Richie Williams names final 23-man roster for U-17 World Cup

The 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup is just over two weeks away. In preparation for the tournament, United States head coach Richie Williams has named his final roster.

A few of the 23 names on the roster may be familiar to the mainstream American soccer supporter, like Christian Pulisic or Haji Wright. Pulisic is undoubtedly the star of the team, the talented midfielder plays with the Borussia Dortmund U-19 team and has scored a plethora of goals during this U-17 cycle. Wright plays for the New York Cosmos and is a freak of an athlete for such a young player.

Several notable names that may not be as known, but will likely soon be household names, include Joshua Perez, Joe Gallardo, Luca de la Torre, and Tyler Adams.

The Americans begin play on the first day of the tournament (Oct. 17) against Nigeria. While this group is undeniably talented, their pre-tournament warm-up matches haven't gone very smoothly. Despite the rocky recent results and the tough group draw, there is still hope that this crop of players can advance far in Chile.

Full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy II; Westminster, Calif.), William Pulisic (Richmond United; Mechanicsville, Va.), Kevin Silva (Players Development Academy; Bethlehem, Pa.)

DEFENDERS (8): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls II; Wappinger Falls, N.Y.),Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy Academy; Norwalk, Calif.), Danny Barbir (West Bromwich Albion; Allentown, Penn.), Tanner Dieterich (Real Salt Lake Academy; Nashville, Tenn.), John Nelson (Internationals; Medina, Ohio), Matthew Olosunde (New York Red Bulls Academy; Trenton, N.J.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union Academy; Media, Pa.), Alexis Velela (New York Cosmos; San Diego, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal; Palmdale, Calif.), Luca de la Torre (Fulham F.C. San Diego, Calif.), Thomas McCabe (Players Development Academy; South Orange, N.J.), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund; Hershey, Pa.), Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas; El Paso, Tex.)

FORWARDS (5): Pierre da Silva (Orlando City SC Academy; Port Chester, N.Y.), Joe Gallardo (C.F. Monterrey; San Diego, Calif.), Josh Perez (Unattached; La Habra, Calif.), Brandon Vazquez (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Haji Wright (New York Cosmos; Los Angeles, Calif.)