Three Houston Dynamo FC Academy players received invitations to the upcoming U.S. Under-17 Men’s Youth National Team’s matches. The three players that were invited by U.S. Soccer are forward Andre Gitau, midfielder Luis Moreno and forward Zeke Soto.
The team will be playing in Buenos Aires, Argentina for matches against Argentina on March 15 and Uruguay on March 18.
“We are very excited for Andre, Lalito and Zeke to be called into the most recent U17 US Men’s National Team event,” Houston Dynamo Academy Director Paul Holocher said. “It will provide them with an invaluable experience to represent their country and compete in high-level international matches with Argentina and Uruguay. It’s a fantastic opportunity to show their qualities and aid in their progression through the Dynamo’s professional pathway to the first team.”
Gitau and Moreno spent time training with the Houston Dynamo’s first and second teams this winter.
Among the 12 MLS clubs with players receiving invites, the Dynamo’s three players make Houston the second most well represented team.
The Dynamo are also distinct in having the youngest player on the team. Soto is the only player invited to Argentina who was born in 2007, while the rest of the team is comprised of players born in 2006.
The team is preparing for its return to international competition after the 2021 Concacaf U-17 Championship and 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup were canceled due to the global health pandemic. The U-17s’ last international action came at a UEFA Development Tournament in February 2020, just before the global COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sporting world. There, the U-17s faced off against Spain, England and Denmark in what turned out to be the only matches of the 2020-21 U-17 cycle.
