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From Cavan Sullivan exceeding expectations to a quietly solid back line, GOAL breaks down five key takeaways on the U.S. U17s ahead of their World Cup clash with Morocco.

The U17 World Cup feels important for the U.S. This is a breeding ground of talent, yes, but also a true barometer of where the country's talent pool stands. And, in theory, the U.S. has a pretty good one. Cavan Sullivan is the headliner, of course, but in Mathis Albert, Chase Adams, and Julian Hall, there are enough good footballers here to suggest that they could make a run. 

The group stage only reinforced that notion. Gonzalo Segares' side hasn't exactly blown anyone away, but they have been remarkably composed. The Americans have conceded just once, and looked mightily resolute at the back. Going forward, they have been carried by individuals, but also created chances in spades. Sullivan is finding form, while Albert has enjoyed some promising moments of his own.

Piece it all together, and this is a side well-equipped to continue to win. It isn't a kind matchup on Friday. Morocco are a good team, who are certainly better than their 1-2 record in the group stage that saw them squeak into the round of 32. GOAL looks at the major takeaways from the tournament so far, and evaluates the Americans ahead of their round of 32 matchup…

GettyCavan is cooking

This felt like a big tournament for Sullivan. The hype around the Philadelphia Union product was immense just a year ago. But since then, his star has faded a little. His MLS minutes were few, and his only start came in the U.S. Open Cup. This future Man City player was largely playing in MLS Next Pro. 

The U17 World Cup, then, felt significant. Sullivan needed to perform here, if only to show that he still has that bit of quality to show that he can still make a difference for club and country. And he has shown up in style. Sullivan came off the bench in the U.S.'s opening game against Burkina Faso, complete with a new haircut and a brash attitude about him. His impact was almost immediate. The U.S. were struggling, and the Union product offered the piece of magic necessary to pick up a result. Sullivan responded with a Panenka penalty to give them a 1-0 win. 

He was even better in the second game, making an impact from the start. He began the game in a deeper role, but was an active presence throughout, scoring one and assisting another as the U.S. beat Tajikistan, 2-1. He had two good efforts at goal against Czechia, in the game after, and was unfortunate not to find the net as the U.S. managed a 1-0 win. Early days, but the signs are good.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesAlbert improving

If Sullivan is the known quantity of the U.S., then Albert is the wildcard. Sure, he has already made some noise at Dortmund, but he remains a raw playmaker, the kind of kid to get excited about – but not place expectations on. Some who have worked with him extensively insist that he, not Sullivan, is the best player in his age group. That may or may not be true, but the reality remains: Albert should perform here. 

And his efforts to do so started pretty poorly. He watched from the bench while Sullivan bagged the winner in the first game. He was much better in the second, scoring off a Sullivan assist. And then, he made the difference in the third, bursting into the box before providing a lovely curved finish around a helpless goalkeeper. It was a moment that showed how good this U.S. side can be, full of athleticism and movement – capped off with a deadly final touch.  

@FIFAWorldCupDefense wins championships

And how about at the other end? Sure, the U.S. has attacking quality in spades, and can match up player-for-player with pretty much anyone outside the absolute elite. Still, their defensive showings have been even better. There is the caveat that they have yet to face an attacking force, but the unit looks pretty good at the moment. The raw numbers are good: one goal conceded, 10 shots on target allowed across three games. 

But there's more to it than that. The U.S. have had the majority of the ball in two of their three games thus far, while captain Christopher Cupps, the six-foot-three center back, who featured for Chicago Fire II last year, has been excellent as a one-on-one defender. Sure, there will be tougher challenges to come, but thus far, the Americans have looked wonderful defensively. That will absolutely have to continue in the knockouts.

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GettyHistory makers

A word, too, for the numbers. The U17 World Cup has, historically, been a tricky stage for the Americans. Their best performance remains fourth place in 1999. They haven't made the last eight since 2017, and were bounced in the last 16 in 2023 (although they ran into an excellent Germany side). 

Still, they have made everything look remarkably easy thus far, and are the second U.S. side in history to win all three group games at the competition. The last time that happened was 1991 – before the real advent of the U.S. as a soccer power.

MatériaMais Notícias

A possível saída de Cássio gerou enorme repercussão dentro do Corinthians, tanto entre a diretoria quanto no elenco alvinegro. Os dirigentes corintianos ainda tentam algumas “cartas na manga” para manter o goleiro, mas sua transferência ao Cruzeiro parece iminente.

➡️ A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta e tá na mão!

➡️ Siga o Lance! Corinthians no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Timão

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Internamente, o sentimento é que que perder Cássio para um rival de Série A será mais um golpe na gestão. A diretoria tem sofrido com problemas políticos e bastidores bastante conturbados, principalmente após o rompimento de Augusto Melo com o seu ex-diretor de futebol Rubens Gomes, o Rubão.

Além disso, o goleiro, mesmo em má fase tecnicamente e perdendo a posição de titular para Carlos Miguel, é muito querido pelos jogadores e funcionários, que o veem como uma liderança. Desta forma, o veterano pode ser um aliado para blindar o elenco do Corinthians de problemas externos.

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Enquanto isso, todos no clube do Parque São Jorge estão aguardando a decisão de Cássio, mas não conversam muito profundamente sobre o assunto. Principalmente os atletas, que querem dar espaço para que o goleiro e capitão tome a sua decisão sem ser influenciado por outras pessoas. O desejo do elenco é de que ele permaneça, mas a decisão escolhida tem o respeito geral.

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Eight years on from a tournament that changed everything, women’s cricket stands poised for the next big leap

Vishal Dikshit12-Aug-20250:45

Harmanpreet on her 171*: ‘A lot of things changed in women’s cricket’

Unprecedented broadcast coverage. Record-breaking global reach. A ten-fold increase in prize money. First use of the DRS. The Spidercam and drone looming over Lord’s for the first time. And an epic final that separated England and India by just nine runs.That was the 2017 Women’s World Cup. When the 50-day countdown to the 2025 edition began on Monday, the echoes of 2017 still resonated loudly for the players who will take the field from September 30, for those who have walked away in recent years, and even those who watched it on their screens around the world.For many Indian fans, any mention of the 2017 World Cup immediately brings back Harmanpreet Kaur’s jaw-dropping knock in the semi-final against Australia, and the heartbreaking loss of a trophy that came within touching distance. Fans of South Africa remember missing out narrowly on what would have been their maiden final appearance. For followers of England it was a tournament that broke new ground, and one that launched a new leader in Heather Knight. For Sri Lanka supporters it was about Chamari Athapaththu announcing herself to the world via her 178 not out, also against Australia.1:37

Rodrigues’ memories of the 2017 World Cup as a 16-year-old

While eight teams battled it out in what seemed like just another World Cup, they became, perhaps unknowingly, part of a much bigger movement, and a pioneering event. Every individual effort came to mean so much more.”That knock was really special to me and for women’s cricket,” Harmanpreet said on Monday, recalling her 171* against Australia. “After that knock a lot of things changed personally in my life, and especially in women’s cricket also, because at that time I didn’t really know what had happened because that time I was totally off social media. But when we came back to India, and even though we lost the World Cup [final], the amount of people who were waiting for us, cheering for us, I think that was something very special. Still, when I remember that innings I get goosebumps. I think that was a very special innings and I’m very happy that came from me.”The way Harmanpreet took down the world champions, and the manner in which England and India went toe to toe a thrilling finale three days later, crowned a transformative World Cup that broke several records for women’s cricket viewership in India, a country that makes up a big chunk of the overall numbers. For the tournament in all, there was a 500% increase in viewing hours in India, and as many as 126 million viewers from the country watched the final alone. The reception India’s players got back home despite losing the final was another mark of the dizzying growth of their fan following.Eight years on, women’s cricket continues to feel the echoes of Harmanpreet Kaur’s breathtaking 171* against Australia•Getty ImagesJemimah Rodrigues, who will soon feature in her first World Cup, remembers those heady days well.”So when they played the final at Lord’s, I was 16-and-a-half at that time, and I remember Mumbai Cricket Association had told all the members over there – the Under-19 girls – to go and felicitate our girls at the airport and receive them because they were expecting no one to come,” she said on Monday. “They thought the women’s team has done so well it’s our responsibility [to welcome them].”And I remember at 5.30am we were at the Mumbai airport; I was having an India flag ready to welcome our team. And I still remember that all these players were very tired and at the same time disappointed because they were so close, yet it felt like so far and they walked out of the airport thinking that nobody is going to be there. And at 5.30am the whole airport was packed with media and crowd. And people right now would think that’s normal but at that time for women’s sport it wasn’t.The 2017 World Cup: A victory for England, and an even bigger one for women’s cricket•AFP”So I remember this whole bunch of players coming in – we could see through the glass window – and, seeing so much crowd, going back inside because they were not prepared for it. And I think that was for me the turning point in women’s cricket in India.”The women’s game had spread far and wide, and into uncharted territory. Of the 156 million viewers who watched the World Cup from India, 80 million were from rural parts of the country. It undoubtedly contributed to more girls picking up bat and ball, and to the calls for a Women’s IPL growing more persistent. Eight years on, the results are as evident as they could be, with the Women’s Premier League (WPL) three years old and the ICC billing the upcoming World Cup as “the next leap” for women’s cricket.”When I see people around, especially [since] I come from Sangli, which is not the biggest [of] cities in India, but I see a lot of parents getting their daughters and they have a clear plan that ‘I want my girl to play for India or WPL,'” India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said. “The number of girls playing cricket at this moment is massive and it’s a lot to do with how the last eight years have panned out and the steps which BCCI has taken in recent times, and the WPL. All of those things together, it’s been a massive thing and we’re just fortunate that we’re part of a movement for women’s cricket which we all feel really happy and proud about.”A 16-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues (fourth from right) awaits the return of India’s players from the 2017 World Cup•ESPNcricinfo/Annesha GhoshSoon after the 2017 World Cup ended, it was clear that the tournament had not just been about that Harmanpreet knock or Sarah Taylor’s lightning stumping down the leg side or the Natmeg making its first big appearance or the viral visuals of Mithali Raj reading Rumi before going out to bat. It wasn’t just a change of direction, or a step up. It was a true transformation. A quantum leap.”The 2017 World Cup actually transformed women’s cricket not [just] in India but globally, I would say, because social media was relatively new, the ICC did their part in campaigning and promoting on a larger scale,” Mithali Raj said. “[I remember] I was packing for the World Cup and the [Men’s] Champions Trophy was being played – India vs Pakistan – and I switched on the TV, and I was listening to the commentary while packing. And I heard the commentators go, ‘The next big event is the Women’s one-day World Cup’ and they showed the captains’ hoardings at the stadium.”So quickly did things change in the women’s game that players’ bucket-list fantasies began to get ticked off, one by one. Soon after that World Cup, Mignon du Preez had said, “Imagine turning up at Wanderers or Eden Gardens to watch a women’s game sold out fully?” And within three years her wished turned into reality – perhaps with an upgrade – when an 86,174-strong crowd packed the MCG for the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup: a new attendance record for a women’s cricket event. Athapaththu, meanwhile, called for an Under-19 World Cup; that tournament got underway in 2023. The WPL isn’t just up and running; it’s already the biggest women’s league in the world.1:52

Mithali Raj: India’s confidence a big boost heading into home World Cup

The seeds for all this were also sown in the planning stages of the 2017 World Cup. That tournament saw the use of DRS for the first time in women’s cricket, even if it wasn’t available for all games. It was at the same tournament that the ICC increased the prize money tenfold, to USD 2 million, a big step aimed towards achieving parity with the men’s game. The winners, England, took home USD 660,000, more than three times the entire prize purse (USD 200,000) of the previous edition, 2013. The increased prize money was, in fact, just the icing. The cake had already been handed out to all eight participating teams by their home boards in the form of central contracts in the years leading up to the World Cup, which ensured that all the players turned out as professionals with just one aim: to take the game to the next level.Eight years later, the tournament comes to India, a country that played a major role in boosting those viewership numbers back in 2017, and the country that hosted the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup. That tournament ended with a final that drew a crowd of over 90,000. What kind of numbers will the 2025 Women’s World Cup bring with it?”The upcoming World Cup is the next springboard for the next phase of the journey for women’s cricket,” ICC’s new CEO Sanjog Gupta said on Monday. “In every sense, the growth of women’s cricket in the last eight years particularly has brought us to this moment where it’s time for women’s cricket to take the next leap. And this World Cup is the aperture or springboard for that next leap.”

Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t played any cricket or even trained since the Old Trafford Test match against England where he fractured his right foot, is headed to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to resume his training. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Pant’s foot is not in a cast anymore and he has been walking comfortably.Pant is India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket, and India’s next World Test Championship assignment is at home against West Indies in a two-Test series next month (in Ahmedabad, Oct 2-6 and in Delhi, Oct 10-14). The selection for that series is expected in the last week of September.After Pant was injured at Old Trafford, in what was the fourth Test in England, Dhruv Jurel kept wicket both in that game and at The Oval in the final game, and N Jagadeesan was flown in as back-up. In case Pant doesn’t regain full fitness in time for the Tests against West Indies, Jurel and Jagadeesan could be the frontrunners to be the wicketkeepers in the squad.Pant picked up the injury on the first day of that Old Trafford Test when he attempted a typically audacious reverse sweep off quick bowler Chris Woakes, inside-edging the ball on to his foot. He retired hurt, the fracture was confirmed not long after, and came out to bat the next day despite having arrived at the ground in the morning wearing a moonboot. He went on to add valuable runs, ending with 54 (he had retired hurt when on 37).Jurel kept wicket in both England innings in the game, and while Pant was available to bat if needed in India’s second, he wasn’t required to as Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – the last two ordinarily below Pant in the batting order – scored centuries to save the Test, which kept the series 2-1 in England’s favour. India went on to win the final Test without Pant to square the series 2-2.

Former England Lioness Jill Scott has waded into the controversy surrounding Mary Earp’s revelatory autobiography in which she makes a number of accusations about boss Sarina Wiegman and her handling of rival goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Earps revealed she felt Wiegman was "rewarding bad behaviour" by reinstating Hampton to the squad in 2023.

• Book launch creates controversy

  Hampton had been dropped after Euro 2022 over reports of being "disruptive and unreliable," and Earps said at the time that the decision had strengthened relationships behind the scenes. The situation came to a head in early 2025 when Wiegman named Hampton the new first-choice goalkeeper over Earps, a decision Earps called "bullsh*t" and led to her international retirement just before Euro 2025. 

  Hampton starred for the Lionesses during the successful run in Switzerland, saving two penalties in the final shootout with Spain, and later received the Yashin Trophy for world's best goalkeeper, presented by Earps herself. The decision to reveal details from inside the England camp has since generated backlash for Earps, with Hampton's club manager Sonia Bompastor criticising Earps' "lack of respect". 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Failed attempt at making amends

  After extracts from her book were published in the Guardian and subsequently widely picked up by other media outlets, Earps attempted to backtrack on her claims about Hampton's "bad behaviour" by suggesting she was misrepresented, stressing her vulnerability in the book, and privately messaging Hampton. 

  In her Instagram statement, Earps wrote: "It's gut-wrenching to be portrayed as someone you're not," and argued that "pulling out a paragraph, or a sentence here and there is not a reflection of the contents of the book". In a separate interview, she said, "I have messaged her privately to say: 'Look, no bad blood'". 

• 'It’s gone crazy'

  Scott joined the debate and told this week's Stick to Football podcast: "It’s gone crazy. Obviously, Mary's brought out a book where she's told her side of the story about Hannah Hampton being left out after the Euros, and then Sarina saying she was going to bring her back in, and since then it’s just escalated so much. But I’ve seen a lot of the girls do interviews, and I think their opinions are that if things happen in-house, they should stay in-house.

  "If you asked Hannah, she’d have a version. Sarina would have a version, and Mary would have a version. Hannah’s a fantastic keeper and I think she came in and there was pressure on her to perform when Mary wasn’t there, and there’s all this pressure on Hannah to perform as a young keeper in that Euros; she was absolutely fantastic. Sarina's left her out of a camp and come back in, will people look at that as good management? But the way it’s all going, it's just kind of blew up.

  She added: "When I’m watching Mary’s interview she’s saying, 'Please don’t look at clickbait, read the story,' because she says Hannah’s a fantastic keeper, Sarina look at what’s she’s won – she doesn’t want to question Sarina. So sometimes we can see a headline and a small snippet and think she’s coming at her."

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  Wright's worries over impact of public row

  Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright also shared his thoughts on the controversy, and is concerned for how the drama will impact both Earps and Hampton's form for their respective clubs. 

  Wright said: "The sad thing with it is, because the book is so close and she (Hannah) is still playing, and they're so close to everything still. You normally get this narrative 10, 15, 20 years after you’ve retired so it doesn’t hit so hard. But what I’d be careful of for both of them, is they’re not used to the kind of attention they’re going to get in respect to how it comes on top. The pile-on is a worry."