USMNT

Giovanni Reyna scored on a 24-yard free kick to cap a rally from two goals down as the U-17 USMNT beat Canada 3-2 to open the Concacaf U-17 Championship on Thursday in Bradenton, Florida. 

Reyna, the son of former USMNT captain and current NYCFC director of operations Claudio Reyna, had a goal and an assist for the U.S. youth team as it began its quest to qualify for the U-17 World Cup to be played in Brazil later this year.

(Update April 19: Read U.S. Soccer's response at the bottom of our original story.)

The last time the USMNT played a meaningful match, it was that horrific loss to Trinidad and Tobago in October of 2017, keeping the Americans out of the 2018 World Cup. After the 2019 Gold Cup draw, the U.S. will be seeing the Soca Warriors once again in their next competitive match.

The U.S. was drawn against Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Guyana in Group D of the 2019 Gold Cup draw on Wednesday, setting the stage for Concacaf’s biennial championship.

The 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship, which doubles as qualification for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, is fast approaching. Over the course of 16 days in Bradenton, Florida, 20 teams will battle for the four World Cup spots, and Mexico will look to win its fourth straight title at this level.

El Tri defeated the U.S. in the last final back in 2017. That match featured the likes of Jairo Torres and Roberto de la Rosa for Mexico while the U.S. called on Josh Sargent and Tim Weah. 

Youth soccer in America is changing. Over the past few years, U.S. soccer has moved to profoundly address the exclusivity of high-level grass roots play. Talented footballers at the high school age can get offered to play for a program known as a Development Academy (DA). Both Major League Soccer and other youth clubs all over the U.S. have Development Academy teams, from the high school age all the way down to U-12. 

This is why they paid the man. After agreeing to a new four-year contract with Los Angeles FC back in January — one that’ll pay Walker Zimmerman more than the MLS max budget charge of $530,000 — the center back produced to goods for his side last night in a dramatic 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake at Banc of California Stadium.

Gregg Berhalter’s first match as USMNT coach with a full (well, almost full) complement of players during a FIFA international window on Thursday against Ecuador gave Americans their first true glimpses at how the new boss is shaking things up with the national team.

Christian Pulisic. Weston McKennie. Tyler Adams. The big Europe-based names are there. Well, except for a couple forwards. So why didn’t Gregg Berhalter call up other young stars like Tim Weah and Josh Sargent to the USMNT roster for the March 2019 friendlies?

Given the form of Jadon Sancho, Christian Pulisic had become something of a forgotten man at Borussia Dortmund while relegated to the role of impact sub over the last few months.