Crinion: The U-17 Women's World Cup gets better every year

A new face will be on the touchline for USA at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™. Ciara Crinion is now at the helm and will be guiding the young Americans at Morocco 2026. No stranger to the USA setup as coach of the U-15s and U-16s, and an assistant coach to Katie Schoepfer at Dominican Republic 2024, Crinion navigated the Stars and Stripes to a successful qualifying campaign with three victories from three matches, while outscoring opponents 32-0. Her squad will take aim at China PR, Kenya and Samoa in Group E at the global finals, with the quest of ultimately raising the U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy for the first time. Crinion recently visited with FIFA about USA’s Morocco 2026 ambitions, what she has learned about her players, and the overall rise in quality of the U-17 Women’s World Cup. NORDHORN, GERMANY - JUNE 11: Head coach Ciara Crinion of United States reacts during the International friendly match between Germany U15 Girls and United States U15 Girls at Sportpark Blanke on June 11, 2024 in Nordhorn, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images for DFB) FIFA: How have the team's World Cup preparations gone so far? Ciara Crinion: Preparation has been great. This year, we've had an opportunity to play in a lot of international games and get a lot of experience for players through our World Cup qualifiers in Concacaf. Also, we've been to Japan, so we've done that travel and we've done those games, which was awesome. We've had a really good opportunity to get a lot of players in games and then get a lot of exposure to different teams as well. What have you learned about your players in this process? I’ve learned about their ability to want to represent the crest and perform and how much it means to [them]. It just stands out so much. The level of pride that players take when they get to represent their country, you see it every day in terms of how we train and how we play when the whistle goes. The level of competing is awesome. What have you enjoyed the most about coaching these players? One of the things that I do love the most about coaching these players is you get to go through that journey with them. At the end of our U-17 cycle, we have players that are playing club soccer and are starting to look and transition into a university. You're also seeing players that are going into a pro environment. I feel lucky to be part of that journey with them and supporting them through that. They grow up a lot between U-16 and U-17, and you watch them take on the challenges. So being part of that journey with them and supporting them through that has been one of the best things for me. Do you feel like the U-17 Women's World Cup gets better with every year? Yes, every country now is just technically, tactically and physically better. You can just see where the game is going, which is so exciting. Every country that you play, there's always going to be a challenge there, an individual and a collective one. The level has just gone up. We have to continue to stay with that and compete as well. [The U-17 Women’s World Cup] almost feels like that first stepping stone in a major tournament for young players, and now you see how serious it is taken. We see ourselves as one of the leaders in that, so we want to continue to do that for ourselves and for everyone. Have you thoroughly assessed your group opponents, or is the focus more on what you all do? It always starts with us. Every time that we train and we go out to play, it always starts with us and what we're trying to do. That will always be the main piece. Of course, there's always going to be an awareness of what's coming our way and maybe some of the things that we might see in the game. There's definitely an awareness of who we're playing, or the challenges that we might have within the game. But the focus is always going to be on us and how we perform and what we're trying to do. Do you anticipate having some of the players who played in the 2025 edition in this tournament? We hope so. There are a couple of players that had that experience last year, which is awesome. It's great for them to be able to do it again and share learned experiences with team-mates as well. To have an opportunity to play in one World Cup is amazing, so to have the opportunity to play in two is really something special. If players do play in repeated World Cups, it's not something that they take for granted. Sometimes having a team-mate to lean on or have a conversation with or have a shared experience helps the group as well. USA v Ecuador| Group C | FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Morocco 2025™ | Highlights Watch the highlights between USA and Ecuador played at Football Academy Mohammed VI (Pitch 3) on Saturday 18 October at 20:00 (local time). Do you feel like this group can be the first USA team to win the U-17 Women’s World Cup? When we go into any tournament, we back ourselves, and you always want to feel that way, but winning is a lot more difficult. We want to develop players that win on the grand scale, that win a World Cup with our women one day, and can win an Olympics. We do see that's part of our DNA. You won't find someone that believes in the group more than me, but that won't be ever defined by a podium finish. CHIBA, JAPAN - JULY 06: Head coach Crinion Ciara of U17 United States speaks to her players after the international friendly match between U17 United States v U17 Japan at The Prince Takamado Memorial JFA YUME Field on July 06, 2026 in Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/USSF/Getty Images) I think the biggest thing for us is how these tournaments can start a player’s career. It can be the learning that they need, and we might see it down the line. We have players that play for our [senior] women right now, and some of their fondest memories are the U-17 World Cup. They didn't necessarily win it, but they probably learned a lot about themselves and what it takes to win in these World Cups. But you won't find someone that believes in the group more than me. Like I said, every tournament is very difficult to be in, so we'll take it step by step.