FRISCO, Texas - U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team head coach John Hackworth today named FC Dallas rookie forward Abdusalam Ibrahim to the 21-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup from Aug. 18-Sept. 9 in South Korea. Ibrahim, who was selected by FC Dallas with the first pick in the Second Round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft (14th overall), has yet to appear in a game for FCD this season while remaining with U.S. Soccer's Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.
FC Dallas is the only Major League Soccer team this year to have players appear on four different levels of U.S. National teams in 2007. The seven FCD players to wear the U.S. National Team uniform this year are: Ibrahim, U.S. U-17s; Arturo Alvarez, U.S. U-23s; Dax McCarty, Anthony Wallace (FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada), and Blake Wagner, U.S. U-20s; and Drew Moor (2007 Copa America in Venezuela) and Kenny Cooper on the full U.S. Men's National Team.
The only team to qualify for all 12 FIFA Under-17 World Cups, the U.S. was drawn into Group E of the 24-team tournament with Tajikistan, Tunisia and Belgium. The U.S. opens against Tajikistan on August 20 (6 a.m. CT), then faces Tunisia on August 23 (3 a.m. CT) and concludes group play on August 26 against Belgium (2 a.m. CT). The U.S. will play Tajikistan and Tunisia in Changwon before heading to Cheonan to face Belgium.
In the 11 previous world championships at this age group, the USA's best finish ever came in New Zealand '99, when the U-17s, led by Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu and Bobby Convey, advanced to the semifinals and eventually finished in fourth place.
The 52-match tournament, which will feature 24 teams for the first time as opposed to the previous 16, will take place in eight venues across South Korea - Changwon, Cheonan, Goyang, Gwangyang , Jeju, Seoul, Suwon and Ulsan. The local organizing committee has set itself a number of objectives, one of which is to break the current overall attendance record for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Korean organizers have kept ticket prices low for all 52 matches (between $9 to $22) in hopes of breaking the record of 735,000, which has stood ever since the inaugural event - a U-16 competition - in China PR in 1985.
The Under-17 Men's National Team, one of the six seeded teams in the draw, is currently training in Clemson, S.C., as they enter the final stages of preparation for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The camp includes a friendly against fellow World Cup qualifier Costa Rica on Tuesday, Aug. 7, in Atlanta on the campus of Kennesaw State University. The following day, the team will head home to Bradenton for three days before returning to Atlanta on Aug. 11 where they will train for two days and then leave for South Korea on Aug. 13.
All 52 matches of the tournament will be broadcast by ESPNU and ESPN360.com, with all three of the USA's group matches being aired live on ESPNU. In addition, the USA's second match against Tunisia on Thursday, Aug. 23 will be simulcast live on ESPN2 at 2:45 a.m. CT.
The other FCD players to receive national team call-ups this year are: Adrian Serioux (Canada), Chris Gbandi (Liberia), Dominic Oduro (Ghana U-23), and Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala).
U.S. Under-17 MNT Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wis.), Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Larry Jackson (East Palo Alto, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Sheanon Williams (Boston, Mass.), Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Tommy Meyer (St. Louis, Mo.), Chris Klute (Grand Prairie, Texas), Kofi Sarkodie (Huber Heights, Ohio), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas, Texas), Kirk Urso (Lombard, Ill.), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Gregory Garza (Grapevine, Texas), Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.), Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.)
FORWARDS (5): Ellis McLoughlin (Seattle, Wash.), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga.), Abdusalam Ibrahim (FC Dallas), Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.), Daniel Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.)
