Wednesday was the start of a new cycle for the U.S. U17 Men’s National Team. The 2000 age group moved up to the age group with its first competition at that age with the 2015 Nike International Friendlies. 

The U.S. team, coached by John Hackworth, lost 2-3 to England on the opening night from the competition. Hackworth has been working with this age group since he was appointed as the U15 head coach in November of 2014. Hackworth has quite a bit of familiarity with this group, but it was second best on a night where England seemed able to solve any problem that the U.S. threw at the visitors. 

Despite the disappointing result, there were some positives from the game from the U.S. perspective.