Sporting Kansas City Academy forward Gianluca Busio and defender Mitch Eise were named to the United States U-17 Men’s National Team on Wednesday for the 2017 Men’s Nike International Friendlies in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, running from Nov. 29 – Dec. 3.
Busio and Eise join a 24-player roster assembled by U.S. U-17 head coach John Hackworth for the 2017 edition of the prestigious youth tournament. The USA will open the competition next Wednesday, Nov. 29 against England (6 p.m. CT) before facing Netherlands on Dec. 1 (6 p.m. CT) and Brazil on Dec. 3 (4 p.m. CT). All tournament games will take place at Premier Sports Campus and stream live on ussoccer.com.
2017 Men's Nike International Friendlies Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 29
Brazil vs. Netherlands, 2:30 p.m. CT
USA vs. England, 6 p.m. CT
Friday, Dec. 1
England vs. Brazil, 2:30 p.m. CT
USA vs. Netherlands, 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, Dec. 3
Netherlands vs. England, 12:30 p.m. CT
USA vs. Brazil, 4 p.m. CT
Busio, Eise and the rest of the new U-17 MNT player pool (born in 2002 or later) competed at the U.S. U-15 level for parts of 2016 and all of 2017 prior to this tournament. The Nike International Friendlies will serve as the first steps of preparation for the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where the top four teams will qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Busio and Eise are two of 16 players on the U-17 roster who were part of the team that finished in second place at the 2017 CONCACAF U-15 Championship in August, where Busio scored five goals in as many matches.
Busio, 15, signed for Sporting Kansas City as a Homegrown Player on Aug. 25, becoming the second-youngest signing in MLS history. He is one of two MLS homegrowns on the U-17 roster alongside Atlanta United FC’s George Bello. The North Carolina native also represented the U.S. U-15s at the Torneo Delle Nazioni in Italy in May, where he scored three goals as the Americans were crowned tournament champions.
A member of the Sporting KC Academy since fall 2016, Busio has tallied four goals in eight appearances for the U-19s during the 2017-18 Development Academy campaign. He also competed in three Generation adidas Cup qualifying matches for the Sporting KC U-17s in October, scoring once.
Eise, a fellow 15-year-old out of Springfield, Missouri, also joined the Sporting KC Academy last fall after starring for affiliate club Sporting Springfield. The defender progressed from the U-14s to the U-16s during the 2016-17 campaign, helping the latter reach the quarterfinals of the Development Academy Playoffs in July. The following month, Eise was selected to the U.S. U-15 roster for the CONCACAF U-15 Championship.
Eise has spent the majority of the 2017-18 Development Academy season with the Sporting KC U-17s, scoring two goals in seven matches. He featured twice alongside Busio in Generation adidas Cup qualifying in October as Sporting KC recorded two wins and a draw.
The 2017 Men’s Nike International Friendlies mark the 17th edition of the tournament, once again featuring three guest countries as well as the United States. At last year’s competition, Sporting KC homegrown signing Jaylin Lindsey helped the USA to a 7-1 win over Portugal, a 5-1 defeat of Turkey and a 3-0 victory against Brazil to finish as tournament champion.
U.S. U-17 MNT 2017 Nike International Friendlies Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Khamari Culcleasure (D.C. United; Alexandria, Va.), John Tyler Harms (Shattuck- Saint Mary’s; Whitefish Bay, Wisc.), Damian Las (Chicago Fire; Norridge, Ill.), Kashope Oladapo (Portland Timbers; Happy Valley, Ore.)
DEFENDERS (7): Axel Alejandre (FC United Soccer Club; Chicago, Ill.), Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids; Highlands Ranch, Co.), George Bello (Atlanta United FC; Douglasville, Ga.), Mitchell Eise (Sporting Kansas City; Springfield, Mo.), Mason Judge (Chargers Soccer Club; Tampa, Fla.), Kenneth Nielsen (Pateadores; Irvine, Calif.), Joseph Scally (New York City FC; Lake Grove, N.Y.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Joshua Atencio (Seattle Sounders FC; Bellevue, Wash.), Adam Saldana (Real So Cal; Panorama City, Calif.), Gilbert Fuentes Perez (San Jose Earthquakes; Tracy, Calif.), Maximillian Goeggel (VFB Stuttgart; San Francisco, Calif.), Peter Stroud (New York Red Bulls; Chester, NJ)
FORWARDS (8): Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greenboro, NC), Julian Gaines (Lonestar Soccer Club; Austin, Tex.), Cade Hagan (Sockers FC; Naperville, Ill.), Diego Lopez (FC Golden State; Chino, Calif.), Daniel Mangarov (Atlanta United FC; Duluth, Ga.), Alfonso Ocampo Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Fresno, Calif.), Dante Sealy (FC Dallas; Frisco, Tex.), Ray Serrano (Seattle Sounders FC; Graham, Wash.)
