U.S. U-17 WNT Seeks World Cup Qualification in Final Group C Match vs. El Salvador

U.S. U-17 WNT SEEKS WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION IN FINAL GROUP C MATCH VS. EL SALVADOR: Following a 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago and a 7-0 win over Honduras, the U-17 WNT heads into its Group C finale on Saturday, April 5 (4 p.m. ET; Tubi & Univision) against El Salvador firmly in the driver’s seat. With a win, the USA will sit at nine points and win the group, qualifying for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The U.S. would also qualify with a draw, putting them at seven points and the top of the group, ahead of El Salvador, which would only have five points. The USA could still qualify with a loss if the team finishes as the best second-place team in the final round, but the young Americans will want to be leaving nothing to chance.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Concacaf has once again changed the qualifying format for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which starting this year, will be staged annually and has been expanded from 16 to 24 nations. Instead of a tournament in which the top three Concacaf finishers qualify for the Women’s U-17 World Cup, 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams each with the winner of each group and the best second place team qualifying for the World Cup, set for Oct. 17-Nov. 8 in Morocco. The next five editions of the tournament will be held in Morocco.

With the start of the expanded annual U-17 Women’s World Cup this year, the Concacaf region has been allocated a fourth berth. Since the tournament’s inception in 2008, North America, Central America and the Caribbean have received three berths. Unlike in previous editions of the qualification tournament, there will not be a champion crowned.

Group C Standings

CONCACAF U-17 HISTORY: The U.S. has successfully qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup six times (2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2024). In the new qualification format, the U.S. will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 WWC if they finish first in the group or end the tournament as the best second-place finisher.

In previous editions of the tournament where a champion was crowned, the U.S. won the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship six times (2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2024). The two Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championships at which the USA finished third – 2010 and 2014, with the USA falling in penalty kicks in the semifinal both times – were both years in which the World Cup was held in Concacaf countries and thus only two berths from the region were up for grabs.

GROWTH OF THE WOMEN’S GAME: This is the second U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying squad to include professional players. In 2024, midfielder Melanie Barcenas from San Diego Wave FC and forward Alex Pfeiffer from the Kansas City Current were the pros on the roster. This time around, San Diego Wave midfielder Kimmi Ascanio – who is the only holdover from that 2024 World Cup qualifying roster but was not yet a pro -- and forward Micayla Johnson from the Chicago Stars represent the National Women’s Soccer League. Ascanio is heading into her second pro season while Johnson is a rookie this year and made her pro debut on March 14 against the Orlando Pride.

THE CONSISTENT FOUR: Only four different teams have qualified out of Concacaf for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: The USA (six times), Mexico (seven times), Canada (seven times) and Costa Rica (one time). Trinidad & Tobago hosted in 2010, Costa Rica hosted in 2014, and the Dominican Republic hosted in 2024, thus earning automatic berths to those World Cups.

HISTORY OF SUCCESS: The USA has compiled a 42W-0L-2D all-time record at this tournament and has outscored its opponents 259-12, but despite the big goal difference, the young Americans have had plenty of close matches, including one-goal wins over Mexico and Canada, a draw with Mexico, and 3-2 wins over Haiti and Mexico in 2018. In 2022, the USA defeated Mexico, 2-1, in the championship game on goals from Lauren Martinho and Melina Rebimbas. Five of the 10 goals the USA has allowed in this tournament all-time have been to Mexico. In last year’s tournament, the U.S. beat Puerto Rico 3-1 in the group stage.

2025 U-17 WWC QUALIFIED TEAMS SO FAR: Seven countries have already qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. In addition to host Morocco, China PR, Japan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic have qualified from Asia via nominations by the Asian Football Confederation based on results of the last three editions of AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup in Thailand in 2017 and 2019 and in Indonesia in 2024. New Zealand and Samoa have qualified from Oceania via the 2024 OFC U-16 Women’s Championship.

U-17 WNT Roster Notes:

• The USA has now outshot its two opponents in this tournament 80-2 over the two matches.
• The 7-0 win over Honduras was the second international match for this group of players together and the first U-17 international caps for defender Gracie Milam, who came on at halftime, and midfielder Riley Kennedy and goalkeeper Josie Biehl, who both started.
• The seven changes to the starting lineup from the T&T match to the Honduras match were Biehl, defender Rhiannon Mahon, midfielders Kennedy, Kimmi Ascanio and Chloe Sadler and forwards Audrey McKeen and Ashlyn Anderson.
• Micayla Johnson’s goal was her second of the tournament and fourth at the U-17 international level.
• Anderson’s goals marked her second and third of the tournament and she now has three in her U-17 career.
• Ascanio’s goal was her first of the tournament and sixth of her U-17 career in her team-leading 16th cap.
• Ascanio became the first player ever to score for the USA in two consecutive Concacaf Women’s U-17 qualifying competitions.
• Cecil’s goal was her first of the tournament and the first of her U-17 career, same for Kennedy.
• The USA now has seven different goal scorers in the tournament so far -- three for Anderson, two for Johnson, and one each for Sadler, Ascanio, Kennedy, Rodriguez and Cecil.
• Cecil is the lone player who has played in all 180 minutes for the U.S. in this tournament.
• Anderson’s three goals places her in a three-way tie with Costa Rica’s Lucía Paniagua and Mexico’s Citlalli Reyes for the second-most goals in the qualifier final round. Puerto Rico’s Gabriella Garnett leads all goal scorers with four.
• Anderson’s total of six goal contributions (three goals and three assists) leads all USA players. Johnson (two goals and one assist) is second with three.
• Spanning back to last year’s tournament, the U.S. currently has a 280-minute shutout streak. The last time the USA gave up a goal was an 80th-minute penalty against Haiti in the semifinals of the 2024 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship. The team’s streak of not allowing a goal through the run of play is 508 minutes. The last time the U.S. gave up a goal during the run of play was in their second group stage game of the 2024 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship against Puerto Rico.
• Goalkeepers Evan O’Steen and Biehl have split the goalkeeping duties, each notching a start apiece.
• USA’s 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago was the first international match for this group of players together and the first U-17 international caps for 12 of the 17 players who played.
• Anderson and Sadler tallied their first international goals at the U-17 level while Johnson, a member of the USA’s 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Team, scored her third.
• Midfielder Kimmi Ascanio played in six league matches last year for the San Diego Wave totaling 145 minutes. She played two more matches in the NWSL x La Liga Summer Cup, totaling 27 minutes.
• At the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Ascanio started all six games, scored the clinching goal against Nigeria in the quarterfinals and had an assist in group play against Korea Republic.
• Midfielders Jaiden Rodriguez and Scottie Antonucci spent most of 2024 with the U.S. U-16 GNT, but both made late runs to make the World Cup squad. Antonucci played in three games off the bench at the World Cup while Rodriguez played in five matches in DR as a reserve.
• O’Steen sat out the first match at the U-17 World Cup but then played every minute of the next five, allowing just one goal and winning the Golden Glove as the tournament’s top netminder.
• Two pro clubs and 14 different youth clubs from 12 different states are represented on the roster, with five players from Southern California, three from Texas and two each from Maryland and North Carolina.

USA U-17s vs. El Salvador:

• The U.S. has played El Salvador just one other time in this competition, a 9-0 win on July 20, 2008. That game also took place in Trinidad & Tobago.
• El Salvador qualified for the final round of qualification by cruising to first place in Group D of the qualification stage. La Selecta shutout Anguilla (9-0), Curaçao (6-0), and Guatemala (7-0) to finish with all nine points in the group and a +22 goal difference.

HEAD COACH KATIE SCHOEPFER: U.S. U-17 WYNT head coach Katie Schoepfer is the first-ever U.S. head coach for this age group to have played in a women’s professional league in the United States. In fact, she played in two. Schoepfer started her career in WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer), the USA’s second pro league that ran from 2009-2011, where she played for Sky Blue FC and the Boston Breakers. The powerful target forward also played at the start of the National Women’s Soccer League, playing 82 matches for the Boston Breakers from 2013-2016. Schoepfer was a two-time All-American at Penn State where she helped lead the Nittany Lions to four straight Big 10 titles. Schoepfer played for the USA at the U-23 and U-17 levels. Prior to taking over the help of the U-17s, she coached the U.S. U-15s, leading them to title at the 2022 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship.