The United States will return to the lads’s Olympic soccer match later this month with a roster that includes eight gamers from European golf equipment and 10 from MLS, making it probably the most worldwide Olympic roster in U.S. historical past.
The U.S. will open in opposition to hosts France in Marseille on July 24, two days earlier than the opening ceremony. The U.S. will even face New Zealand and Guinea within the group stage, needing to complete within the high two to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time since 1956.
Because the Olympics is an age-group males’s soccer match, the 18-man roster was restricted to gamers born on or after January 1, 2001, with three overage exceptions. Club groups additionally aren’t required to launch gamers to compete in age-group occasions, so gamers together with Joe Scally, Gio Reyna, Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun, all of whom have been on the U.S. crew that withdrew from the Copa América final week, weren’t accessible for choice.
“It’s been a extremely powerful course of during the last eight or 10 months, speaking to golf equipment and making an attempt to get gamers launched,” U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic mentioned. “It’s been a problem. But we ended up with a roster that we actually imagine represents us in the absolute best method. I really feel actually good concerning the crew.”
FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson, who was additionally a part of the Copa América squad, was named to the Olympic squad as one in all three overage gamers, together with Nashville middle again Walker Zimmerman and Colorado midfielder Djordje Mihailovic.
“This is my first time going to the Olympics,” mentioned Zimmerman, who performed on the U.S. crew that didn’t qualify for the 2016 Games. “I assumed my dream was over, I wouldn’t have an opportunity to play within the Olympics.
“To have this chance is unimaginable. It’s one thing I’ve at all times appeared as much as rising up, one thing I’ve at all times wished to be part of. I am unable to wait to go to France.”
Despite the crew’s worldwide character, MLS has performed a significant function within the crew’s growth, as 17 of the 18 gamers chosen have both performed within the league or frolicked at an MLS academy.
The squad (with membership and hometown):
Goalkeepers: Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; St. Charles, Missouri), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Illinois)
Defenders: Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth/GER; Frankfurt, Germany), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Fla.), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; Arlington, Mass.), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, NJ), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; Lawrenceville, Ga.)
Midfielders: Gianluca Busio (Venice/ITA; Greensboro, NC), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Florida), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Queens, NY), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; Jacksonville, Florida), Tanner Tessmann ( Venice/ITA; Birmingham, Ala.)
Attackers (5): Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht/NED; Medford, NJ), Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/NED; Eden, Utah), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; Omaha, Neb.), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Virginia .), Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/BEL; Clifton, Virginia)
Alternatives: Josh Atencio (midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC; Bellevue, Washington), Jacob Davis (defender, Sporting Kansas City; Rochester, Michigan), Johan Gomez (ahead, Eintracht Braunschweig/GER; Keller, Texas), John Pulskamp (goalkeeper, Sporting Kansas City;
