All but one of the players selected are currently in in U.S. Soccer's Under-17 Residency Program based in Bradenton, Fla. Defender Tommy Meyer, who was formerly in Residency for two semesters, is the only player selected not currently with the U-17s on a full-time basis in Bradenton. The squad consists of 15 '90s and five '91s, including FC Dallas draft pick Abdus Ibrahim. Forwards Alex Nimo and Billy Schuler had just entered residency in January.
The USA, the only country to qualify for all 11 previous FIFA U-17 World Cups, has a bye during the opening day of the tournament on Friday and will open up against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday. It will then face Canada on May 2, Jamaica on May 4 and finish against Costa Rica on May 6.
The top three teams will advance to the 2007 U-17 World Cup, which will take place Aug. 18-Sept. 9 in South Korea. Those three teams will join Haiti and Honduras, which qualified from Group A earlier this month, to make up the five CONCACAF berths. Mexico, which won the 2005 U-17 World Cup, finished third in Group A with three straight draws and did not qualify for this summer's World Cup.
U.S. U-17 ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS: Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wis.), Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.).
DEFENDERS: Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Tommy Meyer (St. Louis, Mo.), Howard Turk (Fairfax, Va.), Sheanon Williams (Boston, Mass.), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.);
MIDFIELDERS: Alex Dixon (Humble, Texas), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga.), Greg Garza (Grapevine, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas, Texas), Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.), Nick Millington (Raleigh, N.C.), Jesse Paredes (Los Angeles, Calif.), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.);
FORWARDS: Abdusalam Ibrahim (Richfield, Minn.), Ellis McLoughlin (Seattle, Wash.), Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.), Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.).
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