Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gianluca Busio has been selected to the United States U-17 Men’s National Team for the 4 Nations Tournament in Assen, Netherlands, which will take place Sept. 5-9.
U.S. U-17 head coach Raphael Wicky has assembled a 23-man squad for tournament matches against archrivals Mexico, hosts Netherlands and Denmark. The competition will serve as the team’s final international action before the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, slated for Oct. 26 – Nov. 17 in Brazil.
Busio, who has scored seven goals in 13 total appearances for the U.S. U-17s, is one of 14 players on the roster who helped the Americans to a second-place finish at the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship in May. A midfielder for Sporting, Busio is listed as a forward on the U-17 squad.
USA Schedule: 4 Nations Tournament
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Match-Up</strong> |
<strong>Kickoff (CT)</strong> |
<strong>Venue</strong> |
<div>Sept. 5, 2019</div> |
<div>U-17 MNT vs. Mexico</div> |
<div>11:30 a.m.</div> |
<div>Sportpark Marsdijk; Assen, Netherlands</div> |
<div>Sept. 7, 2019</div> |
<div>U-17 MNT vs. Netherlands</div> |
<div>8 a.m.</div> |
<div>Sportpark Marsdijk; Assen, Netherlands</div> |
<div>Sept. 9, 2019</div> |
<div>U-17 MNT vs. Denmark</div> |
<div>11:30 a.m.</div> |
<div>Sportpark Marsdijk; Assen, Netherlands</div> |
Following the tournament in the Netherlands, the U.S. will look ahead to the kickoff of Group D play at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, where it will play Senegal on Oct. 27, Japan on Oct. 30 and Netherlands on Nov. 2.
Busio, who turned 17 on May 28, earned Concacaf U-17 Championship Best XI honors this spring after erupting for five goals and three assists in six tournament appearances. He previously starred for the United States at the U-15 level from 2015-2017 before jumping to the U-17 age group in 2018.
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Busio has appeared in 21 competitive matches for Sporting this season as an important midfield contributor. The Sporting KC Academy product most notably scored in three straight league games from March 30 to April 14, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to score a goal in consecutive matches. He also started in the MLS Homegrown Game on July 30, propelling the Homegrowns to a penalty shootout victory over the Chivas de Guadalajara U-20s.
U.S. U-17 MNT Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aaron Cervantes (Orange County Soccer Club; Chino Hills, Calif.; 3/0), Damian Las (Unattached; Norridge, Ill.; 18/0), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; London, England; 6/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 0/0), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.; 16/0), George Bello (Atlanta United; Douglasville, Ga.; 6/1), Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 0/0), Mauricio Cuevas (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 5/0), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.; 15/0), Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 20/2), Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich City/ENG; Plano, Texas; 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Maximilian Dietz (Freiburg/GER; Frankfurt, Germany; 0/0), Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.; 0/0), Gilbert Fuentes (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.; 19/0), Bryang Kayo (D.C. United; Poolesville, Md.; 5/1), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.; 23/2)
FORWARDS (7): Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.; 13/7), Andres Jasson (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.; 8/0), Noah Jones (RB Leipzig/GER; Berlin, Germany; 0/0), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Kent, Wash.; 21/9), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas; 12/4), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Bedford, N.Y.; 14/7), Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.; 12/7)
