USA Will Face Burkina Faso, Tajikistan and Czechia in Record 19th U-17 World Cup Appearance; Fourteen Players Return from World Cup Qualifying Squad
HERRIMAN and ATLANTA (Oct. 16, 2025) – U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Gonzalo Segares has selected midfielder Luca Moisa and defender Gio Villa to the 21 player squad that will represent the United States at the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup that will take place in Qatar from November 3-27.
The USA kicks off Group I play on Wednesday, Nov. 5 against Burkina Faso (11:15 a.m. ET; Universo, Peacock), faces Tajikistan on Saturday, Nov. 8 (10:45 a.m. ET; Telemundo, Peacock) and closes the group stage against Czechia on Tuesday, Nov. 11 (10:45 a.m. ET; Universo Peacock). All group stage matches will be played at the Aspire Zone in Al Rayyan, Qatar. The matches will also air in English via FOX Sports platforms, with specific channels to be confirmed at a later date.
“We’re excited to bring together this group of young men that have worked so hard to get to this point,” Segares said. “Representing our country at the World Cup is an honor and a privilege and will be an experience they will never forget. We are very thankful to all the clubs who worked with us to allow the players this important opportunity. I know for them this is a dream come true and we head to Qatar with the goal of making our country proud and to compete for our flag.”
The Real Monarchs duo will depart for the Starts-and-Stripes following this weekend’s historic MLS NEXT Pro Playoff debut as the Claret-and-Cobat host Minnesota United FC 2 on Sunday, Oct. 19, at Zions Bank Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 and the first 500 fans attending will receive free food and merchandise. Tickets will be available at the door and available now via SeatGeek.
The U.S. will participate in a FIFA-record 19th U-17 World Cup and will look to build on its history of success in the competition, having advanced from the group stage on 10 occasions.
The USA qualified for the World Cup by finishing atop Group F in the 2025 Concacaf U-17 World Cup qualification process this past February in Costa Rica. Fourteen players, including Moisa and Villa, from the successful qualifying campaign return for the World Cup roster.
FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jack Kortkamp* (Sporting Kansas City; Olathe, Kan.), William
Lodmell (Sporting Lisbon/POR; Lisbon, Portugal), Aidan Stokes (New York Red Bulls;Totowa, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (6): Christopher Cupps* (Chicago Fire; Chicago, Ill.), Jordan Griffin*
(Philadelphia Union; West Chester, Pa.), Pedro Guimaraes* (Orange County SC; Aliso
Viejo, Calif.), Ramiz Hamouda* (Birmingham Legion; Lincoln, Neb.), Enrique Martinez*
(LA Galaxy; Compton, Calif.), Gio Villa* (Real Salt Lake; Chicago, Ill.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Maximo Carrizo* (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.), Luca
Moisa* (Real Salt Lake; Las Vegas, Nev.), Cooper Sanchez* (Atlanta United; Holly
Springs, Ga.), Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.), Jude Terry*
(LAFC; San Diego, Calif.), Mateo Tsakiris (LA Galaxy; Saratoga, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): Chase Adams* (Columbus Crew; Naperville, Ill.), Mathis Albert
(Borussia Dortmund/GER; El Segundo, Calif.), Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; High
Point, N.C.), Julian Hall (New York Red Bulls, New York, N.Y.), Jamir Johnson*
(Philadelphia Union; Huntsville, Ala.), Kellan LeBlanc* (Philadelphia Union; Royersford,
Pa.)
*Part of 2025 World Cup Qualifying roster
The U-17 MNT squad will begin pre-camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, Oct. 21, before transitioning to Qatar on Nov. 1.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2008, are age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Segares selected 19 players born in 2008 and two born in 2009. The youngest member of the USA’s 2023 U-17 World Cup roster, striker Nimfasha Berchimas returns for his second U-17 World Cup. The Charlotte FC forward was 15 when he led the U.S. with three goals during the 2023 edition in Indonesia.
The roster features players from 15 clubs, including 17 from 11 different Major League Soccer setups. Philadelphia Union leads the way with four selections, followed by two apiece from LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake. Atlanta United, Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, LAFC, New York City FC and Sporting Kansas City all had one player selected.
German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and Portuguese Superliga outfit Sporting Lisbon each send one player, while USL Championship clubs Birmingham Legion and Orange County SC are also represented.
Additionally, Micah Harris (Houston Dynamo), Logan Moniz (FC Boston Bolts) and Oliver Tan (Famalicao/POR) will join the team as training players during the pre-camp in Abu Dhabi.
ROAD TO QATAR
The USA qualified for a FIFA-record 19th U-17 World Cup during the Concacaf qualifying process held last February in Costa Rica. Segares’ side defeated U.S. Virgin Islands 22-0, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7-0, and Cuba 2-0 to take top spot in the group and claim one of Concacaf’s eight berths to the newly-expanded 48 team U-17 World Cup.
Fourteen players from the Concacaf qualifying roster return for the World Cup: goalkeeper Jack Kortkamp; defenders Christopher Cupps, Jordan Griffin, Pedro Guimaraes, Ramiz Hamouda, Enrique Martinez and Gio Villa; midfielders Maximo Carrizo, Luca Moisa, Cooper Sanchez and Jude Terry; and forwards Chase Adams, Jamir Johnson and Kellan LeBlanc.
SENIOR SQUAD LAUNCHPAD
A number of stars for the senior USMNT have launched their international careers at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the last few U-17 cycles have made a significant impact on the current squad. Ten players from the USA’s 2022 FIFA World Cup roster represented the U.S. at a U-17 World Cup: Kellyn Acosta (2011), 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, 38 players named to a U-17 World Cup roster have been capped by the senior USMNT, while 18 have been called to a senior World Cup. The competition has long been a launchpad for future USMNT stars. Landon Donovan won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player at New Zealand 1999 as he helped the U.S. finish fourth alongside DaMarcus Beasley and current U.S. Soccer Vice President of Sporting Oguchi Onyewu. Future 100-cap club members Claudio Reyna and Tim Howard represented the U.S. at Scotland 1989 and Ecuador 1995, respectively.
ABOUT THE FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP
The 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup is historic in two ways. It will be the first of five consecutive U-17 World Cups held in Qatar from 2025-2029. Secondly, it features an expanded 48-team field for the first time. Those 48 teams are divided into 12 groups, with the top two finishers in each group, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advancing to the Round of 32. From there, the tournament will feature a knockout bracket to the tournament final.
All group stage matches through the semifinals will be played at the Aspire Zone in Al Rayyan, Qatar. The 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup Final will be played at the 50,000-seat Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, the same stadium that hosted the USMNT’s Round of 16 match against the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
About the U.S. Way
The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments, including scaled Talent Identification, expanded Youth National Team programming and accelerated development and foundation building across the Extended National Teams; Shared and Scaled Infrastructure, highlighted by the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, U.S. Way digital platform and unified youth calendar; and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem, featuring formal courses, technical and administrative staff community building, leadership development, and best practice resource sharing. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.
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