U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team Will Travel to Japan for Two Matches in Preparation for 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco
Roster Features Two Professional Players, Three College Players and 15 Youth Club Players
ATLANTA (June 22, 2026) – United States Under-17 Women’s National Team head coach Ciara Crinion has named 20 players to travel to Japan for a training camp and matches. The USA will face Japan twice in Chiba, squaring off with one of the most successful nations in the world at the female youth international level.
The matches will take place at the Prince Takamado Memorial JFA YUME Field on July 3 and July 6, both kicking off at 4 a.m. ET.
This is the first action for the U.S. U-17 WNT since easily qualifying for the World Cup at the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship in Costa Rica last March, winning all three games in its group by a 32-0 goal scoring margin.
The roster features two professional players in defender Meila Brewer, who has yet to feature this season for the Kansas City Current, and forward Mak Whitham, who has played in one match for Gotham FC so far in 2026.
The three college players are midfielder Mia Corona (UCLA), Amari Manning (UNC) and Deus Stanislaus (UNC), all of whom enrolled in college early.
U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Hometown)
International Training Camp – Chiba, Japan
Goalkeepers (2): Avellina Saunders (Utah Royals FC Arizona; Phoenix, Ariz.), Lola-Iris Ta (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas)
Defenders (7): Meila Brewer (Kansas City Current; Overland Park, Kan.), Maddie Maves (Crossfire Premier SC; Seattle, Wash.), Venina Moodie (De Anza Force SC; Oakland, Calif.), Elena Vera (Bay Area Surf SC; Fairfield, Calif.), Carolyn Voss (Minnesota Thunder; Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Anaiah Williams (Eclipse Select SC; Glendale Heights, Ill.), Gigi Zuniga (Mountain View Los Altos SC; Watsonville, Calif.)
Midfielders (5): Mia Corona (UCLA; Cypress, Calif.), Khari Hontz (Kansas City Current II; Grain Valley, Mo.), Taylor Morrell (Virginia Development Academy; Leesburg, Va.), Grace Murray (Beach FC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Loradana Paletta (New York City FC; Syosset, N.Y.)
Forwards (6): Giselle Aguilar (Solar SC; Cleburne, Texas), Maddie DiMaria (St. Louis Scott Gallagher; Fenton, Mo.), Gianna Hanf (Match Fit Academy; Chesterfield, N.J.), Amari Manning (UNC; Flemington, N.J.), Deus Stanislaus (UNC; Fort Washington, Pa.), Mak Whitham (Gotham FC; Granite Bay, Calif.)
Fifteen of the players on this roster were with the USA at Concacaf qualifying, including the top five scorers in Costa Rica: Stanislaus (6 goals), Whitham (5), Giselle Aguilar (4), Taylor Morrell (4) and Maddie DiMaria (3).
The U.S. U-17 WNT will face Samoa, a team from Africa and China PR at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, taking place at four venues in Morocco from Oct. 17-Nov. 8. The African opponent will be the winner of Path 4 in the final round of African qualifying that features Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya. That team won’t be decided until July.
Japan won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2014 and has twice finished as runners-up. The USA’s best finishes were second in 2008, the inaugural year of the tournament, and third in 2025.
DiMaria, Whitham and midfielder Loradana Paletta were involved in last year’s U-17 cycle, making the trio the most experienced players on this roster, with DiMaria having 13 caps and seven goals while Paletta has earned 11 caps and scored five goals. Whitham has eight caps and seven goals, one of them scored at last year’s U-17 Women’s World Cup against Norway. DiMaria was also on the USA’s 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Team, and she scored in the 5-2 win over China PR in group play. Paletta was too young to play in last year’s World Cup but otherwise might have earned a roster spot.
The 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will feature six groups of four teams each, with the top two finishers in each group along with the four best third-place finishers advancing to the Round of 16. From there, it becomes a knockout competition.
These international matches are an important part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.