Concacaf has conducted the official draw for the 2025 Concacaf Under-17 Qualifiers. The regional competition will take place from February 7-16, 2025, across six venues and will include the participation of 35 Concacaf Member Associations.

The new format for the Concacaf qualifiers consists of a single round, with the participating national teams divided into eight groups. At the end of this single round, each team will play against all the other teams in its group. The eight group winners will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The matches will be divided into six venues: Bermuda will host Group A, Costa Rica Groups B and F, Mexico Group C, Honduras Group D, Guatemala Groups E and H, and Panama Group G.

The United States national team will face Cuba, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the United States Virgin Islands at the Costa Rican venue. It should be noted that the age group for this tournament will be 2008 and younger. Before the Concacaf U17 Championship, the United States will have two preparation camps to determine which players will go to the qualifier.

In the 2008 age group, the United States is the reigning champion of the Concacaf U15 Championship, which was played last year in 2023, where they ended up defeating Mexico in the final.

A Date With Destiny

The MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs are coming to a climactic finally as we approach the conference semifinal stage with a bang. Teams from around the country have fought for a chance to be in this position at this point in the season, and as we come closer and closer to the day of the final, some teams are just one step away from glory.

On the Eastern side of the bracket, Philadelphia Union II selected Crown Legacy FC. Crown Legacy coming off of an amazing performance in their previous game where they eliminated first-place FC Cincinnati 2 on the road 2-1 on Sunday.

As for Union II, a 1-0 win over NYCFC II secured their spot in the semifinals. All eyes will be on young phenom Cavan Sullivan this weekend as he looks to lead his team to the Eastern Conference finals while CJ Olney's recent performances have impressed fans all over the world. Olney has so far notched 7 goals and 9 assists in 23 games as a key part of Philadelphia Union II.

This partnership that they have formed with each other has sent shivers down teams across the league and they are prepared to take their last step to push their side over the edge. Crown Legacy also highlights its starring young midfielder, Aron John, who is having a remarkable campaign so far as he has 10 assists and 8 goals this season.

North Texas SC will face Tacoma Defiance, where due to recent performances from both teams, it is expected to be a very close game. Diego Garcia will be the player to watch for North Texas for this game. Garcia has been on a superstar run this season as he has 8 goals and 3 assists in 27 games and has had major contributions to his side being one of the best players for North Texas SC.

When it comes to Tacoma Defiance, Chris Aquino has been the leader that is pushing his team forward as this season he has 10 goals and 2 assists. Snyder Brunell has also been a standout performer and has been the anchor that led the midfield against Ventura County FC last week.

Back on the other side of the bracket, Chicago Fire FC II vs. Columbus Crew 2 will meet next Sunday, the 27th, for the Eastern Conference. Coming into this match Chase Adams will have all the spotlights since the center forward born in 2008 has been a goal-scoring machine, being one of the U17 players with the most goals this season.

Being the main threat for his side he has been putting up incredible performances across the whole season. Adams goes into this semi-final in blazing-hot form as he is currently on 10 goals in MLS NEXT Pro.

On Sunday, the 27th, we head back to the Western Conference where a semi-final will take place between two of the most in-form teams in the league, St Louis CITY2 vs. The Town FC.

Mykhi Joyner has been the leader and main man of CITY2 all season long accumulating outrageous stats like his 17 goals and 4 assists in 27 games. The climax of his goal-scoring importance was on full display when he secured CITY2 advancement with a 93rd-minute winner last weekend.

Star goalkeeper Emi Ochoa has greatly helped the team to keep the score low. In attack, the trio of Cruz Medina, Edwyn Mendoza, and Beau Leroux will be the creative spark for Town FC.

This is Football Heritage

Milan had a night of reencountering the Champions League. After having lost the first two rounds, they beat Club Brugge of Belgium 3-1 at San Siro with an Olympic goal from Christian Pulisic. But despite the excitement from the win in Europe, a top-class talent was put on display because the youngster, aged 16 years and 226 days, made his debut in the competition.

This striker from the Rossoneri youth team came on for Álvaro Morata and just over ten minutes later he had scored the 4-1 with a header that he celebrated by taking off his shirt and being carried on the shoulders of his teammates... but the referee disallowed it for offside.

If it had counted, it would have been the first time in the history of the tournament that a player under 17 years old scored a goal.

Still, young Francesco has set a record: he is the youngest Italian to play in a Champions League match and the seventh youngest in total. This is the third match he has played for Milan, the other two having been in Serie A, in which he made his debut in November 2023 at 15 years and 260 days, making him the youngest in the Italian championship.