Safety First: U.S. Soccer Pulls Its Under-17 Team Out of the World Cup in Qatar

Twenty-one American teenagers had earned the chance of a lifetime: a World Cup jersey. On Wednesday, the adults responsible for them decided that keeping them safe came first.

U.S. Soccer pulled its under-17 men's national team out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar over safety concerns, the federation confirmed to ESPN. U.S. Soccer informed players and families on Wednesday, November 11, USA Today reported. The decision came eight days before kickoff, Fox News reported.

In a letter to players obtained by ESPN, the federation said it was canceling its pre-tournament camp and its planned participation, citing the State Department's Level 3 travel advisory for Qatar and related directives for embassy staff and families. The letter said "we are no longer able to participate in the tournament," ESPN reported. The federation also wrote of its shared disappointment with players and families, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The State Department issued the Level 3 advisory on October 23, urging Americans to reconsider travel to Qatar because of the risk of armed conflict, according to ESPN and Fox News. The advisory cited attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Saudi Arabia, ESPN reported, and it urged Americans in Qatar to be ready to shelter in place with a departure plan that does not depend on U.S. government help, Fox News reported. Nonemergency U.S. government staff and their families were ordered out of Saudi Arabia the same day, Fox reported.

The danger in the region is real. Qatar has been targeted by Iranian missiles and drones this year, and two vessels were hit in waters off Qatar in separate incidents over the past two weeks, USA Today reported. Asia's soccer confederation has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia after deadly attacks there, USA Today reported.

Head coach Alex Aldaz named his 21-player roster last week, ESPN reported. The Americans were drawn into Group J and were scheduled to open against Montenegro on November 21, then face Chile on November 24 and Algeria on November 27, Fox News reported. The team qualified in February, Fox reported. Philadelphia Union striker Malik Jakupović was a star of that qualifying run, scoring eight goals in three games, the Inquirer reported, and he will now return to the Union for its playoff run.

The tournament, the second edition of FIFA's expanded, annual 48-team format, is set for November 19 to December 13, with most matches at Doha's Aspire Zone complex and the final at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, USA Today reported. FIFA announced in 2024 that Qatar would host the event every year from 2025 through 2029, ESPN reported. The U.S. was eliminated in the round of 32 last year.

FIFA declined to comment to USA Today Sports. Under the tournament's regulations, a team that withdraws within 30 days of the start faces a fine of at least 20,000 Swiss francs, about $24,000, and FIFA may add a replacement team, USA Today reported. There was no indication that other countries plan to follow the U.S. out, according to USA Today.

It hurts. These players gave up weekends, holidays and ordinary teenage years for this. Some may never wear the national team crest at a World Cup again. But every parent in America understands the decision. When your own government is telling diplomats' families to be ready to shelter in place, you do not send someone else's 16-year-old into that region to play a game.

Character is often revealed in disappointment. How these young men handle this setback, and how they come back from it, will say more about them than any goal they might have scored in Doha. Their country will be cheering when their next chance comes.