The U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team has been drawn into Group E of the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria with Spain, Malawi and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. opens play against Spain on Oct. 26 then face Malawi on Oct. 29. The first two games are in in Kano before the team to Ijebu-Ode to close out the first round against UAE on Nov. 1.

“We knew that whatever group we were going to be placed into would have three good teams,” said U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera after the draw. “We are familiar with Spain a little bit because we played them last year, and we know that Malawi and UAE will be difficult. It’s not easy to qualify from Europe, Africa or from Asia so we know we will have to play well if we are going to advance. The three teams in our group have very different styles, so it should be very interesting.”

Spain qualified as one of six teams from Europe at the 2009 UEFA U-17 Championship, where three consecutive 0-0 draws were enough to earn third place in the group. The two-time reigning continental champions failed to earn a third straight European crown, but Spain finished as runners-up in Korea DPR at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The United States has met Spain once before in this event, closing out the first round of the 2003 event with a 2-0 loss in Lahti, Finland.

The U.S. and Spain played a friendly in Madrid on Feb. 18, in an evenly matched game that saw Spain score a game-winner in second-half stoppage time.

The USA’s second opponent, Malawi, replaced Zambia as one of four teams to qualify from the African U-17 Championship after Zambia was disqualified from the competition. Malawi will be competing in the country’s first ever FIFA tournament as one of five representatives from the host continent. The U.S. has an all-time record of 2-6-1 against African teams at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The United Arab Emirates overcame a shaky start to the 2008 AFC U-16 Championship to book their place in Nigeria. Opening the qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw with Yemen and a 6-1 loss to Japan, a 3-2 win against Malaysia kept UAE’s hopes alive. Needing to top highly-rated Australia to advance, UAE stunned the Aussies with a 3-2 win to clinch a berth in the semifinals and book one of Asia’s four tickets to Nigeria.

Cabrera and the U.S. team are currently in Miami, Fla., in their last training camp before the fall semester of Residency resumes at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. The camp, which began on Aug. 6 and runs through Aug. 15, includes two friendly matches against fellow World Cup participant, Colombia.

The U.S. qualified for Nigeria by winning Group A at the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Tijuana, Mexico, in April. The U.S. won three straight games in Tijuana to earn a place in the semifinals, but with the four regional representatives determined by group play of that event, the semifinals and final of the tournament were cancelled due to concerns over the H1N1 virus.