USA, Montenegro, Chile, Algeria Set for U-17 World Cup
FIFA has published team profiles for four Group J sides competing at the U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Soccer
FIFA published profiles for four Group J teams competing at the U-17 World Cup: USA, Montenegro, Chile and Algeria. The profiles cover each team's qualification route and previous World Cup history.
Why it matters
The profiles give readers a baseline for each team's youth tournament pedigree heading into group play. USA has the deepest World Cup history of the four, while Montenegro is making its first appearance at this level.
Participation counts come from FIFA's team profiles, with USA holding 19 previous appearances against Montenegro's zero. Malik Jakupovic led USA's Concacaf qualifying with eight goals, though the profiles do not project how the group will finish.
The players
FIFA
FIFA is the international governing body of association football, which organizes the U-17 World Cup and publishes the team profiles.
Malik Jakupovic
Jakupovic is a USA forward who led the team in scoring during Concacaf qualifying with eight goals and plays club soccer for the Philadelphia Union.
The details
Montenegro reached the UEFA U-17 EURO final tournament to qualify, while Chile finished fifth at the CONMEBOL Sub17 and Algeria was a quarter-finalist at the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. USA won its Concacaf U-17 World Cup qualifying group, with Jakupovic, who plays for the Philadelphia Union, leading the scoring.
Timeline
1993: Chile finished third, its best U-17 World Cup result.
1999: USA reached fourth place, its best U-17 World Cup result.
2009: Algeria advanced from the group stage, its best U-17 World Cup result.
A year ago: Cavan Sullivan starred at the previous U-17 World Cup.
Youth Pipeline
USA's 19 appearances and its 1999 fourth-place finish place the squad within a long U-17 program history, which now sits alongside Montenegro's debut. The comparison underscores how uneven youth World Cup experience remains across the four teams.
Fantasy and betting readers tracking the tournament can use Jakupovic's eight-goal Concacaf total as a baseline for USA's attacking output. The participation records also show which squads have limited prior World Cup exposure.
The takeaway
Youth World Cup history gives early context, but it does not determine results. Readers following Group J should weigh each team's qualification record alongside how it performs once matches begin.
Further reading
For broader context on youth national-team competition, see the Soccer section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fifa.
