Sporting Kansas City’s newest Homegrown Player is set for international duty once again.
Defender Jaylin Lindsey, who signed a Homegrown contract with Sporting KC on Thursday, will join the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team for a six-day training camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida from Sept. 19-24.
The camp will consist of 23 players and serve as head coach John Hackworth’s final opportunity to assess U-17 player pool before deciding on a final 21-man roster for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which runs from Oct. 6-28 in India.
The upcoming camp marks the fourth domestic gathering for the U-17 MNT since they qualified for the World Cup at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in May. Lindsey is one of 20 players are returning from the team’s most recent 25-player camp, which also took place in Bradenton.
The U.S. will kick off against hosts India on opening night of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup on Friday, Oct. 6, before rounding out the group stage versus Ghana on Oct. 9 and Colombia on Oct. 12. The first two games will be played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, while the third will be played at Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-place finishers, will advance to the knockout stage — running from the Round of 16 (Oct. 16-18) through the Final (Oct. 28).
This group of players is nearing the end of its two-year cycle and will move up to the U-19 age group upon the conclusion of the U-17 World Cup.
Lindsey, a product of the Sporting KC Academy, became the third-youngest signing in club history on Thursday. The versatile defender has featured for the Sporting KC U-16s and U-18s and made more than 25 appearances for the U.S. U-17s over the last two years.
U.S. U-17 Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): Alex Budnik (Sockers FC; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (S.L. Benfica; Philadelphia, Penn. ), Justin Garces (Atlanta United FC; Miami, Fla.)
DEFENDERS (9): George Bello (Atlanta United FC, Douglasville, Ga.), Sergino Dest (Ajax; Almere-stad, Netherlands), Christopher Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls; Montclair, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), James Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Tyler Shaver (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.), Akil Watts (Portland Timbers, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): George Acosta (North Carolina FC; Hollywood, Fla.), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake; Eden, Utah), Blaine Ferri (Solar Soccer Club; Southlake, Texas), Chris Goslin (Atlanta United FC; Locust Grove, Ga.), Alex Mendez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Indiana Vassilev (Unattached; Savannah, Ga.)
FORWARDS (6): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC; Brampton Ont.), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Ulysses Llanez (LA Galaxy; Lynwood, Calif.), Jacobo Reyes (C.F. Monterrey; Houston, Texas), Bryan Reynolds (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas), Joshua Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri; O'Fallon, Mo.)
