On November 1st the United States U17 Men’s National Team embarked on an 11-day journey to England to face a trio of elite squads in preparation to February’s CONCACAF U17 Championships.

Only two of those three games were played, a 2-2 tie with Manchester City and a 2-1 loss to Scotland, as the third game against Blackburn was canceled due to unplayable weather.

Regardless of the results, U.S. U17 Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera was content with the admirable way his team performed against tough foes.

“I was happy, but obviously we wanted to win. In the first game, Manchester City used its squad with U18 and U17s,” he said. “It was a very strong team but it was good because it forced us to play with a high intensity.”

Scotland has been one of the toughest teams that the U.S. had faced this year. Already qualified for the U17 European championships, they had loads of experience playing as a cohesive unit.  Despite the disadvantage, the U.S. held its own and as Cabrera noted, an upset wasn’t far from reach.

“It was a game that anybody could have won. I was really pleased with the level of competition in our team,” he said. “However we still have to improve both individually and collectively. We need to start playing to improve and improving to win.”

Even though there are still several aspects that the U.S. needs to work on, Cabrera couldn’t focus enough on concentration. His view is that the disparity of concentration that exists between American and European players resulted in the recent tie and loss to Man City and Scotland.

“The level of concentration is lower here than in Europe because over there they play everyday. Here it’s different,” Cabrera said. “In Europe they know one game can cost so much and can change their lives. We need to recreate that experience over here, and it’s good that the team had a taste of that experience.”

Dillon Serna, Andrew Oliver, and Mario Rodriguez all scored during the European tour but also gained the knowledge of what kind of defenders they will be up against in the CONCACAF U17 Championships.

“Mario is starting to realize how tough defenders are in the international level,” Cabrera said. “Daniel Flores got a feel for how to score on defenders that play closer and don’t allow him the normal things that he is allowed to do back home.”

With the knowledge and experience the U.S. now has in its back pocket, up next is a series of games against Brazil, Korea Republic, and Turkey in the Nike International Friendlies lasting from December 1-7 in Arizona.

This will be a fantastic opportunity for the team to experience that exact scenario that Cabrera pointed out. To feel that pressure that international players feel of having every game count and be significant, is vital to the group’s development. Theses four teams will enter a six game round robin tournament from which a champion will be crowned.

“It’s like we are going to be playing multiple finals, where the team knows we have to get results to win,” Cabrera said. “You cannot lose concentration because the other team is as good as you are and they will punish you. There is no next game in this competition. It’s for points. It’s for your country.”

Cabrera is starting to prepare his 20-man roster that will head to Phoenix the 1st of December, but he wasn’t willing to release any names and will hold off until the last day.

“We wait until the last day so we can make the best team. The players that went to England were the top players at that moment,” he explained. “If there is someone that raises the level of the team or another that will drops the level, then we will change the roster.”

Being that this is probably one of the last opportunities for players to show their talent before the CONCACAF Championships, expect at least a small shake up in the roster.

As he expressed several times, Cabrera can never be completely satisfied with his team. Whether a victory, a draw, or a loss, there is always room for improvement and games against the likes of Man City and Scotland just strengthens his convictions.

“In the end these are the types of games we are looking for,” he said. “We don’t want to play against some team, beat them 5-0, and then think that we have nothing to improve on. Because we do.”


U.S. U-17 MNT Roster by Position (for UK trip, courtesy US Soccer)

GOALKEEPERS (2): Kendall McIntosh (Mustang Academy; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Fernando Pina (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas),
DEFENDERS (6): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; Plano, Texas), Mobi Fehr (Tokyo Verdy 1969; Tokyo, Japan), Alessandro Mion (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.), Nathan Smith (Cal Odyssey; Clovis, Calif.), Andrew Souders (Crew Soccer Academy; Amherst, Ohio), Danny Zaid (Camp Elite Guatemala; Guatemala City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Joseph Amon (South Carolina United FC; Summerville, S.C.), Alejandro Guido (Aztecs Premier; Chula Vista, Calif.), Nicholas Melo (Florida Rush; Kissimmee, Fla.), Marc Pelosi (De Anza Force; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Esteban Rodriguez (Cosmos Academy West; Palmdale, Calif.), Tarik Salkicic (Strictly Soccer; Pinellas Park, Fla.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.)
FORWARDS (5): Daniel Flores (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Alex Muyl (Cosmos Academy East; New York, N.Y.), Andrew Oliver (Westside United; Indianapolis, Ind.), Mario Rodriguez (Central Aztecs; North Hollywood, Calif.), Cole Seiler (CESA; Anderson, S.C.)