U.S. U-17 national team coach John Ellinger has announced the 18-man roster for the 1999 CONCACAF U-17 qualifying tournament to be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, February 21-28. “The core group of this team has worked hard over the past year and is ready to show the world that they can play,” said Ellinger. “This team is explosive, skillful and one of the most talented youth teams that I have coached.” Over the past year, Ellinger has conducted one of the most extensive training programs in the U-17s preparation for the ’99 CONCACAF qualifying tournament. Going into qualification the U-17s have played in 29 international matches posting a 18-7-4 record, had six domestic training camps, traveled more than 150 days, played in eight different countries, became the first U.S. Soccer national team to defeat Argentina in Buenos Aires, entered a 10-month full-time residency program at the Bollettieri Sports Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and are currently riding an eight game undefeated international streak dating back to Aug. 30 when the USA defeated Germany 4-1 in Bad Waltersdolf, Austria. Raul Palomares (Inglewood, Calif.) is the only player named to the 18-man roster that is not in residency at Bollittieri Sports Academy. Palomares joined the squad earlier this week in Bradenton, Fla. as the team wraps up final preparations for the qualifying tournament. “Palomares has spent the last five or six months in Germany training with FC Kaiserslautern’s youth team. His speed of play, skill and vision for the game has improved tremendously and we feel that he will contribute to this team,” said Ellinger. “Palomares is a versatile player who will be beneficial to this teams development and success on the international level.” The USA will begin qualifying against Costa Rica on Feb. 24, before playing Honduras on Feb. 26 and then concluding with Jamaica on Feb. 28. The U-17s are scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Mutiny of MLS on Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Bradenton, Fla. The team will train on Saturday morning before charting a bus to Fort Lauderdale for the USA-Chile match on Feb. 21. The team is scheduled to make an appearance at halftime of the U.S. men’s match and will depart immediately for Jamaica following the halftime festivities. Here is the U-17 roster:
| GOALKEEPERS | ||||
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| 1 | Delvin Countess | 6-0 | 165 | Sacramento, Calif. |
| 18 | Steve Cronin | 6-0 | 150 | Sacramento, Calif. |
| DEFENDERS | ||||
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| 4 | Nelson Akwari | 5-11 | 175 | Houston, Texas |
| 6 | Greg Martin | 5-7 | 140 | Plano, Texas |
| 8 | Alexander Yi | 5-11 | 160 | Easton, Md. |
| 14 | Oguchi Onyewu | 6-0 | 150 | Olney, Md. |
| 22 | Kellen Kalso | 5-9 | 165 | Oxford, Mich. |
| MIDFIELDERS | ||||
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| 3 | DaMarcus Beasley | 5-7 | 126 | Ft. Wayne, Ind. |
| 5 | Bryan Jackson | 5-8 | 150 | La Canada, Calif. |
| 7 | Kenneth Cutler | 5-8 | 130 | Richmond, Va. |
| 9 | Adolfo Gregorio | 5-8 | 160 | Hilmar, Calif. |
| 15 | Kyle Beckerman | 5-9 | 135 | Crofton, Md. |
| 17 | Seth Trembly | 5-6 | 140 | Littleton, Colo. |
| 19 | Raul Palomares | 5-10 | 145 | Inglewood, Calif. |
| 20 | Landon Donovan | 5-8 | 148 | Redlands, Calif. |
| FORWARDS | ||||
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| 11 | Bobby Convey | 5-7 | 145 | Philadelphia |
| 13 | Raul Rivera | 5-9 | 150 | Tulare, Calif. |
| 16 | Jordan Cila | 5-9 | 160 | Jericho, N.Y. |