From U.S. Soccer

The U.S. U17 Men’s National Team will begin its campaign at the FIFA U17 World Cup against Spain on Monday in Kango, Nigeria.

For those junkies out there who will be intently following each match on ESPNU, U.S. soccer has provided a few tidbits that might interest you:

• The U.S. team departed the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and arrived in Kano, Nigeria, the night of Oct. 21.
• The U.S. and Spain played once already in 2009, with the Europeans taking a 2-1 win via a last second goal on Feb. 18 in Spain.
• Forward Jack McInerney scored one of his team-high nine goals this year in that game.

Spain is on an unbeaten seven match run at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. After losing the 2003 final 1-0 to Brazil and missing out on the 2005 edition, two years ago the Iberians notched four wins and three draws including the final, which they ultimately lost on penalties to Nigeria.

We’ve given you the skinny on the team’s goalkeepers, and kept you informed when Wilmer Cabrera finalized the roster; we’ll be sure to provide you with insights as the matches unfold.

Below we have both the U.S. U17 roster as well as Spain’s. Go red, white, and blue!

U.S. U17 Men’s National Team Roster by Position

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Keith Cardona (NY Red Bulls Academy; Glen Rock, N.J.), 1-Earl Edwards (Nomads SC; San Diego, Calif.), 12-Spencer Richey (Crossfire Premier; Seattle, Wash.)

DEFENDERS (6): 6-Zachary Herold (West Pines United FC, Port St. Lucie, Fla.), 4-Perry Kitchen (Chicago Magic; Indianapolis, Ind.), 20-Boyd Okwuonu (Celtic Green; Edmond, Okla.), 3-Tyler Polak (CSA Legacy; Lincoln, Neb.), 2-Jared Watts (North Meck SC; Statesville, N.C.), 15-Eriq Zavaleta (FC Pride; Westfield, Ind.)

MIDFIELDERS (6):  5-Marlon Duran (Latino Americana; Ducanville, Texas), 10-Luis Gil (Pateadores; Garden Grove, Calif.), 14-Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Jr.; San Pedro, Calif), 17-William Packwood (Birmingham City, Concord, Mass.), 11-Nick Palodichuk (Washington Premier; Battleground, Wash.), 8-Alex Shinsky (Super Nova FC; York, Pa.)

FORWARDS (6): 16-Juan Agudelo (NY Red Bulls Academy; Barnegat, N.J.), 19-Victor Chavez (Real So Cal; Fontana, Calif), 18-Andrew Craven (First Coast Kickers; St. Simons Island, Ga.), 7-Stefan Jerome (West Pines United FC; Davie, Fla.), 9-Jack McInerney (Cobb SC; Alpharetta, Ga.), 13-Dominick Sarle (BW Gottschee; Huntington, N.Y.)

Spain U17 Roster by Position

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Edgar (Espanyol), 13-Julen Celaya (Real Sociedad), 21-Yeray (Mallorca)

DEFENDERS (6): 2-Albert Blazquez (Espanyol), 3-Jon Aurtenetxe (Athletic Bilbao), 4-Sergi Gomez (Barcelona), 5-Marc Muniesa (Barcelona), 14-Jordi Amat (Espanyol), 20-Albert Dalmau (Barcelona)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 6-Koke (Atletico Madrid), 8-Eduardo Ramos (Malaga), 11-Adria Carmona (Barcelona), 15-Javier Espinosa (Barcelona), 16-Kamal (Real Madrid), 17-Pablo Sarabia (Real Madrid), 18-Sergi Roberto (Barcelona), 19-Kevin (Zaragoza)

FORWARDS (4): 7-Iker Muniain (Atletic Bilbao), 9-Borja (Atletico Madrid), 10-Isco (Valencia), 12-Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid)