NYCFC homegrown James Sands captained his USA U-17 squad to a third-placed finish at the International Tournament of Vaclav Jezek in the Czech Republic as they continued their preparations for this October's FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In their most recent tune-up tournament, which finished up this past Saturday, the U-17s started hot with a 4-1 win over Hungary and a 3-1 victory over Russia. Sands scored the second goal of the tournament for the Americans, heading home a corner kick from LA Galaxy Academy player Alex Mendez in the 37th minute.
The young Americans saw their hot start cooled by Japan, who handed them a 4-0 loss and sent them into the 3rd place match.