George Bello called up to the USMNT U-17 squad

In a move that surprises absolutely no one in Atlanta, George Bello has been called up to join the U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Men’s National Team as it travels to England for the 2018 U-17 International Youth Tournament. Also called up for the squad is Atlanta United U-16 academy player William Reilly from Decatur, Georgia in his first selection for the U-17s.

The team will be facing England this Friday, followed by Brazil on Sunday and Russia on Tuesday. That means Bello will have just three days after his return from England before the Chicago Fire game on Sunday, October 21.

It could have been worse: the U-17s just concluded the Four Nations Tournament in Mexico this past Sunday, losing 2-1 to Argentina and 2-0 to Mexico and tying Chile 1-1. Bello could have missed out on a career goal, and Atlanta would have been desperately thin at left back. Bello and Reilly aren’t the only changes to the roster, though: of the players in the Mexico squad, only 9 are included in the 21-man roster traveling to Europe.

While there are some concerns ahead of next week’s Atlanta game, there can be no doubt that Bello’s call-up is thoroughly deserved.

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