Birmingham, Ala (Tuesday, October 25, 2023) – Birmingham Legion FC midfielder Matthew Corcoran has been called up to represent the United States at the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, scheduled for November 10 to December 2 in Indonesia.
The team will be led by head coach Gonzalo Segare. Segare has selected the 21 players that will represent the United States in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The U-17s will train in Bali for two weeks before traveling on Tuesday, November 7 to Jakarta, which will host all three U.S. group stage games.
The USA kicks off Group E play on Sunday, Nov. 12 against Korea Republic, Burkina Faso on Wednesday, Nov 15. and finishes the group stage against France on Saturday, Nov.18. All three matches will be played at Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta. The games will be broadcasted on FOX Sports and Telemundo platforms.
“I am very thankful for the opportunity to represent our country on a very big stage it means a lot,” said Corcoran. “To play for the badge means everything and I’m excited to show what I can do.”
“Biggest luck to the team and I know the boys will get the job done this weekend,” said Corcoran.
Corcoran will depart for duty Thursday and is anticipated to be out for Legion’s semifinal match against Charleston Battery on October 28.
“We’re excited for Matthew to represent the United States in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup,” said Jay Heaps, President and GM. “He has continued to improve each week and has worked extremely hard for this opportunity.”
This is Corcoran’s second national team selection. Corcoran was called up to the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team for training camp from September 29 to October 8 for friendlies in Sorocaba, Brazil.
Corcoran made his debut for Birmingham Legion in the 2022 season after signing professionally with the club from the FC Dallas Academy. In his first season with the club, Corcoran made 11 appearances, 106 passes, and maintained a passing accuracy of 86.8%. This season, the 17-year-old recorded one goal and three assists in 1,840 minutes, making 21 starts in the 31 appearances.
Before joining Legion, Corcoran played with the Dallas Texans before signing for the FC Dallas Academy, where he helped the under-15s win the FC Bayern Adidas Campus Cup in Munich, Germany in 2019 and the Dallas Cup in 2021. The Texan then made his professional debut in April 2021 with USL League One side North Texas SC.
REPPIN’ FROM FAR AND WIDE
The roster features players from 17 clubs, including 10 from Major League Soccer. Two players each come from the Colorado Rapids, Inter Miami CF and the San Jose Earthquakes. Several members of the squad played key roles for their clubs during the recently completed MLS Next Pro campaign, as nine players logged more than 1,100 minutes on the season. Forward Micah Burton helped Austin FC II lift the championship trophy last weekend, while midfielder Taha Habroune parlayed his standout performance in World Cup qualifying into a key role with runner-up Columbus Crew 2. Goalkeeper Adam Beaudry was one of four finalists for the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Three players come from the USL Championship, where both midfielder Matthew Corcoran (Birmingham Legion FC) and forward Bryce Jamison (Orange County SC) have made more than 25 appearances to help their clubs reach the playoffs.
Four players are based abroad in Germany (two), England and Spain (one each).
Ten states are represented on the roster, led by six players from California and five from Florida.
FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; U-17 CAPS/GOALS; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; 7/0; Castle Pines, Colo.), Zackory Campagnolo (Colorado Rapids; 1/0; Ft. Myers, Fla.), Duran Ferree (San Diego Loyal SC; 4/0; San Diego, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Noahkai Banks (Augsburg/GER; 3/0; Dietmannsried, Germany), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami CF; 14/0; Miramar, Fla.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 11/1; Reston, Va.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; 16/0; Fox Island, Wash.), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution; 3/0; Unionville, Conn.), Tahir Reid-Brown (Orlando City SC; 0/0; Orlando, Florida), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes; 16/0; Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Matthew Corcoran (Birmingham Legion FC; 1/0; Dallas Texas), Taha Habroune
(Columbus Crew; 9/4; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; 18/6; San
Francisco, Calif.), Santiago Morales (Inter Miami CF; 1/0; Weston, Fla.), Paulo Rudisill
(Unattached; 18/2; Irvine, Calif.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; 16/1; Coconut Creek, Fla.)
FORWARDS (5): Nimfasha Berchimas (Charlotte FC; 4/2; High Point, N.C.), Micah Burton (Austin FC; 17/5; Mounds View, Minn.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; 10/8; Warrington, England), Bryce Jamison (Orange County SC; 4/0; Lake Forest, Calif.), David Vasquez (Philadelphia Union; 13/0; Los Angeles, Calif.)
