Four months after the U.S. Women’s National Team raised the World Cup trophy in Vancouver and 16 months removed from Tim Howard’s Round of 16 heroics at Arena Fonte Nova, another World Cup will begin for the Stars and Stripes in Chile.

The 21-player roster is set. Two New York Cosmos will feature when the United States Under-17s begin group play on October 17. Forward Haji Wright, who signed with the club in late March and has made three NASL appearances with the first team, is the most prolific attacking option for the Americans. In 2014 he scored 18 goals and added seven assists in 22 international appearances. Weeks before signing in New York, he helped his country qualify for the World Cup through a dramatic penalty shootout win over Jamaica.

“We’re a confident team,” the 17-year-old Wright told NYCosmos.com before leaving to join the U.S. U-17 team. “I think we can get great results, get out of our group and hopefully go fight for a World Cup.”

The U.S. U-17s, not unlike the senior men’s squad last year, are drawn into a so-called “Group of Death” that includes the host nation plus 2013 winners Nigeria and 2015 U-17 Euro quarterfinalists Croatia.

“We’ve played Chile before, and we’ve gotten good results against them,” said Wright. “We’ve played Croatia and gotten good results against them, too. The only team we haven’t faced in our group is Nigeria, but we’re looking forward to that challenge.”

Wright and his teammates will familiarize themselves quickly with the Nigerians. The first fixture in Group A pits the Americans against the defending champs. They stormed through their semifinal and final matchups in 2013, overwhelming Sweden and Mexico by a combined 6-0 scoreline to top the tournament.

One U.S. defender who’ll be tasked with slowing down some potent offenses is one of the Cosmos’ most recent signings: 17-year-old San Diego native Alexis Velela. He netted the winning penalty against Jamaica in Honduras this past March and signed with the Cosmos in August. Once the tournament is over, he’ll begin training with the club in earnest.

Velela cited his relationship with Wright, who grew up in Los Angeles, as a factor that helped solidify signing his first professional contract in New York.

“He’s a really good friend of mine since the U-14 national team days,” said Velela. “He made me feel like I had a friend at the Cosmos, plus everyone else really made me feel at home. And when I found out I had a chance to play where Raúl was playing, I knew I couldn’t pass that up.”

U.S. U-17 head coach Richie Williams told NASL.com’s Matthew Levine in September that he has observed a difference in Wright’s quality with the national team since he joined the Cosmos.

“It’s helped him toughen up, per se, and has helped him be more aggressive to just be able to see what it’s been like to compete with professionals day in and day out,” Williams said. “You can definitely see that side of him improve. He’s gifted technically, he has scored a lot of goals for us and he does well in the attacking half of the field. There are little parts of his game that need to be developed more, and I think training with the Cosmos has helped him develop those traits.”

“Playing with grown men has definitely been beneficial for me,” Wright said. “I’m a better, more comfortable player. Raúl and a lot of other guys on the team are great teachers. You can learn so much just from watching what they do.”

He broke through with his first assist for the Cosmos August 30, subbing on in the second half and exhibiting impressive control and spatial awareness to lay off the ball for a game-winning goal from Lucky Mkosana. After the match Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese was complimentary of his young striker.

“Bringing Haji along to the first team, we’ve been careful to help him develop in the way a young player like him needs,” Savarese said. “When he came on, he brought a new element to the match with his size and quickness. I’m very pleased with his progress and performance.”

Check out @Luckynumber17_ as his 5th goal of the season propelled the @NYCosmos to a 3-2 win against @RailHawksFC. pic.twitter.com/D1g4QuMenN

— ONE World Sports (@ONEWorldSports) August 30, 2015

In the past the U-17 World Cup has further raised the profiles of some of the world’s most talented young footballers. Kelechi Iheanacho of Nigeria won the competition’s Golden Ball in 2013 and came to terms with Premier League giants Manchester City a year later. Now 18 years old, the striker debuted for City’s top squad on August 29 against Watford and scored his first goal on September 12 against Crystal Palace.

“I hope myself, Alexis and all the guys on our team have a great tournament,” Wright said. “I think Christian Pulisic could especially be poised for a great World Cup. But in the end we’re all hoping to work together and represent the red, white and blue as best we can.”

“Josh Perez and Matthew Olosunde are two guys that also impress me with their technical ability,” Velela said. “It’s always exciting to represent my country with all these guys. It’s really special to me.”

After a pair of final tune-ups against Mexico’s U-17s September 23 and 25, the United States now fixes its full attention on the opener at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago.

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” Wright said, smiling. “We can’t wait.”

UPDATE: As of October 1, Velela and Wright are officially part of head coach Richie Williams' 21-player roster for the U-17 World Cup.