USA U-17’s Women’s World Cup Review

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This group of young players are a fascinating bunch. For the first time ever this squad consisted of 5 young women who are already have professional soccer experience. Four NWSL players and one USL Super League player. The San Diego Wave (two), Angel City FC, Seattle Reign, North Carolina Courage, and the Carolina Ascent were all represented. 4 Young women who are already playing collegiately for Division 1 programs, Duke (currently ranked 1st), University of North Carolina (currently ranked 8th), Penn State (currently ranked 22nd), and Alabama (unranked), all had players on this roster. And 14 players from youth clubs spread across the country, Solar (2), Legends (2), San Diego Surf (2), Bay Area Surf, FC Dallas, Tudela, Michigan Hawks, Crossfire Premier, and the Virginia Development academy should all be very proud of their representation at this tournament as well. Your development processes play a key role into these players success. The future is very bright for Women's Soccer in the USA and everyone plays a role. From Technical Directors, coaches, teammates, opposition, referees, trainers and the rest of the soccer ecosystem. It's a collective effort and although only 23 young women make the squad everyone deserves credit. For every 1 player that gets the opportunity to represent their country their are thousands that are pushing every day to one day have that same opportunity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our girls played their hearts out in the Dominican Republic and came away with a bronze medal. Surprisingly given our dominance on the senior level, an American team has never won the U-17 Women's World Cup. Unfortunately that wait continues. But there is reason for much optimism. For the first time we have professional players in the fold. With the rise in Women's Soccer domestically and abroad the opportunity to pursue a professional career is now a viable option. It used to be that a college scholarship was the most lucrative path for a young aspiring female soccer player in the USA. That is beginning to change. Higher salaries across women's soccer, talented players and their decision makers are looking at more lucrative offers from professional clubs. Some are taking them and as the American soccer world watches their development I believe this will be much more common place moving forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mel Barcenas is one of those kids. She signed with the San Diego Wave and in her case, it seems to be the correct decision. She is a star in the making. She reminds me of Marta her close control is phenomenal. She never turns down a 1 on 1 and believes she can dribble past anyone. She seems to be able to touch the ball an infinite amount of times in tight spaces. She had 3 goals and 1 assist in the tournament and she was the USA's most consistent threat offensively all tournament. She is very fun to watch and I highly recommend any young winger to study her game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kennedy Fuller is another one who elected to sign a professional contract with Angel City FC over attending the powerhouse University of North Carolina. She is an all action attacking midfielder, she plays a lot like USWNT captain Lindsey Horan. Fuller had a fantastic World Cup scoring 3 goals and dishing out 2 assists. Her performances earned her the Silver Ball which is voted on and given to the second best player in the tournament. The young pro has the world at her feet and it will be fascinating to see how her game develops moving forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not in college or a professional yet but she certainly plays like it, [player_tooltip player_id='33320' first='Jocelyn' last='Travers'] was rock solid for the USA all tournament. The Duke commit was one of 3 players who played every single minute of the tournament for the USA showing the coaches trust in her. The Left Back is a magician with the ball. Her game reminds me a lot of Trent Alexander-Arnold there's not a pass she can't make or a situation with the ball she can't handle. She's also an extremely good throw-in taker the USA always seemed to retain possession on her throws which is an extremely under rated skill. The top-rated player in California will have professional clubs clamoring for her services whenever she chooses to turn pro. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When healthy Micayla Johnson was an absolute problem for the opposition at this World Cup. It is my understanding she came into the tournament with some nagging injuries so her minutes were limited. But in the games that she did play she showed her class. She has speed to burn and the technique to go along with it. The Michigan Hawks product can use both feet so you never know which way she is going to go and scored a vital goal against Colombia in the group stage. As of right now she is committed to play at Florida State but I'm sure NWSL teams might have something to say about that in the coming months. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The U-17 Women's World Cup is now being held annually with the next 5 renditions being held in Morocco, Africa. It will be tough as North Korea and Spain have established themselves as the world powers. But the USA is not far behind and hopefully next year the USA can pull it off and go all the way. Some of these players will be eligible to take part while others will be looking to make the U-20 World Cup Roster which is being held in August of 2026 in Poland. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->