Preview: U-17 MNT Kicks Off Qualifying for 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup
U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team kicks off World Cup quest at 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will kick off its World Cup quest at the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, Feb. 5 vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines (6 p.m. ET; FS2). The game will serve as the USA’s first step toward booking a ticket to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, which will feature 48 teams and will be staged this coming November. Eight group winners from across Concacaf will qualify for the tournament and the U.S. is aiming for a record 20th appearance on the world stage.
The U-17 MNT continues group play on Saturday, Feb. 7 against St. Kitts and Nevis (7 p.m. ET; FS2) and finishes the qualifying competition on Tuesday, Feb. 10 vs. Dominican Republic. (1 p.m. ET; FS2).
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2009 are age-eligible for the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers and all but one of the 21 players selected were born in 2009. LA Galaxy midfielder Vicente Garcia was born in 2010.
All tournament matches will be broadcast in English on FS2 and on the Fox Sports app with corresponding authentication. Fans can follow all the action from St. Vincent on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
2026 CONCACAF U-17 QUALIFIERS
USA – GROUP F SCHEDULE
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | Broadcast |
| Thursday, Feb. 5 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 6 p.m. | FS2 |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 7 p.m. | FS2 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 10 | Dominican Republic | 1 p.m. | FS2 |
All matches played at Arnos Vale Stadium in Kinstown, St. Vincent.
2026 CONCACAF U-17 QUALIFIERS
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Mexico | Panama | Haiti | Costa Rica |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Nicaragua | Guatemala | Puerto Rico |
| Barbados | Guadeloupe | Antigua and Barbuda | British Virgin Islands |
| Saint Martin | Anguilla | Grenada | Turks and Caicos |
| Sint Maarten | Dominica |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
| USA | El Salvador | Canada | Honduras |
| Dominican Republic | Curaçao | Jamaica | Bermuda |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | Cuba | Aruba | Guyana |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Belize | Cayman Islands | Suriname |
GOALKEEPERS (3): Keller Abbott (Columbus Crew; New Albany, Ohio), James Donaldson (Atlanta United FC; Woodstock, Ga.), Matthew White (Philadelphia Union; Atherton, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Daniel Barrett (Houston Dynamo FC; Pearland, Texas), Edward Chadwick (Unattached; Los Angeles, Calif.), Tyson Espy (Orange County SC; Dana Point, Calif.), Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew; Des Moines, Iowa), Astin Mbaye (AC Milan; Jersey City, N.J.), Liam Vejrostek (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Vicente Emanuel Garcia (LA Galaxy; West Covina, Calif.), Peter Molinari (New York City FC; Bayside, N.Y.), Roko Pehar (Chicago Fire FC; Glenview, Ill.), Paul Sokoloff (New York Red Bulls; Brooklyn, N.Y), Kaedren Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Landry Walker (San Antonio FC; San Antonio, Texas)
FORWARDS (6): Mattheo Dimareli (Houston Dynamo FC; Pearland, Texas), Myles Gardner (Houston Dynamo FC; Houston, Texas), Malik Jakupovic (Philadelphia Union; Sterling Heights, Mich.), Aaron Medina (LA Galaxy; Long Beach, Calif.), William Ostrander (PSV Eindhoven; Mill Valley, Calif.) Maximus Steelman (LA Galaxy; Carlsbad, Calif.)
ROSTER NOTES:
UPCOMING WORLD CUPS
Both the FIFA U-17 World Cup and U-17 Women’s World Cup are now annual events. The men’s tournament has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams, while the women’s competition rose from 16 to 24 squads. This year is the second of a five-year period that will see Qatar host the men’s tournament and Morocco host the women’s tournament through 2029.
With the expansion of the field, each confederation has been allocated more berths in the competition. Concacaf (covering North America, Central America and the Caribbean) goes from four to eight entries, Africa from four to 10, Asia from four to eight, Europe from five to 11, South America from four to seven and Oceania from two to three.
In the 2025 edition, the U-17 MNT topped Group I, going undefeated in group play while only allowing one goal. The group advanced to the Round of 32 before falling to Morocco, 4-3 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
SPRINGBOARD TO SENIOR USMNT
The U-17 MNT has long been an important step in development towards the senior USMNT. Of the 26 players who represented the USA at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 10 also played for the U.S. at U-17 World Cup qualifying: defenders Shaq Moore and Joe Scally, midfielders Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, forward Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah and Haji Wright.
Previously, the U-17 MNT has served as a launching pad for U.S. Soccer legends like Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, who first exploded onto the international stage at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Cup as the USA finished fourth.
CONCACAF U-17 HISTORY
This year marks the 21st Concacaf tournament for the U-16/U-17 age group. The competition began in 1983 as the Concacaf U-16 Championship, qualifying two teams to the FIFA U-17 World Cup from 1985-2005 and at least four teams from 2007 to now. The U.S. has participated in 20 of 21 tournaments, including each competition since 1985. By winning the 1983 Concacaf U-16 Championship, the USA had already qualified for the 1985 U-16 World Championship.
The USA has a history of success at this tournament, qualifying for a record 18 FIFA U-17 World Cups, tied with Brazil for the most all-time. Ten Concacaf nations have qualified for the U-17 World Cup. Behind the USA’s 18 appearances are Mexico (15), Costa Rica (10), Canada (eight), Honduras (five), Panama (three), Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago (two each).
ROAD TO QATAR
This one-year U-17 MNT cycle kicked off in September 2025 just miles from the soon-to-be opened Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Ga. The group has played three matches together in the current cycle including matchups against England, Australia and the Ivory Coast in Dubai, UAE. The series of friendlies started off with a 5-2 defeat to England, before the U.S. turned it around in a 1-0 victory over Australia. The team finished the series of friendlies, falling to the Ivory Coast by a 4-2 scoreline.
Daniel Barrett and Liam Vejrostek have been called up for every U-17 camp in the current cycle.
QATAR TO QUALIFY
The 2026 edition of the tournament is the second of the annual cycle adopted by FIFA for the U-17 World Cup as well as the second to be played in a 48-team format, which was previously held with 24 teams. Qatar is in the second year of a five-year run as hosts of the U-17 World Cup, after FIFA granted the nation hosting rights from 2025-2029. Portugal are the current defending champions, after winning their first U-17 World Cup title in 2025.
USA VS. ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
USA VS. ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
USA VS. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
TOURNAMENT NOTES