Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC and U.S. Soccer have announced that Christopher Cupps, a defender from the Chicago Fire Academy, has been selected for the U.S. U-17 Men's Youth National Team roster. The team will compete in the 2025 Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers in San Jose, Costa Rica, from February 3 to 16. Additionally, defender Chase Nagle will join the squad as a training player until February 10.

The U-17 USMNT is coached by Gonzalo Segares, a former player for the Chicago Fire. The team will face the US Virgin Islands on February 10 at 7 p.m. CT and St. Kitts and Nevis on February 12 at 7 p.m. CT, both at Estadio Nacional in San Jose. They will conclude the group stage against Cuba on February 15 at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela.

Cupps is part of the Chicago Fire Academy's U-19 age level and played regularly for Chicago Fire II during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season, appearing in 15 matches with ten starts and totaling 975 minutes of playtime. He also joined preseason training with the Chicago Fire first team, participating in matches against Fortaleza and Sporting Kansas City.

Cupps recently attended a domestic training camp with the U-17 USMYNT in West Palm Beach, Florida, last November. Earlier in May 2024, he was part of the U-16 USMYNT that traveled to Buenos Aires for friendly matches against Argentina and Uruguay. This marks Nagle's first participation in a USMYNT training camp.