U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team head coach Mark Carr has named the 21 players who will represent the United States at the 2018 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup to be held in Uruguay from Nov. 13 - Dec. 1.

The USA kicks off a challenging Group C on Wed., Nov. 14 against Cameroon (1 p.m. ET), faces Korea DPR on Sat., Nov. 17 (1 p.m. ET) and wraps up the group stage against Germany on Wed., Nov. 21 (4 p.m. ET). All of the USA's matches will be broadcast on FS2.

Carr chose the final roster after the conclusion of the U.S. Soccer U-17 Women's Invitational in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., where the USA finished off its World Cup prep with matches against Colombia, Mexico and England. Since the start of the cycle in April 2016, the U-17s have tested themselves against 15 different National Teams over the course of 17 training camps/events and have compiled a 23-2-6 international record.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2001 are eligible for the World Cup. The U.S. roster is made up of 15 players born in 2001, five born in 2002 and one born in 2003.

Sixteen players participated in the 2017-18 inaugural season of the U.S. Soccer Girls' Development Academy, with seven picking up Academy Conference Best XI honors last year.

"In the international game, you've got to have different individual skill sets that will ultimately all put their talents into the team," Carr said. "On this roster, you've got high levels of soccer intelligence, you've got creativity, you've got pure athleticism, you've got technicians that can control the game and run the game. And as with any American team, it's full of spirit, competitiveness, desire to improve and it's ultimately designed to win at the highest levels."

2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown; U-17 Caps/Goals) 
GOALKEEPERS (3): Angelina Anderson (Mustang Soccer Club; Danville, Calif.; 14/0), Julia Dohle (New York City FC; Scarsdale, N.Y.; 5/0), Lindsey Romig (IMG Academy; Midlothian, Va.; 9/0) 
DEFENDERS (6): Michela Agresti (FC Stars; Swampscott, Mass.; 16/2), Talia DellaPeruta (Tophat; Cumming, Ga.; 24/1), Samar Guidry (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas; 4/0), Smith Hunter (Reign Academy; Seattle, Wash.; 15/0), Makenna Morris (Bethesda SC; Germantown, Md.; 18/3), Natalia Staude (Tophat; Atlanta, Ga.; 18/0) 
MIDFIELDERS (5): Hannah Bebar (Eclipse Select SC; Naperville, Ill.; 12/2), Maya Doms (Davis Legacy Soccer Club; Davis, Calif.; 26/11), Mia Fishel (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.; 26/5), Sophie Jones (San Jose Earthquakes; Menlo Park, Calif.; 16/1), Astrid Wheeler (Concorde Fire; Atlanta, Ga.; 20/2) 
FORWARDS (7): Trinity Byars (Solar Soccer Club; Richardson, Texas; 3/0), Jordan Canniff (Washington Spirit Academy - Maryland; California, Md.; 25/9), Isabella D'Aquila (So Cal Blues; Mission Viejo, Calif.; 14/9), Sunshine Fontes (Hawaii Rush; Wahiawa, Hawaii; 29/22), Payton Linnehan (FC Stars; Douglas, Mass.; 22/8), Samantha Meza (Solar Soccer Club; Dallas, Texas; 19/2); Trinity Rodman (So Cal Blues; Laguna Niguel, Calif.; 6/2)

Carr named seven players who were not part of the USA's Concacaf championship campaign that was split between April and June in Nicaragua and Bradenton, Fla.: forward Trinity Byars, forward Jordan Canniff, defender Samar Guidry, forward Trinity Rodman and goalkeeper Lindsey Roming. Forward Isabella D'Aquila was named to the initial qualifying roster, but was replaced before the tournament began due to injury.

With 22 career goals at this level, Sunshine Fontes enters the World Cup as the U-17 WNT's all-time leading scorer. The forward has scored 20 goals in 2018, including five multiple-goal games and four-goal performances against Venezuela and Argentina earlier this year. With 29 caps, Fontes stands as the U-17s' most-experienced player and the first player from Hawaii to make a youth World Cup roster.

Following a remarkable recovery from injury, forward Jordan Caniff returns for her second U-17 Women's World Cup after featuring at the 2016 tournament in Jordan. Canniff was a fixture for the U-17s at the start of the current cycle, but tore her ACL earlier this year. A focused and deliberate comeback effort led to her first U-17 appearance since last December when she played against Mexico on Oct. 12 and showed enough in the recent tournament to earn a spot on the final roster for her second U-17 Women's World Cup. She is the only holdover from the 2016 tournament.

"The final group is a symbol of everybody's work," Carr said. "It was a very difficult task, but I feel like we picked a really strong group that's balanced, that's got lots of different skill sets that will complement each other and help us compete to win a World Cup. The little individual pieces of the puzzle make an incredible picture that will come together and it's just going to be so exciting to see that play out.

"We feel we've prepared and we're in a good place. Ultimately the journey to this point, the improvements, the lessons learned, our time together and all our work have prepared us for this moment. We are excited as a group to go and compete on the world stage."

The 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup features 16 nations divided into four groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group advance to the knockout round quarterfinals. All 32 matches of the tournament will take place across three venues in Uruguay.

2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Group C Schedule - USA

Roster Notes

• This will be the first World Cup as U.S. head coach for Carr, who took over the program in April 2016. He has coached this player pool for almost four years, overseeing the Under-15 Girls' National Team cycle from 2014-15 before taking the reins of the U-17 WNT.
• Under his direction, the U-15 GNT took home the Concacaf title in 2016, its first participation in the tournament.
• Eight players on the World Cup roster helped the USA win the 2016 U-15 Girls' Concacaf Championship: Talia DellaPeruta, Mia Fishel, Sunshine Fontes, Payton Linnehan, Samantha Meza, Makenna Morris, Lindsey Romig and Natalia Staude.
• Of the 21 players on the roster, 12 are currently high school seniors, eight are in the middle of junior year and one, Trinity Byars, is a sophomore.
• Born in 2003, Byars is the lone player age-eligible for the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
• Midfielder Sophie Jones took home U.S. Soccer Development Academy West Conference Player of the Year honors at the U-16/17 level last season.
• Jones, alongside goalkeeper Julia Dohle and defenders Smith Hunter and Natalia Staude earned Academy Conference Best XI honors at the U-16/17 level last season.
• Forwards Trinity Byars and Samantha Meza, as well as midfielder Mia Fishel, earned Academy Conference Best XI honors playing up an age group at the U-18/19 level last season.
• Every player on the roster has been capped at the U-17 level, led by Fontes (29), Doms (26), Fishel (26) and Canniff (25).
• Behind Fontes' 22 international goals, Doms has netted 11 times for the U-17s, while Canniff and forward Isabella D'Aquila have both added nine goals. Fourteen of the roster's 18 field players have scored for the USA at this level.
• The 21 players on the roster come from 10 different states. Six hail from California, three each come from Georgia and Texas, while two each come from Massachusetts and Maryland. The roster also features players from Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Virginia and Washington.
• Seventeen youth clubs are represented on the roster. Four clubs have two players that will represent the USA in Uruguay: FC Stars (Lancaster, Mass.), Tophat (Atlanta, Ga.), So Cal Blues (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Solar Soccer Club (Dallas, Texas).
• Nineteen players are committed to play at 13 different colleges. Penn State (three), UCLA (three), Harvard (two) and Stanford (two) are the only schools with multiple commits on the roster.
• The USA lost three of its most experienced players to ACL injuries in the run up to this tournament, all veterans of the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The U.S. will be without team leaders and defenders Kate Wiesner (34 caps) and Kennedy Wesley (32 caps), as well as forward Lia Godfrey (12 caps). The USA also lost Croix Bethune, who had been a regular call-up during the cycle, to an ACL injury during World Cup qualifying.
• Uruguay, located in southeastern South America and roughly the size of Missouri, will host the tournament in three venues: one in the capital of Montevideo, one in Colonia del Sacramento, 115 miles west and one in Maldonado, 250 miles east. 

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13