USA battles Colombia in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup group stage

After a 3-1 loss to reigning FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup champions Spain in a hard-fought contest on Oct. 16, the USA will look to bounce back against South American side Colombia on Saturday, October 19 in Santo Domingo (7 p.m. ET; Fox Soccer Plus, Universo & Telemundo Digital).

The loss to Spain was the first for this group of U-17s and the USA will need points to keep its quest going for the knockout rounds. With Colombia drawing its first match, 1-1, against Korea Republic, the USA currently sits at the bottom of the group, but still has all to play for with six points still available. The USA will finish the group stage against Korea Republic on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at CFC Stadium in Santiago de Los Caballeros (4 p.m. ET; FS2 & Telemundo Digital) in a match that will surely carry importance for advancement.

USA FALLS TO SPAIN IN OPENER: The USA fell in its first Group B match to two-time defending FIFA U-17 WWC champion Spain, 3-1, on Oct. 16. Spain got on the board early when a shot hit the post, then ricocheted off defender Jocelyn Travers for a match-opening own goal. The USA valiantly fought back following the bounce, applying pressure to the Spanish backline and it paid off in the 22nd minute when midfielder Kennedy Fuller battled for a rebound of forward Kimmi Ascanio’s shot on goal and managed to send a pass back toward midfielder Melanie Barcenas as the defense was crashing in on her. Barcenas then struck a blistering drive into the top of the net to equalize 1-1 for the USA. The Spanish attack managed to breakthrough the stout USA defending in the second half. Noa Ortega broke the tie in the 70th minute, then assisted on Alba Cerrato’s goal in the 83rd minute to cap off the Spanish win

SIXTEEN TEAMS, ONE CHAMPION: The 16 participating in this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup were drawn into four groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the Quarterfinals to be played on Saturday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 27, from which the winners will advance to the Semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 31. The Third-Place Match and World Cup Final will be held on Sunday, Nov. 3 in Santo Domingo. Matches are being held at just two stadiums: Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo and CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros. The stadiums are about 105 miles apart.

2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Group B – USA Schedule

Group B Results

Oct. 16
Spain 3, USA 1
Korea Republic 1, Colombia 1

Oct. 19
Spain vs. Korea Republic
USA vs. Colombia

Oct. 22
USA vs. Korea Republic
Spain vs. Colombia

Group B Standings

WATCH FIFA U-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ON FOX & UNIVERSO: USA’s two remaining group stage matches will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2. All of the tournament’s remaining matches will be carried on FS2 or Fox Soccer Plus and will be available online at FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports App with corresponding authentication. The USA’s two remaining group stage matches will be broadcast in Spanish on the Universo family of platforms. The second group stage match will be aired on Universo and the Telemundo digital platforms, while the third will be carried only on the Telemundo digital platforms.

2007s AND 2008s TAKE CENTER STAGE: U-17 WYNT head coach Katie Schoepfer has assembled a talented, versatile 21-player roster for the World Cup in the Dominican Republic. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2007, are age-eligible for this World Cup. Schoepfer chose 16 players born in 2007 and five born in 2008. Fifteen players were 17 years old at the start of the World Cup and six were 16.

2024 U.S. UNDER-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN; CAPS/GOALS):

Goalkeepers (3): Wicki Dunlap (North Carolina Courage Academy; Raleigh, N.C.; 2), Evan O’Steen (Solar SC; Grapevine, Texas; 2), Molly Vapensky (Carolina Ascent; Evanston, Ill.; 7),

Defenders (6): Trinity Armstrong (UNC; Frisco, Texas; 5/0), Kiara Gilmore (FC Dallas; Allen, Texas; 9/0), Jordyn Hardeman (Solar SC; Midlothian, Texas; 9/1), Daya King (Legends FC; Moreno Valley, Calif.; 8/0), Katie Scott (Penn State; Fairview, Penn.; 9/1), Jocelyn Travers (FC Bay Area Surf; Santa Cruz, Calif.; 8/1)

Midfielders (7): Scottie Antonucci (Legends FC; Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; 2/0), 10Ascanio (San Diego Wave; Doral, Fla.; 9/4), Melanie Barcenas (San Diego Wave; San Diego, Calif.; 15/3), Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC; Southlake, Texas; 9/9), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign; Bedford, Texas; 6/1), Jaiden Rodriguez (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.; 3/0), Y-Lan Nguyen (Virginia Development Academy; Fairfax, Va.; 5/1)

Forwards (5): Anna Babcock (Crossfire Premier SC; Sedro-Woolley, Wash.; 2/0), Micayla Johnson (Michigan Hawks, Troy, Mich.; 3/1), Mary Long (Duke; Mission Hills, Kan.; 3/2), Maddie Padelski (Alabama; Nolensville, Tenn.; 2/0), Leena Powell (Tudela FC; Culver City, Calif.; 8/1)

ROSTER NOTES:

• The USA’s four college players, defender Trinity Armstrong, defender Katie Scott and forwards Maddie Padelski and Mary Long, all entered college early. Amstrong started all 13 games for North Carolina before leaving for the World Cup and played 1065 minutes. Scott has battled some minor injuries early in her freshman season at Penn State and has played in six matches, earning two assists, while Padelski has started 11 of her 13 matches for the Crimson Tide and scored two goals with two assists. Long has played 215 minutes for Duke in nine games off the bench and has scored twice.
• With nine career goals at this level, in just eight caps, Fuller enters this World Cup as the USA’s leading scorer. She won the Golden Ball as the top player at the 2024 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship.
• At that tournament, the USA handily won its group, defeating Panama, 13-0, Puerto Rico, 3-1, and Canada, 5-0, before downing Haiti, 7-1, in the semifinal to earn its World Cup berth.
• In the championship game, the USA rolled past host Mexico 4-0, on goals from Maya Townes, Ascanio, Alex Pfeiffer and an own goal.
• Pfeiffer, who will miss the World Cup due to an ACL injury suffered with her NWSL club Kansas City Current, scored six times while Ascanio had four goals.
• U.S. head coach Katie Schoepfer named 14 players to the World Cup Team who were part of the USA’s Concacaf championship team and seven players who made late runs to earn a World Cup roster spot, including four players born in 2008 who have seen the majority of their recent WYNT action with the U.S. U-16s.
• The seven players on the World Cup roster who were not a part of the U.S. team at the 2024 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship are goalkeeper Evan O’Steen, midfielders Scottie Antonucci and Jaiden Rodriguez and forwards Padelski, Micayla Johnson, Long and Anna Babcock, who can also play in the defense.
• Johnson scored against Brazil in July and Long scored twice against Brazil in July.
• Padelski was an alternate during the pre-tournament training camp in Guatemala ahead of the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship.
• All 21 players on the roster have been capped at the U-17 level, led by Barcenas, who has 14 U-17 caps and was also a part of the 2022 cycle. Defenders Katie Scott and Jordyn Hardeman and Ascanio all have nine caps each.
• The roster features four professional players, goalkeeper Molly Vapensky, who is on the books of the Carolina Ascent in the USL Super League on an amateur contract, four players currently in college and 12 players from nine different youth clubs.
• The 5-foot-10 Vapensky played the lion’s share of the minutes in goal for the USA during the World Cup qualifying tournament.
• Six players hail from California and six come from Texas, meaning more than half the roster is from those two states.
• While there are current pros and college players on the World Cup Team, of the 21 players on the roster, 19 represent or represented ECNL clubs, one is from the Girls’ Academy and one is from the NPL.

PROS LEAD THE WAY: For the first time ever, a U.S. roster for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup features professional players, those being Angel City FC midfielder Kennedy Fuller, San Diego Wave FC midfielders Melanie Barcenas and Kimmi Ascanio and Seattle Reign midfielder Ainsley McCammon. Of the four, Fuller has seen the most NWSL minutes, playing 975 over 19 matches with one goal. Ascanio has played 145 minutes in six matches while Barcenas, who is in her second professional season, has played 446 minutes in 10 matches and scored her first career NWSL goal on Sept. 28 against the Portland Thorns. McCammon made her NWSL debut on Sept. 6 vs. Angel City FC, playing the very end of the match, and earned her first start in her final match before joining the U-17s, playing 63 minutes.

CONCACAF CHAMPS IN THE DR: The USA qualified for the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup at the 2024 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship in Mexico. The USA handily won its group, defeating Panama, 13-0, Puerto Rico, 3-1, and Canada, 5-0, before downing Haiti, 7-1, in the semifinal to earn its berth. In the championship game, the USA rolled past host Mexico 4-0, on goals from Maya Townes, Kimmi Ascanio, Alex Pfeiffer and an own goal. Midfielder Kennedy Fuller led the USA with eight goals, including five in the opening game against Panama, and won the Golden Ball as the top player in the tournament. Pfeiffer, who will miss the World Cup due to an ACL injury suffered with her NWSL club Kansas City Current, scored six times while Townes scored five times and Ascanio had four.

U-17 WYNT VS. COLOMBIA

• The USA has never faced Colombia in a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup even though Colombia and the USA will be playing in their sixth U-17 WWC.
• Colombia’s second-place finish in the 2022 U-17 WWC was its best finish in this tournament.
• Colombia finished second in the 2024 South American U-17 Women’s Championship held in Paraguay.
• At the 2024 South American U-17 Women’s Championship, Colombia lost just one time in seven matches, notching a 4W-1L-2D record over two stages of the tournament.
• Nikol Rojas led the team with three goals while Isabella Díaz, Maithé López and Mariana Silva each scored two.
• Independiente Santa Fe, the club with the most women’s titles in Colombia, is the most represented club on this roster with four players: Isabella Díaz, Mariana Silva, Sophia Posada, and Nikol Rojas.
• Colombia head coach Carlos Paniagua is also in charge of Colombia’s U-20 Youth Women’s National Team. At the FIFA U-20 WWC, Paniagua led his team to a top-of-the-group finish before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

2024 COLOMBIA FIFA U-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Luisa Agudelo (Deportivo Cali), 12-Mariana Tejada (Atlético Dos Quebradas), 21-Saray Marín (América de Cali)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Ana Ruíz (Cortuluà), 3-Sofía Ortiz (Atlas), 4-Zarhay González (Atlas), 5-Sofía Henao, 6-Isabel Weiner, 13-Nicoll Cárdenas (Sport Colombia), 14-Laura Acevedo (Atlas), 16-Samantha Rodríguez (Real Santander)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Isabella Díaz (Independiente Santa Fe), 8-Michel Cuéllar (Real Santander), 10-Mariana Silva (Independiente Santa Fe), 11-Ella Martínez (Tampa Bay Sun), 15-Sophia Posada (Independiente Santa Fe), 18-Lena Tusche (PDA North New Jersey), 20-Reina Torres (Millonarios)
FORWARDS (3): 9-Maithe López (Real Santander), 17-Nikol Rojas (Independiente Santa Fe), 19-Eliesther Santos (Formas Íntimas)