The U.S. U-17 team will attempt to reach the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Cup for just the second time in 18 years (appeared in seven out of eight tournaments held in that time), when they face off against the unbeaten Germany U-17 side in the round of 16 on Tuesday (3:30 am ET).
The baby Yanks’ only quarterfinals appearance since going back-to-back in the last-eight in 2001 and 2003 came in 2017, when a team led by future senior regulars Timothy Weah, Josh Sargent, and Sergiño Dest made a deep run until they were eliminated by England, who went on to win the tournament. This time around, Gonzalo Segares’ squad is headlined by Liverpool youngster Keylor Figueroa (son of former Honduras international Meynor), Charlotte forward Nimfasha Berchimas (three goals thus far) and San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Cruz Medina.
The U.S. U-17 team has been to the World Cup semifinals just once, when Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Kyle Beckerman were the up-and-coming stars all the way back in 1999. In contrast, Germany has appeared at this stage of the tournament three times before this year’s competition.
Germany won all three group games against Mexico, New Zealand, and Venezuela before being held scoreless by Brazil in their final match and finishing as runners up behind hosts Peru. The USA finished second place in Group E with wins against South Korea and Burkina Faso but lost heavily to France 3-0 in their final match.
To watch or stream USA vs Germany – U-17 World Cup round of 16 (en Español), tune into NBC Universo at 3:30 am ET on Tuesday (Nov. 21).