Category Archives: US U-17 MNT

U-17s finish fifth, beat Mexico at Mondial Minimes Cup

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As featured on US Futblog

Richie Williams and the US U-17 Men’s National Team journeyed to Montaigu, France for the 40th Mondial Minimes Cup recently and competed in four matches to earn 5th place and a win over CONCACAF neighbors Mexico.

Mondial Minimes is a 12-team tournament that features four groups of three teams each.  Here is how the groups were broken down:

Group A – France, Cameroon and Mexico

Group B – United Arab Emirates, Portugal, United States

Group C – England, Morocco, Japan

Group D – China, Ivory Coast, Russia.

US head coach, Richie Williams, led the team into a competitive match for the first time since taking over the job from Wilmer Cabrera in early January.

The US opened group play with a win against UAE 4-0, on goals from Ahinga Selemani-‘23, Tyler Turner-’50, Wesley Wade-’71 and Bradford Jamieson closed out the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The second game for the US saw the yanks lose to Portugal 1-0 which earned them second place in Group B.  Portugal will play Russia in the final and has always had a tradition of strong youth teams going back to the golden generation with the likes of Luis Figo and Rui Costa and typically field strong youth national teams.

As runners up, the US faced Japan who finished second in Group C for the chance to compete in the fifth place match while the other runners up, Mexico (Group A) and China (Group D), also competed for a spot in the fifth place match.  The group leaders played in a semifinal and final to determine the tournament winner on April 9th.

Against Japan, the US were even at the end of regulation with a goal from Bradford Jamieson who notched his second of the tournament and eventually advanced 4-3 on penalties.

The US defeated Mexico 1-0 on a goal from Wesley Wade to claim top spot of the second place bracket and fifth place overall in the 2012 Mondial Minimes Cup.

There are some great positives to take away from this tournament, namely that Richie Williams gets time in a competitive international tournament as head coach but also consistent performances against top nations in the world.  Finishing fifth in a tournament that included England, Portugal, France and Russia, with Japan the Ivory Coast and Mexico, while losing only one game, is a good tournament.  Granted, the US didn’t play all those squads, but the games they did play weren’t exactly easy.

Jurgen Klinsmann has preached at the senior level, that games against the top nations in the world, is how you determine progress and this is a top tournament in the world for youth national teams.  Another important aspect of these types of tournaments, is that a lot of scouting happens from top European clubs when some of the bigger nations come together in this manner.  It will be interesting to see who was there scouting and who will be the next young American signing in Europe as a result.

U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team Mondial Minimes Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Paul Christensen (Seattle Sounders Academy; Woodinville, Wash.), Evan Louro (New York Red Bulls Academy; South River, N.J.)

DEFENDERS (7): Adonis Amaya (Chivas USA Academy; Westminster, Calif.), Elijah Martin (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Shaquell Moore (Cobb FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Kevin Politz (New York Red Bulls Academy; Morganville, N.J.), Tommy Redding (FC America Premier; Oviedo, Fla.), John Requejo Jr. (Real So Cal; Carpinteria, Calif.), Tyler Turner (South Central Premier; West Haven, Conn.)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Corey Baird (San Diego Surf; Escondido, Calif.), Junior Flores (McLean Youth Soccer; Manassas Park, Va.), Angel Heredia (San Jose Earthquakes Academy; San Jose, Calif.), Cameron Lindley (Indiana United; Carmel, Ind.) Rubio Rubin (Westside Metros; Beaverton, Ore.)

FORWARDS (4): Bradford Jamieson (Chivas USA Academy; Los Angeles, Calif.), DeAndre Robinson (Concorde Fire; Atlanta, Ga.), Ahinga Selemani (CSA Wolves; Ann Arbor, Mich.), Wesley Wade (New York Red Bulls Academy; South Orange, N.J.)

U-17 MNT to Play Dynamo at New BBVA Stadium

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The US U-17 Men’s National Team will play the Houston Dynamo Academy team in what is seen as a soft opening for the new BBVA stadium in Houston, TX. The match will take place on May 10th at 7:30 p.m. and will be for an audience of season ticket holders, sponsors and select guests only.

“To have the chance to be a part of the stadium opening in Houston will be a unique experience for our players,” said U.S. Under-17 MNT head coach Richie Williams. “The atmosphere and excitement around the event will add a different element to the opportunity of playing against a good opponent, and we’re thrilled to be invited.”

Earlier this year the U-17 US Men’s Residency program roster was finalized for the Spring 2012 semester.  The 31 players selected will train on a full time basis at the residency program in Bradenton, FL. Currently the program is preparing for the 2013 U-17 CONCACAF Championship.

During the 2011 Nike International friendlies, held in December, several academy teams from across the country participated in training sessions directly led by US Soccer representatives while the U-17s competed in the annual friendly tournament against Turkey, Brazil and France.

Five players from these sessions, were chosen to train in Bradenton as a part of the residency program.

Additionally, there are 26 players representing 19 Development Academy clubs, with New York Red Bulls sending six players and Chivas USA and Concorde Fire providing two each. NC Alliance is the only other club to send two players.

The residency program is a full time training environment with part of the day dedicated to training and part of the day spent in the classroom at nearby St. Stephens Episcopal School.

Although many players who have participated in the residency program have ultimately went on to MLS or European clubs, the relevance of the program continues to be debated. Out of 300 players who have participated in the program, only 24 have registered at least one cap with the senior US Men’s National Team.

Not to say that the efforts of US soccer are in vain, rather, that if so many resources are being committed to a select group, it would stand to reason that it would make more sense to have multiple regional programs versus one main program.

Perhaps, a new model can work toward broadening the sample of players across the country and strengthening this pool of talent. Especially since the current approach to soccer development at the youth level has suffered several setbacks in recent times. This has directly translated to weak performances on the field most notably with the U-17s in the Aegean Cup and the recent flop in Olympic qualifying by the U-23s in Nashville.

 

The US U-17 Men’s National Team Residency Roster by position:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Paul Christensen (Seattle Sounders; Woodinville, Wash.), Aleks Gogic (New York Red Bulls; Fort Lee, N.J.), Marius Heislitz (Georgia United; Cumming, Ga.), Evan Louro (New York Red Bulls; South River, N.J.)

DEFENDERS (10): Adonis Amaya (Chivas USA; Westminster, Calif.), Conor Donovan (NC Alliance; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Caleb Duvernay (CASL Chelsea FC; Cary, N.C.), Elijah Martin (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Jorge Miranda (Real So Cal; Van Nuys, Calif.), Shaquell Moore (Cobb FC; Powder Springs Ga.), Kevin Politz (New York Red Bulls; Morganville, N.J.), Tommy Redding (FC America Premier; Oviedo, Fla.), John Requejo Jr. (Real So Cal; Carpinteria, Calif.), Tyler Turner (South Central Premier; West Haven, Conn.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Jorge Calix (D.C. United; Alexandria, Va.), Steven Echevarria (New York Red Bulls; Slate Hill, N.Y.), Junior Flores (McLean Youth Soccer; Manassas Park, Va.), Angel Heredia (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Guyllain Kabala (New England Revolution; Manchester, N.H.), Christopher Lema (New York Red Bulls; Ridgefield, N.J.), Cameron Lindley (Indiana United Fire Academy; Carmel, Ind.), Aaron Meyer (FC Dallas; Carrollton, Texas)

FORWARDS (9): Mukwelle Akale (Minnesota Thunder; Minneapolis, Minn.), Corey Baird (San Diego Surf; Escondido, Calif.), Bradford Jamieson (Chivas USA; Los Angeles, Calif.), DeAndre Robinson (Concorde Fire; Atlanta, Ga.), Rubio Rubin (Westside Metros; Beaverton, Ore.), Ahinga Selemani (CSA Wolves; Ann Arbor, Mich.), Lawrence Taiwo (NC Alliance; Raleigh, N.C.), Wesley Wade (New York Red Bulls; South Orange, N.J.), Dembakwi Yomba (Concorde Fire Academy; Lithonia, Ga.)

Richie Williams Appointed U-17 Head Coach

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US Soccer announced today that Richie Williams will be appointed head coach of the US U-17 Men’s National Team. This comes after the recent dismissal of Wilmer Cabrera who managed the head coaching duties for this position over the past five years.

Richie Williams has been involved with the US set up for a greater part of his professional career. A UVA graduate and MLS champion with DC United, Williams was capped 20 times for the senior side as a player. More recently, Williams was named by Klinsmann to be the head coach of the US U-18′s, which is the position he currently holds and is vacating for the U-17 job.

With qualifying in CONCACAF for the U-17 World Cup in 2013 quickly approaching this critical position was finally filled by Jurgen Klinsmann and US Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati.

“His experience as a player and coach at the highest levels will allow him to continue to provide a professional environment for the players in our U-17 Residency Program,” said Sunil Gulati.

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U-17s Crash Out of Aegean Cup

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The US U-17 Men’s National Team’s first foreign competition of the year ended with a 4-0 defeat to the Czech Republic Friday. This loss puts the US toward the bottom of the table in this two group competition and sees Wilmer Cabrera’s last tournament as head coach end in disappointment.

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