Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gianluca Busio was named to the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship Best XI after leading the United States U-17 Men's National Team to a second-place finish at the tournament.
Busio erupted for five goals and three assists in six tournament appearances as the U.S. steamrolled to Thursday's final before suffering a 2-1 extra-time loss to archrivals Mexico at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
After notching three goals for Sporting to begin the 2019 MLS campaign, Busio and fellow 16-year-old Sporting KC Academy product Tyler Freeman joined a USA U-17 side led by newly appointed head coach Raphael Wicky for the prestigious international competition. Although the Americans fell short of winning the title, their runners-up finish was enough to secure a berth at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year in Brazil.
Busio's five goals were the third-most in the tournament behind Costa Rica's Geancarlo Castro (seven) and U.S. teammate Gio Reyna (six). He opened his scoring account in a 3-2 group stage win over Canada, bagged a brace in a dismantling of Barbados, then scored in knockout-round wins over Guadeloupe and Panama. Busio would save arguably his best performance for the semifinal, where he recorded three assists in a 4-0 defeat of Canada.
Four Americans were selected to the tournament's Best XI as Busio was joined by Reyna, Kobe Hernandez-Foster and Daniel Leyva.
2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship Best XI
- Goalkeeper: Eduardo García, Mexico
- Right Back: Jean Geffrard, Haiti
- Left Back: Stanley Guirand, Haiti
- Center Back: Kobe Hernandez, United States
- Center Back: Jesus Gomez, Mexico
- Center Midfielder: Daniel Leyva, United States
- Center Midfielder: Eugenio Pizzuto, Mexico
- Center Midfielder: Gianluca Busio, United States
- Winger/Right Midfielder: Geancarlo Castro, Costa Rica
- Winger/Left Midfielder: Giovanni Reyna, United States
- Striker, Israel Luna: Mexico
USA U-17 Results at Concacaf U-17 Championship
<strong>Date</strong> |
<strong>Opponent</strong> |
<strong>Result</strong> |
<strong>Stage</strong> |
May 2 |
Canada |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/02/busio-volley-propels-usa-3-2-comeback-win-over-canada-concacaf-u-17-championship">W 3-2</a> |
Group F |
May 4 |
Barbados |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/04/gianluca-busio-strikes-twice-tyler-freeman-features-usa-u-17s-defeat-barbados-6-1">W 6-1</a> |
Group F |
May 6 |
Guatemala |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/06/tyler-freeman-helps-usa-u-17s-3-0-win-over-guatemala-concacaf-u-17-championship">W 3-0</a> |
Group F |
May 9 |
Guadeloupe |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/09/gianluca-busio-scores-again-usa-u-17s-steamroll-guadeloupe-8-0-concacaf-u-17">W 8-0</a> |
Round of 16 |
May 12 |
Panama |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/12/gianluca-busio-and-tyler-freeman-help-usa-u-17s-qualify-2019-fifa-u-17-world-cup">W 3-0</a> |
Quarterfinal |
May 14 |
Canada |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/14/gianluca-busio-explodes-three-assists-usa-smashes-canada-4-0-reach-concacaf-u-17">W 4-0</a> |
Semifinal |
May 16 |
Mexico |
<a href="https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2019/05/16/gianluca-busio-and-tyler-freeman-feature-us-under-17s-fall-2-1-mexico-concacaf-u-17">L 1-2</a> |
Final |
Busio and Freeman will now return to Sporting Kansas City, which begins a three-game homestand Saturday against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match at Children's Mercy Park are available at SeatGeek.com.
