Inter Miami CF Academy player Santiago Morales has been called up by the U.S. U-17 Men’s Youth National Team for a training camp taking place in Palm Beach, Fla. from April 17 to 24. The midfielder is one of 23 players summoned for the team's first training camp since qualifying to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup which will be taking place in November/December.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006 are age-eligible for this year’s World Cup. Head coach Gonzalo Segares called up 18 players born in 2006, four born in 2007 and one born in 2008.
This is the seventh time Morales, 16, has been called up for international duty since joining Inter Miami. In 2023, Morales has been previously called up twice by U.S. U-17 MYNT; first for a training camp in January and then in February as one of the team's three alternates for Concacaf U-17 Championship
At the club level, Morales, who has since made the jump to the Academy’s U-17 team, capped off a spectacular season with the Inter Miami Academy U-15 side in 2022, becoming national champions by claiming the MLS NEXT Cup title. The midfielder also scored the winner in the final of the tournament and was selected as the MVP of the U-15 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs. Most recently, Morales competed with the U-17 side at the 2023 Generation adidas Cup earlier this month.
Morales are among a growing list of current and former Inter Miami CF Academy players to be called up to a national team, including: Noah Allen, Nicholas Almeida, Tyler Austin, Edison Azcona, Brandon Bent, Israel Boatwright, Benjamin Cremaschi, Bryan Destin, Justin Ellis, Victor Fung, Tyler Hall, Kai Nesfield, Daniel Pinter, Adrián Rosario, David Ruiz and Felipe Valencia, among others.
