D.C. United’s youngest ever Homegrown signing Chris Durkin played a major part in helping the Under-17 U.S. Men’s National Team win the 2016 Nike International Friendlies in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. The tournament was established in 2001 to provide top-level competition for the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team, and evolved into one of the premier annual events on the youth soccer calendar.
The U-17 USMNT won the title with a dominant
3-0 win over Brazil on Dec. 4
with Durkin providing the assist to Toronto FC II forward Ayo Akinola to open the scoring in the 43rd minute.
The 16-year-old started all three matches in the center of the midfield for the U-17 USMNT. Durkin played a prominent role in the
7-1 win over Portugal on November 30
and the
5-1 win over Turkey on December 2
. With the 3-0 win over Brazil on December 4, Durkin and the U-17 USMNT secured their first Nike International Friendlies title since 2013.
Durkin, who became United's eighth Homegrown Player after signing with United on June 14, 2016, made his debut for the Black-and-Red the following day in United’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
2016 Nike International Friendlies Standings
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts. |
GF |
GA |
GD |
USA |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
15 |
2 |
+13 |
Brazil |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
-1 |
Portugal |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
-4 |
Turkey |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
11 |
-8 |