Joseph Scally will represent NYCFC on the U.S. U-17 national team at the Concacaf Championship. (Photo courtesy of NYCFC)
Four players with ties to the metropolitan area Monday were called into the U.S. Under-17 men’s national team to play at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Included on the roster were players who have participated in youth academies — New York City FC defenders Tayvon Gray and Joseph Scally, Red Bulls defender John Tolkin and Giovanni Reyna, who once performed for the NYCFC academy, but now is unattached.
This year’s tournament brings a new format, as 20 nations participate in the competition. The four semifinalists will qualify for this fall’s 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.
The USA was drawn into Group F and kicks off its tournament against Canada on Thursday, May 2 at 6 p.m. ET. The U.S. then faces Barbados on Saturday, May 4 at 4 p.m. ET and finishes group play against Guatemala on Monday, May 6 at 6 p.m. ET.
All three of the USA’s group stage games will be broadcast on Univision Deportes Network and the Concacaf GO app, available on iTunes, Google Play and online.
“I’m very excited about the team we’ve put together for this World Cup qualifying tournament,” U.S. head coach Raphael Wicky said. “There’s a lot of very good quality in this group. We brought together a strong roster for the mini-camp earlier this month, and now we’ve added a few more pieces with a lot of good characteristics. The players have brought a great mentality and we’re excited and ready for a number of interesting games ahead.”
The roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Damian Las (Chicago Fire; Norridge, Ill.; 13/0), 12-Chituru Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN; Calgary, Alta.; 4/0)
DEFENDERS (7): 4-Axel Alejandre (FC United; Chicago, Ill.; 14/0), 3-Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.; 11/0), 13-Mauricio Cuevas (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 2/0), 14-Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.; 10/0), 5-Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 14/1), 2-Joseph Scally (New York City FC; Lake Grove, N.Y.; 14/1), 15-John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, N.J.; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 7-Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.; 7/2), 20-Gilbert Fuentes (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.; 13/0), 8-Bryang Kayo (D.C. United; Poolesville, Md.; 0/0), 6-Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders FC; Las Vegas, Nev.; 0/0), 16-Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.; 17/1)
FORWARDS (6): 18-Jack de Vries (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.; 0/0), 17-Tyler Freeman (Sporting Kansas City; Shawnee, Kan.; 3/1), 19-Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Tacoma Defiance; Kent, Wash.; 14/5), 9-Ricardo Pepi (North Texas SC; McKinney, Texas; 6/1), 10-Giovanni Reyna (Unattached; Bedford, N.Y.; 8/1), 11-Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.; 6/3)
