There will be at least one Legion player still on the field come November. The U-17 World Cup begins November 3rd, two weeks from today, in Qatar. On the US squad will be two USL players, both defenders. One is Pedro Guimares of Orange County SC; the other is our own Ramiz Hamouda. The team left today for Abu Dhabi to begin preparation for the tournament.
Obviously, this is a big deal for Raz. “It’s a big honor and a privilege. You know, preparation for the last two years now has finally paid off. I finally got that email. Very happy. A lot of emotions, but, you know, I’m ready to go out there and work.”
He also said that his roommates Sam Shashoua and Fernando Delgado were the first to be told before he called his mom, so negative points for filial duty there. His family will be in Qatar to see him play though.
As far as the US squad is concerned, 14 of the 21 players selected were also in the US’ qualifying squad that beat Cuba, St. Kitts and Nevis and the US Virgin Islands to progress to the World Cup with an aggregate score of 31-0. Raz played in 2 of those games (not against Cuba) as a centerback and expects to play that position in Qatar. Those players have already been playing together a while. “I’d say these last two camps, last three camps, yeah, it’s the same squad, the same players…I’ve known these guys since 15 years [old].”
He as also asked how different age group international play is from the senior professional club game. “I think, here [with the Legion] it’s more of an intense and physical playing style. And when I go over there it’s kind of like a switch; I have to switch everything out and it can be more tactical and technical. But I think, you know, playing with men the physicality part is something that’s huge. That helps me a lot, and, yeah, I think I have an advantage when it comes to that.”
Ramiz has 1,345 minutes of pro play this season, slightly less than Guimares’ 1,567 minutes. Guimares has the most playing time this year of any player on the squad. The next most experienced is Kellen Leblanc of Philadelphia Union II with 1,476, followed by his teammate Cavan Sullivan with 1,398. Sullivan also has MLS experience, having logged 214 minutes in the league with the Union and a further 211 in the Open Cup. The player on the squad with the most Division I experience is Julian Hall of the New York Red Bulls. Of his total 1,301 minutes, 970 were with the senior team, 665 in league play, 225 in the Leagues Cup and 80 in the Open Cup. No one else on the squad has any playing time higher than MLS Next Pro, putting the two USLers among the 4 most experienced players on the roster. Along with the duo and 17 MLS/MLSNP players, there are 2 players on the roster currently in Europe: goalkeeper William Lodmell with Sporting Lisbon and forward Mathis Albert of Borussia Dortmund.
There are two more Philadelphia Union system players on the squad. That makes the Union easily the best represented club on the roster, which given that club’s well-known youth system is not surprising at all. However, one of the other two is also of local interest. He is forward Jamir Johnson, who hails from Huntsville. US head coach Gonzalo Segares seems to really rate him; in 5 international games this year he has 228 minutes compared with just 159 minutes in MLSNP.
The US is drawn in Group I with Burkina Faso, Tajikistan and the Czech Republic. Raz considers that a hard group and does not believe the US will take any game lightly. That may be overrating the opposition. Burkina Faso and Tajikistan had a relatively easy time qualifying (Africa and Asia each only had 16 teams enter their qualifying tournaments). The Czechs, despite being in Europe, may have had it even easier, beating only Belarus and Andorra and drawing with Germany to qualify (they also finished last in their group in the UEFA U-17 Championship this year).
Here’s the US’ group schedule for the World Cup:
- Wednesday, November 5th: v. Burkina Faso (9:15am)
- Saturday, November 8th: v. Tajikistan (9:45am)
- Tuesday, November 11th: v. Czech Republic (9:45am)
All games will be streamed in English on Fox Sports platforms.