Jelani Ren McGhee and his father, retired Marine Lt. Col. Lonnie McGhee, hold up the jersey he wore at the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — A 16-year-old Defense Department student has become a rising star in Japan after earning a surprise call-up to the national team for this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Jelani Ren McGhee, a junior at Kadena High School, learned he had been selected for Japan’s 21-player squad while hanging out at a friend’s house.
“I was overly hyped. There’s nobody in Okinawa who gets that chance,” he said Monday on Ryukyu Middle School’s soccer field. “I was excited and happy and ready to show the world what I was made of.”
McGhee attended his first training session with the national team in September in Osaka, where he scored two goals in two matches. The performance earned him a place on the World Cup roster announced Oct. 17.
He is the first Department of Defense Education Activity student ever to compete in a youth World Cup, DODEA-Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson said in a Nov. 17 email.
Jelani Ren McGhee, who played for Japan in the recent FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, shows off his skills on the Ryukyu Middle School soccer field at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
McGhee was selected from Japan’s Prince 2 League, the country’s third-tier high school division. During the Nov. 3-28 tournament, he appeared in five of Japan’s six matches, missing one because of a minor calf injury.
Born on Okinawa to a Japanese mother and American father, McGhee said he started playing soccer at age 4 in California.
“He has shown talent from the very beginning,” his father, retired Marine Lt. Col. Lonnie McGhee, said alongside his son Monday.
After the family returned to Okinawa in 2015, Jelani McGhee asked to play at a higher level and joined FC Ryukyu’s youth academy in third grade.
At the World Cup, his first major chance came in Japan’s third group-stage match against Portugal, the eventual champion. In the 67th minute, McGhee found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
“I felt like if it was in Japan, my shot would’ve gone in,” he said, laughing. “It wasn’t pressure; it felt like an everyday scene. Their goalkeeper was just fearless.”
McGhee’s biggest moment came in the Round of 16 against North Korea. Given his second start of the tournament, he scored his first World Cup goal in the sixth minute with a header.
“The ball came in perfectly over the defenders,” he said. “The keeper came out way too much, so I was able to lob it over him, and it perfectly went in.”
Japan fell 1-0 to Austria in the quarterfinals, but McGhee said the World Cup changed him.
“The experience was fun; a lot of people don’t get that experience,” he said. “It’s just a start — made me have more passion for the game.”
Jelani Ren McGhee, who played for Japan in the recent FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, shows off his skills on the Ryukyu Middle School soccer field at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
He has asked his coaches for more training opportunities and has been approved to begin working with FC Ryukyu’s top team in January.
“Every day I practice, I take it more seriously,” he said. “I focus on the things I couldn’t do at the World Cup.”
McGhee said growing up the son of a Marine helped shape his mentality.
“As a military kid, you travel to a lot of places and meet a lot of people,” he said. “That shouldn’t stop you — that should encourage you to do better in sports.”
He said the recent departure of a close friend, who is also a military child, has sharpened his resolve.
“We promised we would see each other at the top again,” he said. “That encourages me more and more to pursue my dream.”
McGhee’s next target is a professional contract.
“My goal for the next two years is to play at the U-20 World Cup with the same teammates I had at the U-17,” he said.
AloJapan.com