz Medina.

• The USA clinched its record 18th FIFA U-17 World Cup berth with a runner-up finish at the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship. 

• Figueroa, who finished second at the tournament with seven goals, and Medina were named to the competition’s Best XI.

• Thirteen players from the team’s Concacaf U-17 Championship squad return for the World Cup: Adam Beaudry, Micah Burton, Duran Ferree, Keyrol Figueroa, Tyler Hall, Aiden Harangi, Taha Habroune, Stuart Hawkins, Cruz Medina, Paulo Rudisill, Pedro Soma, David Vazquez and Oscar Verhoeven. 

• The U.S. has faced 20 different nations since kicking off the cycle during the Youth National Teams’ return to programming in November 2021, compiling an 13-9-0 record.

USA VS. GERMANY

• The USA is 0-2-0 vs. Germany all-time at the U-17 World Cup and 5-12-3 vs. European competition.

• Both previous meetings came in the Round of 16. The U.S. fell 2-1 in the 2007 tournament and 4-0 in 2011 as Germany went on to take third place in both editions.

• Germany is making its 11th appearance of 19 FIFA U-17 World Cups, finishing runner-up at the inaugural 1985 competition. Die Mannschaft has reached the knockout stage eight times.

• The Germans last reached the U-17 World Cup in 2017, making the quarterfinals before falling to bronze medalist Brazil.

• Twenty of Germany’s 21 players compete domestically at 13 different clubs, led by four from Bayern Munich. Eight are at clubs currently in the Bundesliga. The one foreign-based player, captain Noah Darvich, plays at Barcelona with U-17 MYNT pool players Adrian Gill and Diego Kochen.

• Two of the USA’s players are based in Germany- defenders Noahakai Banks (Augsburg) and Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt).

• Head coach Christian Wück has coached with Germany’s youth national teams since 2012, working with the U-15 through U-17 age groups. He made over 200 appearances as a player in Germany in the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga, including 94 at Nürnberg.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

• Germany won the 2023 UEFA European U-17 Championship to earn one of five World Cup berths at stake.

• Die Mannschaft earned its spot at the Euro by beating Moldova and Latvia in its first qualifying group, then downing Turkey and Finland in elite round qualifying.

• In the group stage of the European Championship, Germany beat Portugal, 4-0, France, 3-1, and Scotland, 3-0-, to finish first in its group and advance to the knockout stage.

• Germany topped Switzerland, 3-2, in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals to clinch its World Cup berth.

• In the semifinal, Germany beat Poland in a back-and-forth 5-3 win vs. Poland.

• Against France in the championship match, the two European powers played to a scoreless draw before Germany triumphed 5-4 in penalties, winning its fourth title.

• Paris Brunner and Robert Ramsak tied for the tournament lead in scoring with four goals a piece.

U.S. HISTORY AT THE U-17 WORLD CUP

The USA has qualified to a record 18 of 19 FIFA U-17 World Cups all-time and has reached the knockout stage at nine of 17 previous tournaments. Its best finish came at the 1999 tournament, a fourth-place showing in New Zealand led by a number of future USMNT stalwarts. Landon Donovan kicked off his legendary international career by winning the Golden Ball as the competition’s best player while future four-time senior World Cup selection DaMarcus Beasley also represented the U.S. After a 3-2 victory vs. Mexico in the quarters, the USA fell in penalties to Australia in the semifinals and lost 2-0 to Ghana in the third-place match.

The red, white and blue’s last knockout stage run came at the 2017 tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion England, 4-1. The U.S. opened the competition with a 3-0 win against host India in front of more than 46,000 fans. In the Round of 16 against Paraguay, Tim Weah netted a hat trick, becoming the first U.S. player to accomplish the feat in the knockout stage of a men’s World Cup.

SENIOR SQUAD LAUNCHPAD

A number of stars for the senior USMNT have launched their international careers at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and since the USA failed to qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the last three cycles have been markedly successful in progressing players to the senior USMNT. Twenty players from the previous three cycles have made their full team debuts, with 10 players from the USA’s 2022 FIFA World Cup roster having represented the U.S. at a U-17 World Cup: Kellyn Acosta (2011 U-17 WC), Tyler Adams (2015), Luca de la Torre (2015), Sergiño Dest (2017), Christian Pulisic (2015), Gio Reyna (2019), Josh Sargent (2017), Joe Scally (2019), Haji Wright (2015) and Tim Weah (2017).

In total, 59 players named to a U-17 World Cup roster have been capped by the senior USMNT, while 26 have been called to a senior World Cup. The competition has long been a launchpad for future USMNT stars. Landon Donovan, DaMarucus Beasley and current U.S. Soccer Vice President of Sporting Oguchi Onyewu helped the U.S. finish fourth at New Zealand 1999. Future 100-cap club members Claudio Reyna and Tim Howard represented the U.S. at Scotland 1989 and Ecuador 1995, respectively.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP WITH MLS NEXT PRO

Several members of the squad played key roles for their clubs during the recently completed second season of MLS Next Pro as nine players logged more than 1,100 minutes on the year. Forward Micah Burton helped Austin FC II lift the championship trophy, while midfielder Taha Habroune parlayed his standout performance in World Cup qualifying into a key role with runner-up Columbus Crew 2. Goalkeeper Adam Beaudry was one of four finalists for the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. In total, seven players made their pro debuts this season in the league designed to bridge the gap from the academy ranks to first-division Major League Soccer.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup features 24 countries divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-place teams advanced to the Round of 16. From there, the tournament features a knockout bracket to the tournament final.