Five Things to Know About the Mexico U-17 MNT
Learn more about the USA's opponent in the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship Final
The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will take on Mexico in the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship Final on Sunday, May 7 at Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City, Panama, having already qualified for the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India. The match will determine the 12th outright CONCACAF tournament winner since 1983, when the USA took home the inaugural hardware against Trinidad & Tobago.
Sunday’s game can be seen live at 4 p.m. ET on Univision Deportes Network and the CONCACAF YouTube channel.
Here are five things you should know going into Sunday’s game:
CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Sunday’s championship is a rematch of the group stage contest which saw the USA win a wild 4-3 encounter back on April 26. While they lost to the U.S., Mexico dominated its other two group games against El Salvador (6-0) and Jamaica (5-1).
In their first classification stage game, Mexico faced a tough Panama side that gave everything that had, knowing that a loss or tie would result in a missed World Cup berth. In the end, a breakaway goal by Jairo Torres in the 32nd minute of play was all Mexico needed to end the host nation’s quest and secure their own World Cup berth.
Two days later, Mexico and Costa Rica squared off to determine first place in classification stage Group E. Despite an even start to the match, Mexico scored five unanswered goals en route to a 6-1 victory.
CONCACAF AND FIFA WORLD CUP HISTORY
Since the inaugural CONCACAF U-17 Championship in 1983, El Tri has participated in 15 of 17 tournaments, claiming six titles (1985, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2013, 2015) and one runner-up finish (1992). In total, Mexico has qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 12 times.
Once qualified, Mexico has had an impressive run at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. El Trí has advanced from the group stage seven times, made the semifinals on four occasions and won the tournament twice – the 2005 edition in Peru and 2011 at home in Mexico.
Most recently Mexico finished as runners up at the 2013 competition in United Arab Emirates and fourth in the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile.
THE MANAGER
A former Mexico youth international, Mario Arteaga was born in Guadalajara and played with famed local club CD Guadalajara before finishing his professional career with Club León. Internationally, he represented El Trí at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, appearing in matching 1-1 draws with Australia and Ghana.
As a manager, Arteaga took over Mexico’s U-17 program in July of 2014. Since then he guided the side to a first-place finish at the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, followed by an impressive fourth-place finish at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.
DANIEL LÓPEZ CHASING THE GOLDEN BOOT
After notching two goals in Mexico’s 6-1 victory against Costa Rica, El Trí striker Daniel López currently stands in second place of the tournament’s Golden Boot standings, with six goals, one behind Honduras forward Carlos Mejía. U.S. captain Josh Sargent sits third on the scoring list with five goals.
THE ROSTER
All 20 players on the Mexico roster play domestically and represent eight Liga MX clubs: CD Guadalajara (5), Club Tijuana (3), Atlas (3), CF Pachuca (2), Monarcas Morelia (2), Querétaro FC (1), Santos Laguna (1), Club América (1), CF Monterrey (1) and Club León (1).
Goalkeepers (2): Andre Alcaraz (CD Guadalajara), Cesar Lopez (CD Guadalajara)
Defenders (7): Andres Catalan (Monarcas Morelia), Alan Maeda (Santos Laguna), Luis Olivas (CD Guadalajara) Haret Ortega (Club América), Carlos Robles (Atlas), Raul Sandoval (Club Tijuana), Adrian Vazquez (Pachuca)
Midfielders (6): Luis Gamiz (Club Tijuana), Carlos Guerrero (Club León) Alexis Gutierrez (CD Guadalajara), Andres Perez (Querétaro), Victor Reyes (Monarcas Morelia), Marco Ruiz (Atlas)
Forwards (5): Alfonso Alvarado (Monterrey), Roberto De La Rosa (Pachuca), Cesar Huerta (CD Guadalajara), Daniel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Jairo Torres (Atlas)