Philadelphia Union Academy announced today that goalkeeper Matthew White has been selected for the 21-player roster that will represent the United States at the 2026 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers, set for Feb. 5-10 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The USA will aim to qualify for a record 20th FIFA U-17 World Cup as eight teams will earn berths to the 48-team tournament, set for November in Qatar.
White is one of three members of the Philadelphia Union organization selected for the team, joining Union II forward Malik Jakupovic and midfielder Willyam Ferreira who has been selected as an alternate for the team. In the case of injury, players on the final roster can be replaced up to 24 hours prior to the team’s first match.
The U.S. was drawn into Group E and kicks off its qualifying campaign against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, Feb. 5 (6 p.m. ET), faces St. Kitts and Nevis on Saturday, Feb. 7 (7 p.m. ET) and finishes the competition against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, Feb. 10 (1 p.m. ET). All three matches will be played at Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown. Broadcast information for the competition will be confirmed at a later date. The team will hold pre-camp in West Palm Beach, Fla. beginning Jan. 27 before transitioning to St. Vincent on Feb. 2.
The participation in Concacaf qualifying tournaments by U.S. Soccer’s Youth National Teams is part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
2026 CONCACAF U-17 QUALIFIERS ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Keller Abbott (Columbus Crew; New Albany, Ohio), James Donaldson (Atlanta United; Woodstock, Ga.), Matthew White (Philadelphia Union; Atherton, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Daniel Barrett (Houston Dynamo; Pearland, Texas), Edward Chadwick (Unattached; Los Angeles, Calif.), Tyson Espy (Orange County SC; Dana Point, Calif.), Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew; Des Moines, Iowa), Astin Mbaye (AC Milan; Jersey City, N.J.), Liam Vejrostek (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Vicente Garcia (LA Galaxy; West Covina, Calif.), Peter Molinari (New York City FC; Bayside, N.Y.), Roko Pehar (Chicago Fire; Glenview, Ill.), Paul Sokoloff (New York Red Bulls; Brooklyn, N.Y.), Kaedren Spivey (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Landry Walker (San Antonio FC; San Antonio, Texas)
FORWARDS (6): Mattheo Dimareli (Houston Dynamo FC; Pearland, Texas), Myles Gardner (Houston Dynamo FC; Houston, Texas), Malik Jakupovic (Philadelphia Union; Sterling Heights, Mich.), Aaron Medina (LA Galaxy; Long Beach, Calif.), William Ostrander (PSV Eindhoven; Mill Valley, Calif.) Maximus Steelman (LA Galaxy; Carlsbad, Calif.).
