The U.S. U17 Women’s National Team will face Paraguay, Ghana, and Japan at the 2017 U17 World Cup in Jordan. The draw for the event took place on Monday, and the U.S. was drawn into Group D with rival Japan. 

After winning the 2017 CONCACAF Championship in March, the U.S. earned the automatic qualification to the international event in Jordan. Canada and Mexico also qualified for the World Cup from the CONCACAF event. 

U.S. midfielder Ashley Sanchez was named the Best Player at the event after scoring five goals, and leading the U.S. to the title. Sanchez’s availability for the World Cup might be in question though given her current status with the U20 WNT, as one of the key players for that age group. 

U.S. goalkeeper Laurel Ivory won the Golden Glove award at the tournament. Ivory and the U.S. only conceded two goals in the four games at the event while scoring 18. 

The competition in Group D at the World Cup brings an impressive resume. Japan was the finalist at the 2015 AFC U16 Championship after losing to North Korea in the final. Japan had won the previous two editions of the competition in 2011 and 2013. Japan forward Hinata Miyazawa finished as the second leading scorer at the event with five goals in the competition. 

Ghana qualified for the event after beating Morocco 10-0 in a two-leg series in March. Mukarama Abdulai was the leading scorer for the team during the two games with three goals. This marks the fifth time Ghana has qualified for the U17 World Cup. 

Paraguay qualified for the World Cup after finishing third at 2016 South American U17 Women’s Football Championship. Paraguay forward Jessica Martinez finished as the second leading scorer at the event with 10 goals in 7 games. 

Of the three opponents, Japan is the noteworthy name. Japan is the defending champions of the event after winning the 2014 edition. The U.S. has fared well against Japan though. The U17s have won three games in a row against Japan with the most recent victory in February. A goal from Ashley Sanchez and an own goal helped the U.S. claim a 2-1 win over Japan in the 2016 U17 NTC Invitational. 

The U.S. takes on Japan on Oct. 8 in Amman as the final game of group play, which will likely decide who wins the group. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals of the competition. 

The U17 World Cup is the only FIFA competition on the women’s side that the U.S. has not won. The best finish for the U.S. came in 2008 when the group finished as finalist after losing to North Korea in the final. Current U.S. Women’s National Team members Morgan Brian, Crystal Dunn, and Sam Mewis were part of the 2008 team. 

This year’s team has some lofty expectations as the U17 WNT is riding a 15-game winning streak since 2014. 

U.S. U17 WNT World Cup Schedule 

Oct. 1 vs. Paraguay

Oct. 4 vs. Ghana

Oct. 8 vs. Japan 

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