FRISCO, Texas (Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009) - FC Dallas midfielder Bryan Leyva started and played 86 minutes for the Mexican U-17 team in today's FIFA U-17 World Cup loss to Korea Republic at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi, Nigeria.The El Tri were eliminated from the tournament after drawing Korea Republic 1-1 in regular time and falling 3-5 on penalties. Leyva is expected to return to Dallas next week.
Leyva, the first FC Dallas youth academy player to sign with the professional team, has been with the Mexican national team the past month participating in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria.
The midfielder got his first tournament start in Mexico's 2-0 loss to Switzerland in the group stage on Oct. 24. Mexico advanced to the Round of 16 today after securing second place in the group stage by defeating both Brazil and Japan. Leyva's start today versus Korea Republic was his second in the U-17 World Cup tournament.
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