U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team secures spot in 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – Bolstered by a 41st minute goal from Malik Jakupovic, the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team bravely played the final 12 minutes down a man but saw out a 1-1 draw against Dominican Republic to finish top in Group E of the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers and book a record 20th appearance at the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar this fall.
Due to its superior goal difference in the group over the first two match days, the USA headed into the clash with the Dominican Republic needing just a tie to qualify for the World Cup, and a tie they got, but it was far from easy.
The U-17 MNT worked hard early on to find footing in the game, facing multiple counters from the Dominican Republic, who created numerous threatening attacks. Able to withstand the spells of pressure, the U.S. remained composed and maintained control of the game with 66 percent possession during the first half.
The sustained patience ultimately led to a breakthrough in the form of a goal from Jakupovic. After a strong passage of play through the middle, the ball found forward Will Ostrander on the wing who went one-on-one with his defender, before lifting a floated cross into the middle of the box, finding Jakupovic who nodded the header into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 41st minute.
Despite dominant first-half possession, the U.S. lead was short-lived as Dominican Republic’s Adiran Garcia equalized in the 44th minute. The forward was persistent beating multiple U.S. players on a solo run before maneuvering between defenders to create room for a shot. He then beat U.S. goalkeeper James Donaldson with a shot into the lower, right corner. The Dominican Republic had a 3-2 advantage of shots on target during the first half, despite being outshot 9-8.
After capitalizing on their late equalizer, the second half opened with the Dominican Republic on the front foot. Following an onslaught of pressure from the Dominican side, defender Astin Mbaye picked up a yellow card in the 62nd minute stopping a potential goal-scoring opportunity with a professional foul. The Dominican Republic was unrelenting, continuing their intense pressure on the backline, eventually leading to Mbaye committing another foul, resulting in a second yellow card and ejection from the match in the 78th minute.
Despite being a man down for the remainder of the match and added time, the U-17 MNT showed resilience to defend numerous crosses into the penalty box and held on to the secure the 1-1 draw, helping to earn a spot at the 2026 U-17 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
-U.S. UNDER-17 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-
Match: United States Under-17 Men’s National Team vs. St. Kitts and Nevis
Date: Feb. 7, 2026
Competition: 2026 Concacaf Under-17 Qualifiers – Group F
Venue: Arnos Vale Stadium; Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Attendance: 250
Kickoff: 8 p.m. local (7 p.m. ET)
Weather: 78 degrees, clear
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DOM | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| USA – Malik Jakupovic (Will Ostrander) | 41st minute |
| DOM – Adrian Garcia | 44 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-James Donaldson; 2-Eddie Chadwick, 3-Prince Forfor, 5-Liam Vejrostek, 7-Myles Gardner (20-Max Steelman, 46), 8-Kaedren Spivey (4-Tyson Espy, 80), 9-Malik Jakupovic, 10-Vicente Garcia (18-Paul Sokoloff, 61, 6-Landry Walker, 90+1), 11-Will Ostrander (17-Mattheo Dimareli, 61), 14-Astin Mbaye, 15-Peter Molinari
Substitutes not used: 12-Matthew White, 21-Keller Abbott, 13-Daniel Barrett, 16-Roko Pehar, 19-Aaron Medina
Head Coach: Alex Aldaz
DOM: 1-Aidan Betances, 2-Daniel Fernandez, 3-Gabriel Florentino (18-Jarol Ramos, 89), 4-Alejandro Lopez, 6-Jorge Valenzuela (20-Junior Arias 74), 8-Miguel Muñoz, 9-Jose Mejia, 10-Adrian Garcia (Capt.), 11-Luis Almonte (19-Justin Gomez, 74), 16-Marc Garcia (13-Marcos Castillo, 89), 17-Kamil Castillo (7-Hugo Gonzalez, 61)
Substitutes not used: 12-David Rosario, 21-Ian Herrera, 5-Cesar Mena, 14-Chaiel Gonzalez, 15-Byron Matias
Head coach: Edward Acevedo
Stats Summary: USA / DOM
Shots: 11 / 20
Shots on Goal: 3 / 6
Saves: 5 / 2
Corner Kicks: 4 / 7
Fouls: 10 / 6
Offsides: 0 / 1
| Misconduct Summary | |
| USA – Myles Gardner (Caution) | 16th minute |
| USA – Astin Mbaye (Caution) | 62 |
| DOM – Edward Acevedo (Caution) | 63 |
| USA – Astin Mbaye (Caution) | 78 |
| USA – Astin Mbaye (Ejection) | 78 |
Officials:
Referee: Jonathan Leiton (CRC)
Assistant Referee 1: Brandon Cyrus (GUY)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Browne (CRC)
Fourth Official: Diego Ojer (CRC)
