Three of the top teenage talents in the USL Championship this season have been selected in the United States U-17 Men’s National Team squad that will compete in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup next month in Indonesia.
The trio of goalkeeper Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal SC), midfielder Matthew Corcoran (Birmingham Legion FC) and forward Bryce Jamison (Orange County SC) were named on Wednesday by Head Coach Gonzalo Segares in a 21-player squad for the tournament.
Corcoran earns his selection after a breakout campaign with Legion FC in the USL Championship that has seen the 17-year-old record make 31 league appearances and log 1,840 minutes of play while recording one goal, three assists and 29 chances created from his central midfield role. Corcoran’s play for an experience Birmingham squad – which also saw him post a passing accuracy rate of 82.2 percent while winning 25 tackles, 21 interceptions and 24 clearances – saw him earn his first call-up and cap earlier this month when the USYNT went to Brazil for its final preparations for the tournament.
Jamison becomes the latest Orange County player to head to the U-17 World Cup, following goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes and midfielder Bryang Kayo at the last edition of the tournament in 2019. The exciting forward scored his first professional goal late last season after turning pro with OCSC from the Barca Residency Academy in Arizona and has continued to shine this season while helping the side to a second-place finish in the Western Conference. Jamison has recorded one goal, one assist and 12 chances created and has completed 18 of 35 dribbles this season while also posting a 65.2 percent tackle success rate defensively.
Ferree was the first professional signing by SD Loyal from the Loyal Select Academy and is a holdover from the squad that qualified for the World Cup by finishing as runner-up at the 2023 Concacaf Men’s U-17 Championship in February. The San Diego native made history early this season by becoming the youngest goalkeeper to record a shutout in USL Championship history aged 16 years, 6 months, 27 days old against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on April 23, and overall this season made four saves over three league appearances for the side.
The trio of players called up to the United States Men’s U-17s squad matches the number of USL representatives from the most recent FIFA Men’s U-17 World Cup in 2019 when Orange County’s Cervantes and Kayo were joined by North Carolina FC Adam Armour in the squad.
The squad also includes Paolo Rudisill, who previously played in the USL Championship for the LA Galaxy II as a USL Academy signing.
The United States will face Korea Republic to open the tournament at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, November 12 before it takes on Burkina Faso on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 5 a.m. ET and concludes the group stage vs. France on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 a.m. ET.