The US Under-17 national team put themselves in a strong position to repeat as champion of the International Friendlies on Sunday, beating Australia 2-1 to move to 2-0 in the annual tournament, held this year in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
After the US went behind in the first five minutes, forward McKinze Gaines tied the game in the 15th minute after a cross from Pierre Da Silva.
The game-winning goal came in the 69th minute, as Haji Wright set up midfielder Luca de la Torre for his first U-17 international goal.
Richie Williams' side now need a win or a draw in their tournament finale against Brazil on Tuesday to clinch the tournament title. The 20-player U-17 roster features five MLS Academy players, including FC Dallas forward Alejandro Zendejas, the New York Red Bulls' Tyler Adams and Matthew Olosunde, the LA Galaxy's Hugo Arellano and Real Salt Lake's Tanner Dieterich.
Adams and Dieterich played all 90 minutes, while Arellano played the first half and Zendejas the second against Australia.
