FOUR KEEPERS REPRESENT NYRB ACADEMY ON US NATIONAL TEAMSBy Red Bulls Reader
Paragraph.The New York Red Bulls Academy recently had its fourth goalkeeper called into a National Team camp this year, as Alex Gogic of the New York Red Bulls Academy U-14 side was called to the Under-14 United States National Team for a training camp. Gogic joins fellow U-14 keeper Evan Louro, Red Bulls U-18 keeper Keith Cardona and Red Bulls U-15 keeper Santiago Castano as the four goalkeepers from the Red Bulls Academy to be called to a National Team Camp this year. The Red Bulls now have the most goalkeepers called to National Team camps in 2010 of any youth organization in the nation.
“Its great to have 4 Red Bulls Goalkeepers in US National Camps,” said Red Bulls Academy Goalkeepers Coach Andrew Sparkes. “The experience they get while away with the National Team is invaluable for their development.”
Gogic joined the Red bulls Academy in the beginning of 2010. He joined the U-14 United States National Team for a camp in August of 2009. He will join the squad again for a camp in Zarapeth, New Jersey starting June 21st until June 28th.
Joining Gogic at the camp on June 21st will be fellow Red Bulls U-14 keeper Evan Louro. Louro is currently in his first season with the Red Bulls Academy. A product of the Red Bulls Regional Development School, Louro has played a lot of the current season up on the Red Bulls U-15 Academy side. Louro was called to the U-14 United States National Team for a camp in Los Angeles, California back in January.
Castano is currently a part of the U-17 United States National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida. Earlier this year, Castano traveled with the U-15 United States National Team on a trip to Argentina. Castano, despite being just 14 years old, trained with the Red Bulls first team earlier this season. Currently, he has joined the U-15 United States National Team for a camp in New Jersey.
Cardona, who was also a part of the U-17 United States National Team Residency Program, was named to the 23 man roster for the U-17 United States National Team for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria in October of 2009. Cardona, who joined the U-18 United States National Team for a camp in Los Angeles in April, has also trained with the Red Bulls first team, both in 2009 and 2010.
“We have a great environment here at the Red Bulls to nurture young goalkeepers to get to the next level”, Sparkes added. “They get 3-4 days a week of goalkeeper specific training, and also the opportunity to train with the Red Bulls first team.”
“Its great to have 4 Red Bulls Goalkeepers in US National Camps,” said Red Bulls Academy Goalkeepers Coach Andrew Sparkes. “The experience they get while away with the National Team is invaluable for their development.”
Gogic joined the Red bulls Academy in the beginning of 2010. He joined the U-14 United States National Team for a camp in August of 2009. He will join the squad again for a camp in Zarapeth, New Jersey starting June 21st until June 28th.
Joining Gogic at the camp on June 21st will be fellow Red Bulls U-14 keeper Evan Louro. Louro is currently in his first season with the Red Bulls Academy. A product of the Red Bulls Regional Development School, Louro has played a lot of the current season up on the Red Bulls U-15 Academy side. Louro was called to the U-14 United States National Team for a camp in Los Angeles, California back in January.
Castano is currently a part of the U-17 United States National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida. Earlier this year, Castano traveled with the U-15 United States National Team on a trip to Argentina. Castano, despite being just 14 years old, trained with the Red Bulls first team earlier this season. Currently, he has joined the U-15 United States National Team for a camp in New Jersey.
Cardona, who was also a part of the U-17 United States National Team Residency Program, was named to the 23 man roster for the U-17 United States National Team for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria in October of 2009. Cardona, who joined the U-18 United States National Team for a camp in Los Angeles in April, has also trained with the Red Bulls first team, both in 2009 and 2010.
“We have a great environment here at the Red Bulls to nurture young goalkeepers to get to the next level”, Sparkes added. “They get 3-4 days a week of goalkeeper specific training, and also the opportunity to train with the Red Bulls first team.”
Red Bulls u14 Goalkeeper called into US u14 National Camp
Red Bulls u14 Goalkeeper Evan Louro was named In US u14 National Camp held at the Home Depot Center, LA, May 2nd-May9th 2010
Louro becomes the 3rd Red Bulls Goalkeeper to be called into a US National team in 2010, following in the footsteps of Santiago Castano (u17 US Residency Program) and Keith Cardona (u18 National Team)
Louro becomes the 3rd Red Bulls Goalkeeper to be called into a US National team in 2010, following in the footsteps of Santiago Castano (u17 US Residency Program) and Keith Cardona (u18 National Team)
Another Red Bulls Goalkeeper gets called into US Soccer Residency
Red Bull Academy goalkeeper Santiago Castano has been called into the U17 Men's National Team Residency Program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for the Spring 2010 semester.
Castano is the 2nd Red Bulls Academy Goalkeeper to be called into the prestigious Residency program in 6 months, following in the footsteps of Keith Cardona, who recently gratduated after the U17 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria.
Castano is the 2nd Red Bulls Academy Goalkeeper to be called into the prestigious Residency program in 6 months, following in the footsteps of Keith Cardona, who recently gratduated after the U17 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria.
Red Bulls Goalkeeper scoops player of year award
Red Bulls u14 academy goalkeeper, Santiago Castano was voted u14 player of the year for the 2008-2009 season. Castano, was a regular in the u14 and u15 USA National teams during the 2009. He will be traveling to Florida in mid December for the last u15 National camp of the year.
Interview from keeper-skool.com
Keeper Skool Interviews Andrew SparkesOctober 15, 2009
Hailing from Wales, Andrew Sparkes knows what it takes to come up through the youth ranks of elite level teams, so much so, that he has transitioned his experiences goalkeeping in Europe, to helping develop new goalkeeping talent at New York Red Bulls of the MLS. You can also visit Andrew’s website at Andrew Sparkes Goalkeeping.The experience gained in Wales, has provided the platform on which Andrew has enabled to develop some of the best youth goalkeeping talent in the USA, including the likes of Santiago Castano and Keith Cardona, both young goalkeepers being selected for the USA National teams.
Andrew has an exceptional football education, holding the two most prestigious goalkeeping licenses in the USA, including the USSF National Goalkeeper license and the NSCAA Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma alongside the UEFA “B” Goalkeeper License.
Over the last two years Andrew has been the Super Youth National ODP Goalkeeper coach and has joined the ranks of other elite US based coaches as a National Goalkeeper Instructor for the NSCAA. Not giving up the chance to show his own goalkeeping ability, Andrew has trained with the Red Bulls First Team over the last two seasons.
Andrew, please accept a warm welcome to Keeper Skool.
1) Swansea City A.F.C. has a deep history in the Football League (currently the Football League Championship), and it’s here that you developed your goalkeeping ability. What was training like in your time with Swansea not only at a junior level of development, but through the reserve ranks?
AS: I actually played my first game for Swansea when I was 16. So I was late coming into a professional environment. The training was 3 mornings a week. The youth and 1st team goalkeepers would go out on the training ground earlier than the players to work with the goalkeeper coach Tony Pennock.
Training with the professional keepers at an early age was invaluable with the advice and knowledge they passed onto me. The speed of play when training with the 1st team players is so much faster than with the youth team and the strikers would punish you for every little mistake or poor positioning. As a young keeper it was a harsh, but very good lesson, which aided my development.
2) How was a typical training day structured at Swansea, and how much of this training structure have you implemented into the Red Bulls Academy?
AS: It’s very similar. At Swansea the keepers would always go out before the rest of the team and also do extra after practice, whether it’s crosses, kicking or going in for the strikers wanting extra finishing practice. It’s the same at the Red Bulls, we don’t always get a lot of time to do goalkeeper specific training (depending on the session the team is doing), so I like to make the most of our time on the training ground by doing extra crosses and kicking before or after training, things that we don’t normally have time to do in the main session.
3) You’ve developed two exceptional young goalkeepers through your goalkeeper training development programs in Santiago Castano and Keith Cardona. What kind of training sessions do you provide for your elite level youth goalkeepers, and what has made Castano and Cardona so successful?
AS: I try to make every session challenging, realistic and enjoyable for the Academy keepers. The sessions are focused a lot on technique and then applying these techniques into realistic game situations.
Ive also started working a lot on dealing with back passes and kicking with both feet. The modern game now needs our keepers to be comfortable with the ball at both feet and being able to start attacks from the back.
Pepe Reina is a great example for Liverpool. He can strike balls left foot, right foot, short and long distances. It just adds a different dimension to the team if your keeper can do this and at the same time doesn’t put your team under pressure.
Both Santiago and Keith are very different goalkeepers both technically and in games but their dedication and willingness to make themselves better in every game and training is what has made them into two good keepers. There is still a long way to go with both of them, but they have a great platform to continue to develop very good keepers.
4) Des McAleenan, (the first team coach for the Red Bulls) has helped develop some of the best goalkeepers the USA has produced, from Tim Howard to Zach Wells and Tony Meola. Give us some insight into how Des structures his training programs for the first team goalkeepers? What have you learned from Des’s technical and physical training programs that has helped you develop your own coaching ability?
AS: For me and a lot of other coaches and professional keepers in the league, Des is one of the best and most respected goalkeeper coaches in the USA. His resume and keepers he has coached speaks for itself and I’m very privileged to work with him.
Des will take the goalkeepers out 30mins prior to the players coming out. He starts with the warm up which includes goalkeeper specific footwork and a lot of handling drills. He then goes into various exercises for shot stopping, diving, reactions etc.
The goalkeepers will then join up with the team for small sided games, team shape, phases of play etc. Des always keeps an eye on the more tactical aspects of the position during this time. When the session is over the goalkeeper’s work on crosses and kicking for another 30mins.
Des’ sessions always have a great tempo to them and are all very challenging for the 1st team keepers. He puts the keepers in a great working environment together which brings the most out of the keepers. I try to implement the same environment for the Academy keepers.
Also Des’ attention to detail on and off the field is second to none. Off the field he will still be at the training ground late in the day looking over DVDs of the opposition to prepare the keepers as best as possible for game days. All round his preparation to training and games is what I have learned from Des.
5) You have many different training programs at Red Bulls Academy, that focus on all aspects of technical development. How much emphasis do you put on goalkeeper specific fitness for your younger goalkeepers, and how do you transition this physical development into senior levels of play?
AS: I try and bring out the fitness aspect of the position out in the training sessions I put on for the keepers. I work a lot with ladders and hurdles for the younger keepers and bungee rope and plyometrics with older keepers.
There will be days when I increase the repetition of an exercise or give less time to recover just to add more fitness. But sometimes you lose the whole objective of the session if there techniques drops due to too many reps or less time to recover.
I’m lucky to have a strength and conditioning coach at the Red Bulls who used to be a goalkeeper, he has developed strength programs for our keepers and it has made a big difference especially for the older keepers who will go and train with our 1st team.
6) How do you prepare your young goalkeepers mentally for a tough game, or for international competition in the case of goalkeepers such as Castano and Cardona?
AS: Keith will be going to the u17 FIFA World Cup in November with the USA National team and Santiago will be joining up with the u15 USA National team for a training camp in December. We regularly sit down and talk about being mentally strong in all aspects on the position and dealing with setbacks.
I talk to them about the dealing with mistakes or letting in goals and also how to deal with not starting or being involved in the squad. Both keepers have become mentally stronger over the past year.
7) How does a typical training day pan out for your young academy goalkeepers? How does this training regime differ to that of your first team goalkeepers?
AS: All the Academy keepers train in the evenings after they finish school, while the 1st team keepers train in the mornings. The sessions are very similar for the Academy keepers and 1st team keepers.
The Academy keepers will train with me 3/4 times a week, its the same time as their team so they will join up to do small sided games, finishing exercises after being with me. I will then go and coach them within the game situations and work more on the tactical part of the position with them.
The keepers can also work with me on days that they do not have training to work on certain aspects of their game, crosses, kicking etc
8 ) With so many brilliantly talented goalkeepers such as Tim Howard plying their trade now in England, what do you think makes American born and bred goalkeepers so good at their artform, and why do they transition so well in the top flight of world football?
AS: I think young kids in America are bought up early on eye hand coordination sports like Baseball, Basketball American Football. Most of the young kids play a variety of sports before choosing one.
They become very good all rounded athletes. Tim Howard has quick reactions, agile and explosive, add this with good coaching and development and you have yourself a top flight keeper.
9) There has been a significant shift in the way that sports science has impacted the game of football. What do you foresee will be the major developments in sports science as it pertains to the competitive goalkeeper over the next decade?
AS: I think the most useful has been video analysis and can see it developing even more. Its something that I use a lot of in the Academy and have found it to be a great learning tool for my keepers.
The video never lies and can be used to review mistakes and show certain situations. Its good to show the keepers exactly where things break down either from a technical or tactical standpoint. Its also a great confidence builder for keepers to see themselves making big saves or taking crosses in a crowded penalty area.
The bio mechanics of the keepers movements and technique can also be reviewed and adjusted to improve performances.
10) Who do you see as the upcoming stars of American goalkeeping in the coming years, who should we look out for? Who are the best goalkeepers currently in the world? Why?
AS: There are a lot of good American keepers coming through within the USA National Teams. The u17s have 3 good keepers, Earl Edwards, Spencer Ritchie and Red Bulls Academy keeper Keith Cardona.
I like Pepa Reina of Liverpool, he brings a different dimension to Liverpool with his range of distribution, hes also consistent.
Shay Given, he’s not the biggest of keepers but has fantastic reactions, reflexes and makes the big saves when needed.
Edwin Van de Sar, very experienced and steady in the goal. Keeps the position very simple.
Tim Howard, a great athlete, very agile, also makes big saves when needed.
Andrew, thank you for your contribution to Keeper Skool, and all the best wishes for you this year with New York Red Bull.
Hailing from Wales, Andrew Sparkes knows what it takes to come up through the youth ranks of elite level teams, so much so, that he has transitioned his experiences goalkeeping in Europe, to helping develop new goalkeeping talent at New York Red Bulls of the MLS. You can also visit Andrew’s website at Andrew Sparkes Goalkeeping.The experience gained in Wales, has provided the platform on which Andrew has enabled to develop some of the best youth goalkeeping talent in the USA, including the likes of Santiago Castano and Keith Cardona, both young goalkeepers being selected for the USA National teams.
Andrew has an exceptional football education, holding the two most prestigious goalkeeping licenses in the USA, including the USSF National Goalkeeper license and the NSCAA Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma alongside the UEFA “B” Goalkeeper License.
Over the last two years Andrew has been the Super Youth National ODP Goalkeeper coach and has joined the ranks of other elite US based coaches as a National Goalkeeper Instructor for the NSCAA. Not giving up the chance to show his own goalkeeping ability, Andrew has trained with the Red Bulls First Team over the last two seasons.
Andrew, please accept a warm welcome to Keeper Skool.
1) Swansea City A.F.C. has a deep history in the Football League (currently the Football League Championship), and it’s here that you developed your goalkeeping ability. What was training like in your time with Swansea not only at a junior level of development, but through the reserve ranks?
AS: I actually played my first game for Swansea when I was 16. So I was late coming into a professional environment. The training was 3 mornings a week. The youth and 1st team goalkeepers would go out on the training ground earlier than the players to work with the goalkeeper coach Tony Pennock.
Training with the professional keepers at an early age was invaluable with the advice and knowledge they passed onto me. The speed of play when training with the 1st team players is so much faster than with the youth team and the strikers would punish you for every little mistake or poor positioning. As a young keeper it was a harsh, but very good lesson, which aided my development.
2) How was a typical training day structured at Swansea, and how much of this training structure have you implemented into the Red Bulls Academy?
AS: It’s very similar. At Swansea the keepers would always go out before the rest of the team and also do extra after practice, whether it’s crosses, kicking or going in for the strikers wanting extra finishing practice. It’s the same at the Red Bulls, we don’t always get a lot of time to do goalkeeper specific training (depending on the session the team is doing), so I like to make the most of our time on the training ground by doing extra crosses and kicking before or after training, things that we don’t normally have time to do in the main session.
3) You’ve developed two exceptional young goalkeepers through your goalkeeper training development programs in Santiago Castano and Keith Cardona. What kind of training sessions do you provide for your elite level youth goalkeepers, and what has made Castano and Cardona so successful?
AS: I try to make every session challenging, realistic and enjoyable for the Academy keepers. The sessions are focused a lot on technique and then applying these techniques into realistic game situations.
Ive also started working a lot on dealing with back passes and kicking with both feet. The modern game now needs our keepers to be comfortable with the ball at both feet and being able to start attacks from the back.
Pepe Reina is a great example for Liverpool. He can strike balls left foot, right foot, short and long distances. It just adds a different dimension to the team if your keeper can do this and at the same time doesn’t put your team under pressure.
Both Santiago and Keith are very different goalkeepers both technically and in games but their dedication and willingness to make themselves better in every game and training is what has made them into two good keepers. There is still a long way to go with both of them, but they have a great platform to continue to develop very good keepers.
4) Des McAleenan, (the first team coach for the Red Bulls) has helped develop some of the best goalkeepers the USA has produced, from Tim Howard to Zach Wells and Tony Meola. Give us some insight into how Des structures his training programs for the first team goalkeepers? What have you learned from Des’s technical and physical training programs that has helped you develop your own coaching ability?
AS: For me and a lot of other coaches and professional keepers in the league, Des is one of the best and most respected goalkeeper coaches in the USA. His resume and keepers he has coached speaks for itself and I’m very privileged to work with him.
Des will take the goalkeepers out 30mins prior to the players coming out. He starts with the warm up which includes goalkeeper specific footwork and a lot of handling drills. He then goes into various exercises for shot stopping, diving, reactions etc.
The goalkeepers will then join up with the team for small sided games, team shape, phases of play etc. Des always keeps an eye on the more tactical aspects of the position during this time. When the session is over the goalkeeper’s work on crosses and kicking for another 30mins.
Des’ sessions always have a great tempo to them and are all very challenging for the 1st team keepers. He puts the keepers in a great working environment together which brings the most out of the keepers. I try to implement the same environment for the Academy keepers.
Also Des’ attention to detail on and off the field is second to none. Off the field he will still be at the training ground late in the day looking over DVDs of the opposition to prepare the keepers as best as possible for game days. All round his preparation to training and games is what I have learned from Des.
5) You have many different training programs at Red Bulls Academy, that focus on all aspects of technical development. How much emphasis do you put on goalkeeper specific fitness for your younger goalkeepers, and how do you transition this physical development into senior levels of play?
AS: I try and bring out the fitness aspect of the position out in the training sessions I put on for the keepers. I work a lot with ladders and hurdles for the younger keepers and bungee rope and plyometrics with older keepers.
There will be days when I increase the repetition of an exercise or give less time to recover just to add more fitness. But sometimes you lose the whole objective of the session if there techniques drops due to too many reps or less time to recover.
I’m lucky to have a strength and conditioning coach at the Red Bulls who used to be a goalkeeper, he has developed strength programs for our keepers and it has made a big difference especially for the older keepers who will go and train with our 1st team.
6) How do you prepare your young goalkeepers mentally for a tough game, or for international competition in the case of goalkeepers such as Castano and Cardona?
AS: Keith will be going to the u17 FIFA World Cup in November with the USA National team and Santiago will be joining up with the u15 USA National team for a training camp in December. We regularly sit down and talk about being mentally strong in all aspects on the position and dealing with setbacks.
I talk to them about the dealing with mistakes or letting in goals and also how to deal with not starting or being involved in the squad. Both keepers have become mentally stronger over the past year.
7) How does a typical training day pan out for your young academy goalkeepers? How does this training regime differ to that of your first team goalkeepers?
AS: All the Academy keepers train in the evenings after they finish school, while the 1st team keepers train in the mornings. The sessions are very similar for the Academy keepers and 1st team keepers.
The Academy keepers will train with me 3/4 times a week, its the same time as their team so they will join up to do small sided games, finishing exercises after being with me. I will then go and coach them within the game situations and work more on the tactical part of the position with them.
The keepers can also work with me on days that they do not have training to work on certain aspects of their game, crosses, kicking etc
8 ) With so many brilliantly talented goalkeepers such as Tim Howard plying their trade now in England, what do you think makes American born and bred goalkeepers so good at their artform, and why do they transition so well in the top flight of world football?
AS: I think young kids in America are bought up early on eye hand coordination sports like Baseball, Basketball American Football. Most of the young kids play a variety of sports before choosing one.
They become very good all rounded athletes. Tim Howard has quick reactions, agile and explosive, add this with good coaching and development and you have yourself a top flight keeper.
9) There has been a significant shift in the way that sports science has impacted the game of football. What do you foresee will be the major developments in sports science as it pertains to the competitive goalkeeper over the next decade?
AS: I think the most useful has been video analysis and can see it developing even more. Its something that I use a lot of in the Academy and have found it to be a great learning tool for my keepers.
The video never lies and can be used to review mistakes and show certain situations. Its good to show the keepers exactly where things break down either from a technical or tactical standpoint. Its also a great confidence builder for keepers to see themselves making big saves or taking crosses in a crowded penalty area.
The bio mechanics of the keepers movements and technique can also be reviewed and adjusted to improve performances.
10) Who do you see as the upcoming stars of American goalkeeping in the coming years, who should we look out for? Who are the best goalkeepers currently in the world? Why?
AS: There are a lot of good American keepers coming through within the USA National Teams. The u17s have 3 good keepers, Earl Edwards, Spencer Ritchie and Red Bulls Academy keeper Keith Cardona.
I like Pepa Reina of Liverpool, he brings a different dimension to Liverpool with his range of distribution, hes also consistent.
Shay Given, he’s not the biggest of keepers but has fantastic reactions, reflexes and makes the big saves when needed.
Edwin Van de Sar, very experienced and steady in the goal. Keeps the position very simple.
Tim Howard, a great athlete, very agile, also makes big saves when needed.
Andrew, thank you for your contribution to Keeper Skool, and all the best wishes for you this year with New York Red Bull.
Red Bulls Academy goalkeeper called into Residency
Red Bulls Academy goalkeeper called into the u17 MNT Residency Program
Red Bull Academy goalkeeper Keith Cardona (Glen Rock, NJ) has been called into the U17 Men's National Team Residency Program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for the Fall 2009 Semester, it was announced recently by U.S. Soccer U17 head coach Wilmer Cabrera."Keith is well deserving of this invite," commented Bob Montgomery, Director of Youth Programs. "In the past year he has worked hard to achieve many of the individual goals that were set. His dedication and maturity are key factors in his development and a major reason that he is ready for the next level."
Cardona joins fellow Red Bull Academy product John Agudelo (Barnegat, NJ) in the Residency Program, and makes the Red Bull Academy the only program with two players in residency.
"Keith has got a great opportunity ahead of him to continue his development at the highest levels on Youth soccer in the US," stated Red Bull Academy Goalkeeper Coach Andrew Sparkes. "He's a player who takes every step one at a time, whether it be a U16 game, training with the Red Bulls first team or hopefully playing in the FIFA U17 World Cup. He works hard everyday to reach his goals and with his dedication and ability I am sure he will reach them."
The US U-17 Men's National Team has been drawn into Group E of the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria with Spain, Malawi and the United Arab Emirates. The US will play the first two group games against Spain on Oct. 26 and Malawi on Oct. 29, in Kano before moving to Ijebu-Ode to close out the first round against UAE on Nov. 1.
Former Red Bull Jozy Altidore also passed through the U17 Residency Program, which was established in 1999.
Red Bull Academy goalkeeper Keith Cardona (Glen Rock, NJ) has been called into the U17 Men's National Team Residency Program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for the Fall 2009 Semester, it was announced recently by U.S. Soccer U17 head coach Wilmer Cabrera."Keith is well deserving of this invite," commented Bob Montgomery, Director of Youth Programs. "In the past year he has worked hard to achieve many of the individual goals that were set. His dedication and maturity are key factors in his development and a major reason that he is ready for the next level."
Cardona joins fellow Red Bull Academy product John Agudelo (Barnegat, NJ) in the Residency Program, and makes the Red Bull Academy the only program with two players in residency.
"Keith has got a great opportunity ahead of him to continue his development at the highest levels on Youth soccer in the US," stated Red Bull Academy Goalkeeper Coach Andrew Sparkes. "He's a player who takes every step one at a time, whether it be a U16 game, training with the Red Bulls first team or hopefully playing in the FIFA U17 World Cup. He works hard everyday to reach his goals and with his dedication and ability I am sure he will reach them."
The US U-17 Men's National Team has been drawn into Group E of the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria with Spain, Malawi and the United Arab Emirates. The US will play the first two group games against Spain on Oct. 26 and Malawi on Oct. 29, in Kano before moving to Ijebu-Ode to close out the first round against UAE on Nov. 1.
Former Red Bull Jozy Altidore also passed through the U17 Residency Program, which was established in 1999.