KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines—Malik Jakupovic continues to prove what Union II head coach Ryan Richter said of him last year: He knows where the goal is. The 16-year-old striker from Union II scored the last two goals in the United States U-17 Men’s National Team’s 8-0 victory against St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the opening match of the Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers on Thursday, and continued to show his finishing ability. It was a dominant win and a great tone-setter for Alex Aldaz’s group as they look to qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Jakupovic has seemingly picked up where he left off, as in his last national team call up, he scored four goals and got Player of the Tournament. This time, he came off the bench and added two exclamation points to the United States’ emphatic win. His first goal came in the 71st minute off a Paul Sokoloff free kick that he headed into the back of the net. He followed that up in the 81st minute by tapping in a cross from Myles Gardner, who had gone on a breakaway.
The USA took an early lead courtesy of Aaron Medina in the 6th minute and never looked back. Their opponent had an own goal in the 15th minute, and then Medina completed his hat trick with goals in the 28th and 37th minute. Jakupovic replaced Medina in the 62nd minute. Sokoloff continued the onslaught, scoring a brace (61′, 66′). Will Ostrander had three assists on the evening.
The other Philadelphia player on the squad, goalkeeper Matthew White of the Union Academy, was an unused substitute in the match.
Following the opening matches of the tournament, the USA sits atop Group E with three points and a +8 goal differential. The Dominican Republic, who they will face on Tuesday, February 10 at 1:00 pm, are in second with 3 points and a +5 GD after their defeat of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The USA will next face St. Kitts and Nevis on Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 pm, which will air on FS2. Multiple screens may come in handy for Union fans looking for a great evening of soccer as they can also catch the Union’s preseason friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 6:00 pm via a free livestream. The club announced today that the match, presented by Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, will have a multi-camera set up and play-by-play. You can stream that match HERE.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II
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