Keyrol Figueroa has spoken out about his decision to represent the United States amid a standout CONCACAF U-17 Championship performance.
Figueroa is the co-leading scorer at the tournament with six goals, scoring a brace earlier this week as the U.S. defeated Guatemala 5-3 to clinch a spot at the U-17 World Cup later this year.
There has been plenty of attention of late around Figueroa, who is the son of former Honduras great Maynor Figueroa.
Keyrol Figueroa was born in Honduras but moved to England at a young age when his father transferred to Wigan — then in the Premier League. Keyrol would eventually return to England when he signed with Liverpool, where he currently plays for the club’s U-18 side.
Though his father has the most caps in Honduras history with 181 and he’s also eligible to represent England, Keyrol has opted to represent the United States at international level.
In a video posted on U.S. Soccer’s Twitter, he explained that having family all across the United States influenced his decision.
"My family is spread across the U.S. and every person represents me… It's not just my dream, it's everybody's dream."
Forward Keyrol Figueroa is carving his own path and shares what it means to play for the #U17MYNT 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/cfiR0Zb6D3
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) February 24, 2023
“I was questioning which team I was going to represent,” he said. “But what made me pick the U.S. is the fact that all my family are spread across the U.S. I think every little person represents me. So I thought the U.S. was a perfect choice. I want to represent them and make them proud. I want to make everyone close to me proud because I think it’s not just my dream, it grew into everybody’s dream.”
Maynor Figueroa only recently retired after he played in MLS from 2015 to 2021 with Colorado, FC Dallas and Houston. He also played for Honduras in the most recent World Cup qualifying cycle, starting both games against the USMNT.
Keyrol Figueroa said that his father has taught him plenty about being a striker, despite spending his career as a defender.
“He was a defender, and he knew what he hated about strikers that he played against,” the 16-year-old said. “So he’d always teach me. He taught me how to beat players one-v-one, or even where to put [the ball] in the back of the net. Because sometimes when I was younger, I used to love to kick the ball hard, but he actually taught me how to compose myself and slow myself down and where to put it.”
[lawrence-related id=14403,14482,14475]