U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team Qualifies for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Following 7-0 Win over El Salvador

COUVA, Trinidad & Tobago (April 5, 2025) – The U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the seventh time -- and the fifth in a row -- following its dominating 7-0 win over El Salvador in its final Group C match of the Final Round of Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers. The USA joins Mexico as the 8th and 9th teams respectively to officially qualify for the WWC which will be held in Morocco from October 17 to November 8, 2025.

The USA finishes the Final Round of the 2025 Women’s U-17 Qualifiers with a perfect 3-0-0 record and nine points to finish at the top of Group C and earn one of Concacaf’s four qualification spots for the WWC. The U.S. outscored its opponents 17-0 in those three matches and outshot opponents 103-14.

Forwards Micayla Johnson and Ashlyn Anderson finished the qualifiers with four goals each to lead the USA. Anderson led her teammates in goal contributions with seven (four goals, three assists) while Johnson ended with six (four and two).

Johnson got the U.S. on the board first in the 11th minute. Defender Gracie Milam played Johnson down the left flank. Johnson then faced up her defender just outside the left side of the box before cutting to her right to shake the defender and fire a shot inside the near post to make it 1-0.

The USA went up 2-0 in the 20th minute. Goalkeeper Peyton Trayer sent a long ball into the attacking side of the pitch and found forward Jaiden Rodriguez, who headed the ball onto forward Nanya Touray down the right sideline. Touray then drove down the endline and toward the box before sending a centering pass to Scottie Antonucci, who bounced off a charging defender before sliding a shot passed the oncoming goalkeeper and doubling the lead.

Just one minute into the second half, the U.S. made it 3-0. Midfielder Kimmi Ascanio dribbled through the teeth of the defense into the middle of the box before laying off a pass to Anderson on the right side. The forward cut her defender off from the ball before drilling a shot into the top left of the net.

Moments later in the 49th minute it was Ascanio again creating a scoring opportunity for her teammate. This time she found Rodriguez to her right as she dribbled through the defense and into the box. Rodriguez calmly put away her shot to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead.

The USA continued its relentless attack on the El Salvador defense in the 55th minute. Touray dribbled around her defender down the left sideline before sliding a centering pass to Ascanio. El Salvador defender Veronica Jimenez was forced to foul on the play giving the U.S. a penalty. Johnson calmly converted from the spot to make it 5-0.

Johnson followed up her goal by setting up Touray in the 58th minute to make it 6-0. Driving down the left side of the box, Johnson slipped a ball through the remaining defenders to a wide open Touray, who easily slotted it into the back of the net.

El Salvador looked like it would get one back in the 63th minute when it earned a penalty kick, but Trayer denied Las Selectas captain Angie Alvarenga by diving to her left to make a full-extension save, and then held the ball to prevent a rebound.

Milam made it 7-0 in the 75th minute after Charlee Siria’s corner kick found Touray at the far-right side of the six-yard box. Touray’s attempted shot ricochet back out toward Milam, who slotted a shot through traffic and past the ‘keeper. She became the 10th different player to score in the qualifiers.

Additional Notes:

• This was the first U-17 international cap for goalkeeper Peyton Trayer and the first U-17 international start for Trayer and defender Gracie Milam.
• Forward Nanya Touray and Milam each notched their first U-17 international goals.
• Trayer was the third different goalkeeper to get a start for the U.S. and earn a clean sheet, joining teammates Evan O’Steen and Josie Biehl. She also collected the most saves, stopping five shots.
• All 21 players on the U.S. roster made an appearance during the qualifiers. Twenty of the 21 players made at least one start.
• The USA had ten different goal scorers in the tournament -- four for Ashlyn Anderson and Micayla Johnson, two for Jaiden Rodriguez, and one each for Chloe Sadler, Kimmie Ascanio, Riley Kennedy, Pearl Cecil, Scottie Antonucci, Nanya Touray, and Gracie Milam.
• Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2008, are age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. All 21 players selected by Schoepfer for this roster were born in 2008.
• Nine countries have now qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. In addition to host Morocco, the USA and Mexico, 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.S. UNDER-17 WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-

Match: U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team vs. El Salvador
Date: April 5, 2025
Competition: Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers
Venue: Ato Boldon Stadium; Couva, Trinidad & Tobago
Attendance: 148
Kickoff: 4 p.m. local (4 p.m. ET)
Weather: 83 degrees, cloudy

Lineups:
USA: 21-Peyton Trayer; 20-Gracie Milam, 5-Natalie Chudowsky, 4-Pearl Cecil (15-Lauren Hemann, 74), 2-Cali O’Neill; 8-Riley Kennedy (6-Charlee Siria, 46), 7-Kimmi Ascanio (10-Chloe Sadler, 61), 16-Scottie Antonucci (14-Ashlyn Anderson, 46); 11-Micayla Johnson (18-Audrey McKeen, 61), 17-Jaiden Rodriguez (Capt.), 9-Nanya Touray
Substitutes Not Used: 1-Evan O’Steen, 3-Sydney Schmidt, 12-Josie Biehl, 13-Rhiannon Mahon
Not dressed: 19-Maggie Currie
Head Coach: Kate Schoepfer

SLV: 18-Jessica Silva; 2-Zoe Castro, 3-Elyssa Hernandez, 4-Veronica Jimenez (20-Abigail Salgado, 34), 5-Machaela Looper, 12-Andrea Saravia (13-Jade Diaz, 71), 14-Hannah Hopkins (15-Camila Brower, 46); 6-Karyme Parada, 7-Maya Buerger (17-Laila Pacheco, 86), 10-Angie Alvarenga (Capt.), 9-Ava Rodriguez (19-Ariana Jones, 86)
Substitutes Not Used: 11-Audrina Santos
Head Coach: Hugo Escobar

Stats Summary: USA / SLV
Shots: 23 / 12
Shots on Goal: 13 / 5
Saves: 5 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 0
Fouls: 3 / 12
Offside: 13 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
None.

Officials:
Referee: Marjorie Ponce (NCA)
Assistant Referee 1: Suelle Shepperd (SUR)
Assistant Referee 2: Denisha Isaacs (GUY)
Fourth Official: Neressa Goldson (JAM)