While the U.S. under-17 team came up short in winning the Concacaf Championship in Guatemala last weekend, it achieved its most important goal in qualifying for the U-17 World Cup this November in Peru. Most importantly, coach Gonzalo Segares identified important players who should help this team moving forward, future youth teams as this group matures, and possibly the full national team in the future.
During its run to the final where it was eventually stopped by Mexico, the U.S. team’s top player was Liverpool academy’s Keyrol Figueroa, who finished the tournament with seven goals, one behind Mexico’s Stephano Carrillo in the Golden Boot race. Figueroa’s best moments came when scoring important goals in the 1-0 win over Canada in the group stage, two goals against Guatemala in the definitive 5-3 win over Guatemala that clinched World Cup qualification, and then another goal in the 2-0 win over Canada in the semifinals.