By OkayGoal
The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will play no part in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
U.S. Soccer has pulled its squad from the tournament due to safety concerns, FIFA announced Thursday. “FIFA understood that U.S. Soccer’s decision was made in light of the existing U.S. Level 3 travel advisory, which was issued by the State Department back in October 23,” a federation statement read.
The advisory warned Americans to “reconsider travel to Qatar due to risk of armed conflict”, while also citing attacks in neighboring Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
“FIFA has been informed of US Soccer’s decision to withdraw from the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026,” the statement read. “The applicable tournament regulations will be followed. FIFA’s security assessments remain unchanged, and no new developments affecting the security situation around the tournament have occurred. The safety and security of all participants and fans remains paramount. As with all FIFA tournaments and events, we are in close contact with the relevant authorities and are looking forward to the tournament kick-off in Qatar.”
The 48-team competition is slated to begin on November 19 and run through the tournament final on December 13.
Alex Aldaz named a 21-player roster for his USMNT U-17 squad last week and the Americans were slated to face Montenegro, Chile and Algeria in group stage play. However, those players will now head back to their club teams for the continuation of respective schedules.
2026 is scheduled to be the second of five-consecutive U-17 World Cups hosted by Qatar after FIFA announced the host country back in 2024.