Preview: US v Dominican Republic in Concacaf U-17's

By Anonymous (not verified), February 18, 2023

PREVIEW: U-17 MYNT STARTS WORLD CUP QUALIFYING KNOCKOUT STAGE VS. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN ROUND OF 16 

U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team vs. Dominican Republic 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship - Round of 16

Estadio Pensativo; Antigua, Guatemala 

5 p.m. ET (Fox Soccer Plus, ViX+) USA KICKS OFF KNOCKOUT STAGE: After three strong performances in the group stage to finish atop Group F at the Concacaf U-17 Championship, the USA will begin the knockout stage of the competition vs. Dominican Republic on Saturday, Feb. 18 (5 p.m. ET; Fox Soccer Plus, ViX+). Los Quisqueyanos qualified directly to the knockout round by winning its group during a pre-qualifying tournament last summer. The winner advances to the decisive quarterfinal round, which will determine the four Concacaf representatives for the fall’s FIFA U-17 World Cup.

All tournament matches are being broadcast in English on Fox Sports platforms and on the Fox Sports app with corresponding authentication. All matches are available in Spanish on ViX+, TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service. Fans can sign up for a one-month subscription for just 99 cents.

Fans can follow all of the action from Guatemala on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Using a variety of different formats since its inception in 1985, the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship uses the same 20-team tournament format introduced for the 2019 edition and since used for all of Concacaf’s Youth World Cup qualifying championships. Sixteen countries are drawn into four groups of four, while four countries advance directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament: Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. 

The top three finishers in each group have qualified to the Round of 16, where they’re joined by the four teams from pre-qualifying. From there, it’s a knockout bracket to the tournament final. The four winners of the quarterfinal matches will qualify to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru.

After the Oceania Football Confederation, Concacaf is the second confederation to host its qualifying tournament for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

USA VS. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Saturday marks the USA’s second meeting all-time with the Dominican Republic at the Concacaf U-17 Championship. They last clashed at the 1997 tournament, a 3-0 win for the U.S. in Trinidad and Tobago. 
Appearing in their fourth Concacaf U-17 Championship and making back-to-back appearances for the first time since 1994-1996, the Dominican Republic has never qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The Caribbean nation earned its first-ever Youth World Cup berth last summer as one of four Concacaf nations to qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship.
Six of the Dominican Republic’s 20-player squad are based in the USA, while six are based abroad in Italy, Spain (two players each), the Netherlands and Sweden.

TOP OF GROUP F: The USA faced its toughest challenge yet at the Concacaf U-17 Championship against Canada in its final group stage match, but came away with a 1-0 victory. Squaring off for the top spot in Group F, the U.S. dominated in possession but Canada’s low block proved difficult to break down in the final third. The U-17s’ attack started to gain momentum after the break, and the breakthrough came in the 65th minute. Forward David Vazquez, active all night on the left wing, boomed a beautiful cross into the box for striker Keyrol Figueroa, whose glancing header proved to be the difference maker. FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS

*Advanced to Round of 16 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO THE ROUND OF 16: Dominican Republic qualified directly to the Round of 16 by winning pre-qualifying Group C last August/September in Santo Domingo. Los Quisqueyanos dominated the group, rattling off three straight wins and a +18 goal differential against Dominica, the Cayman Islands and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Forwards Bladimil Jackson and Juan Peralta led the way in scoring with four goals each, while the DR conceded just one goal, coming in its final match vs. Saint Kitts.

2023 CONCACAF U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; U-17 CAPS/GOALS; HOMETOWN)

GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; 2/0; Castle Pines, Colo.), 1-Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal; 2/0; San Diego, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): 15-Christian Diaz (LAFC; 7/0; San Bernardino, Calif.), 4-Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; 10/0; Miramar, Fla.), 13-Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 5/0; Zwingenberg, Germany), 5-Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; 9/0; Fox Island, Wash.), 3-Sawyer Jura (Portland Timbers; 6/0; Bend, Ore.), 2-Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; 10/0; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 20-Christopher Aquino (Seattle Sounders FC; 2/0; Pasco, Wash.), 16-Adrian Gill (FC Barcelona/ESP; 6/0; Denver, Colo.), 14-Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; 3/2; Columbus, Ohio), 10-Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; 11/5; San Francisco, Calif.), 6-Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/0; San Francisco, Calif.), 19-Paulo Rudisill (LA Galaxy; 10/2; Irvine, Calif.), 8-Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; 9/0; Coconut Creek, Fla.)

FORWARDS (5): 9-Micah Burton (Austin FC; 9/3; Mounds View, Minn.), 17-Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, U.K.; 6/3), 7-Brian Romero (Charlotte FC; 9/1; Concord, N.C.), 18-Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo FC; 11/3; Menifee, Calif.) 11-David Vasquez (Philadelphia Union; 6/0; Los Angeles, Calif.)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

All 20 players have logged minutes at the Concacaf U-17 Championship, as head coach Gonzalo Segares has heavily rotated the squad between games. Midfielder Cruz Medina leads the team with 186 minutes and was named to the group stage Best XI.
Five players have scored for the U.S. at CU17C: Medina (three goals), Keylor Figueroa, Taha Habroune (two goals), Micah Burton and Paulo Rudisill.
Eight players have logged an assist: David Vazquez (two assists), Figueroa, Adrian Gill, Habroune, Jura, Brian Romero, Rudisill and Ezekiel Soto.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ROSTER BY POSITION: GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Edwin Frias (Cibao), 12-Diego Peña (Hun School of Princeton/USA)

DEFENDERS (7): 5-Raffaele De Lucia (Pro Vercelli/ITA), 2-Abraham Mejia (Santa Fe), 14-Sebastian Mejia (Taft School/USA), 18-Marlon Mena (Parma/ITA), 4-Josue Nuñez (Ciabo), 13-Arturo Peña (Barca Academy), 3-Francisco Reyes (Volendam/NED)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 8-Lucas Breton (Cibao), 15-Gabriel Brugal (Atlantico), 6-Alvaro Cabrera (Fundacion Marcet), 10-Nicolas Cruz (CF Damm/ESP), 16-Pablo Pujols (FC Cinicinnati/USA), 19-Thomas Rourke (Queensboro FC/USA)

FORWARDS (5): 11-Rionaldo Guzman (Orebro SK/SWE), 9-Bladimil Jackson (Willison Northampton School/USA), 20-Ayden Kokoszca (Williston Northampton School/USA), 17-Juan David Peralta (Getafe/ESP), 7-Carlos Sarante (Atletico Los Villanos)

ROAD TO GUATEMALA: World Cup qualifying marks the eighth training camp for the U-17 MYNT since its cycle kicked off in November 2021. Since then, they’ve been challenged against top tier international opposition, including Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Uruguay.

In May, the U-17s topped the table at a UEFA Development Tournament in Castelo Branco, Portugal, topping Belgium, 3-0, and the host, 2-1, to clinch first place. Most recently, they played three international matches against U-18 opposition at the Vaclav Jezek Tournament in the Czech Republic, finishing with a 4-1 win against the host nation.