U.S. Soccer announced that Atlanta United Homegrown defender George Bello has been chosen by Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Raphael Wicky as one of 21 players who will represent the U.S. at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Brazil from Oct. 26 to Nov. 18.
The U.S. kicks off the World Cup when Group D play opens on Sunday, Oct. 27 vs. Senegal (3:50 p.m. ET; FS1, Telemundo), then faces Japan on Wednesday, Oct. 30 (6:50 p.m. ET; FS2, Universo) and finishes the group stage on Saturday, Nov. 2 vs. Netherlands (6:50 p.m. ET; FS2, Universo).
Bello, 17, has been capped eight times for the U-17s and scored a goal in an October 2018 international friendly against Russia’s U-18s. He made two starts against Mexico’s U-18s and Denmark’s U-18s in September. Bello has made 12 appearances (11 starts) for Atlanta United 2 in 2019 and scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday night in a 5-2 win against Bethlehem.
2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; U-17 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Aaron Cervantes (Orange County SC; Chino Hills, Calif.; 4/0), 1-Damian Las (Fulham/ENG; Norridge, Ill.; 19/0), 12-Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; London, England; 7/0)
DEFENDERS (7): 15-Sebastian Anderson (Colorado Rapids; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 4/0), 13-Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.; 18/0), 3-George Bello (Atlanta United FC; Douglasville, Ga.; 8/1), 4-Nicolas Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 3/0), 14-Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.; 17/0), 5-Kobe Hernandez-Foster (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 23/3), 2-Joe Scally (New York City FC; Lake Grove, N.Y.; 19/1)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 18-Maximilian Dietz (Freiburg/GER; Frankfurt, Germany; 2/0), 17-Ethan Dobbelaere (Seattle Sounders FC; Seattle, Wash.; 3/0), 8-Bryang Kayo (Orange County SC; Poolesville, Md.; 8/1), 6-Daniel Leyva (Seattle Sounders FC; Las Vegas, Nev.; 7/0), 16-Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.; 25/2)
FORWARDS (6): 7-Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.; 15/7), 20-Andres Jasson (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.; 11/1), 19-Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Merced, Calif.; 24/9), 9-Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas; 15/5), 10-Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; Bedford, N.Y.; 15/8), 11-Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.; 12/7)
AT THE 2019 FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP
The 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup features 24 nations divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-placed teams, advance to the knockout round. All 52 matches of the tournament will be played in four venues across Brazil.
2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup – USA Group D Schedule
| Date | Match | Kickoff (ET) | Venue | TV Info |
| Sunday, Oct. 27 | USA vs. Senegal | 3:50 p.m. | Estadio Kleber Andrade; Cariacica, Brazil | FS1, Telemundo |
| Wed., Oct. 30 | USA vs. Japan | 6:50 p.m. | Estadio Kleber Andrade; Cariacica, Brazil | FS2, Universo |
| Sat., Nov. 2 | USA vs. Netherlands | 6:50 p.m. | Estadio da Serrinha; Goiania, Brazil | FS2, Universo |
The USA has qualified for a record 17 U-17 World Cups and is one of just seven countries to qualify for the last three tournaments.