Reyna, Busio Lead USA U-17 World Cup Team
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports
Giovanni Reyna and Gianluca Busio are among the top players on the USA's U-17 World Cup squad, which was revealed by manager Raphael Wicky on Thursday.
The USA will face Senegal, Japan and the Netherlands in a loaded group in Brazil, with play beginning at the competition on Oct. 26 and the USA suiting up the following day.
Reyna, 16, has already begun to make waves at Borussia Dortmund and leads a loaded attack, one that features Busio and fellow rising MLS talents Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle) and Ricardo Pepi (Dallas).
"I'm excited that the World Cup is finally here and I'm excited about this roster," Wicky said in a statement. "This is the biggest stage you can reach at this age group, and I think the team is excited for this amazing moment in their young careers. We have talented players all over the field and one of their biggest strengths is that they have a great team spirit. There were some tough choices to make when selecting the final roster, but that's always a good problem to have."
Reyna, Busio defender Kobe Hernandez-Foster and midfielder Daniel Leyva were part of Concacaf's Best XI after the qualifying tournament that sealed the USA's berth–and ensured that Reyna would step onto the same stage his father, U.S. great Claudio, did 30 years ago.
Here is the roster in full:
GOALKEEPERS: Aaron Cervantes (Orange County SC), Damian Las (Fulham), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City)
DEFENDERS: Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC), George Bello (Atlanta United), Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC), Kobe Hernandez-Foster (LA Galaxy), Joe Scally (New York City FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Maximilian Dietz (Freiburg), Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders), Bryang Kayo (Orange County SC), Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy)
FORWARDS: Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City), Andres Jasson (New York City FC), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Griffin Yow (D.C. United)
