Three truths about Canada: Its flag bears a red maple leaf, Ottawa is its capital city, and its Under-18 National Team in football has never lost to the United States.

Matt Hennesy and his U.S. Under-18 National Team – listed below – aim to erase the third factoid above at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., next month at the 2017 North American Championship.

The international football event features U.S. and Canadian Under-18 and Under-19 National Teams, respectively, on Jan. 28. The Under-18 game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Under-19 game at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Canada is 6-0 all-time against the U.S. in Under-18 National Team competition.

“I’m telling our players that this is no vacation we’re taking in Orlando,” said Hennesy, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 National Team and Locust Grove (Okla.) High School. A former linebacker at Kansas State under College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder, Hennesy brings 24 years of high school coaching experience to USA Football. “It’ll be a solid week of preparation to make sure that we are the most prepared team on the field.”

Hennesy is aware of the series history and sustained a loss to the Canadians in July as an assistant coach on the U.S. National Team that participated in the 2016 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Under-19 World Championship in Harbin, China. Canada won the championship’s gold medal game, 24-6.

“This will be the fourth time I’ve faced a team in the Canadian program,” said Hennesy. “Every time I’ve faced them, they’ve been extremely well coached, big, physical, and they play hard. People unfamiliar with international football don’t realize how well the sport is played at this level. They don’t get how big of an honor it is for the Canadians to play for their national team.

“If we don’t bring our ‘A’ game, it won’t be a good outcome.”

Six of Hennesy’s eight assistant coaches in Orlando were part of that U.S. Under-19 staff. The staff’s continuity is intentional to help accelerate the team’s game plan installation in Florida.

“We have young men who can play this game,” Hennesy said. “We’ll focus mainly on scheme work during our practice week.

Hennesy is looking forward to both the challenge and the opportunity to represent his country on the gridiron.

“I’ve coached in all-star games, this is completely different,” he said. “Coaching a U.S. National Team in international competition – when you’re on that sideline with “USA” on your chest, standing for the national anthem – that feeling you get is not what you experience in a regular game. We’re going to get that through to our players.”

2017 U.S. Under-18 National Team roster:

Name	Pos.	High School
Shawn Aarhus	DL	Benson (Minn.)
Ledgen Angeli	Ath.	Hartshorne (Okla.)
Alec Austin	TE	Nolan Catholic (Colleyville, Texas)
Joe Basiura	OL	Malvern Preparatory (Pa.)
Rashod Bateman	WR	Tift County (Tifton, Ga.)
Will Bates	OL	Locust Grove (Okla.)
Ryan Betz	TE	Malvern Preparatory (Pa.)
Andrew Bostic	RB	Wise (Bowie, Md.)
Treylen Brown	OL	Byrnes Rebels (Woodruff, S.C.)
Daniel Cantrell	LB	Bishop Kelly (Boise, Idaho)
Jaren Dirtseller	LB	Locust Grove (Okla.)
Gavin Dunnam	TE	Seneca (Neosho, Mo.)
Ezekiel Ennis	WR	Saint Augustine Prep (Millville, N.J.)
Deandre Faulk	LB	Lakeland (Suffolf, Va.)
Noah Ferguson	OL	Clayton (N.C.)
Jelani Foster	WR	St. Vincent Pallotti (Laurel, Md.)
Caleb Gibson	LB	Locust Grove (Okla.)
Zachary Green	QB	Grassfield (Chesapeake, Va.)
John Bailey Gullatt	LB	West Monroe (La.)
Anfernee Gurley	DB	Archbishop Murphy (Everett, Wash.)
Shomari Hayes	DL	Mountain Pointe (Tempe, Ariz.)
Azizi Hearn	DB	Oceanside (Calif.)
Isaiah Humphries	DB	Sachse (Rowlett, Texas)
Andrew Johnson	DL	Tift County (Tifton, Ga.)
Jacob Lange	DB	Warren Township (Gurnee, Ill.)
Reginald Lee, Jr.	DL	Miami Norland (Sunrise, Fla.)
Demetrice Lofton	DL	Creekside (Atlanta, Ga.)
Joshua Maize	DL	Deerfield (Ill.)
Jalen Mayden	QB	Sachse (Rowlett, Texas)
Dylan Mcdonald	LB	Parsippany Hills (N.J.)
Verone Mckinley III	DB	Hebron (Carrollton, Texas)
Alec Meza	RB	Vista Grande (Casa Grande, Ariz.)
Damon Nelson II	OL	Har Ber (Springdale, Ariz.)
Javonte Oliphat	DB	Trinity (Texas)
David Pence	OL	Peabody Veterans Memorial (Mass.)
Noah Quier	OL	IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Marvin Robinson	DB	Sussex Central (Prince George, Va.)
Hayden Rome	K	The Kinkaid School (Houston, Texas)
Mohamed Sanogo	LB	Plano West (Plano, Texas)
David Shannon	WR	East Ridge High (Clermont, Fla.)
Dillon Spalding	WR	South County (Lorton, Va.)
Kyle Swinford	DL	Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento, Calif.)
Noah Taylor	LB	The Avalon School (Rockville, Md.)
Isaiah Ward	DL	Peoria Notre Dame (Peoria, Ill.)
Maurice Washington III	WR	Oak Grove (San Jose, Calif.)
Brandon Wilkes	OL	Hilliard Middle Senior (Hilliard, Fla.)

Coaches

Matt Hennesy	Head Coach	Locust Grove (Okla.)
Fred Biletnikoff, Jr.	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	Livermore (Calif.) Valley Charter
Bill Williams	Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line	Holdenville (Okla.)
Greg Purdum	Offensive Line	Louisiana (Mo.)
Brandon Younger	Cornerbacks	Oak Grove (Calif.)
Lamont Robinson	Safeties	Millville (N.J.)
Matt Geginheimer	Linebackers	Prior Lake (Minn.)
David Blevins	Wide Receivers	Locust Grove (Okla.)
Casey Taylor	Running Backs	Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.)

Play for your country and join the U.S. National Team family – the journey begins here.