Paredes (South Riding) and Yeo (Clifton) have both been part of youth national team teams, but soccer’s governing body FIFA does not require clubs to release players for the Olympics, so Paredes, from German Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, and Yeo, from Belgian club Westerlo, needed permission to join the U.S. team.
According to multiple people familiar with the matter, several players requested by U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic were rejected by clubs, including midfielder Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough) and forwards Haji Wright (Coventry City) and Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey).
For some age-restricted players, such as Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah, call-ups were not feasible due to club pre-season demands and participation in the Copa America with the senior national team this summer.
“It’s actually been a very difficult process over the last eight to 10 months, talking to the clubs and trying to let all the players go,” Mitrovic said. “There were certainly challenges, but in the end we have a line-up that I really think can represent us in the best possible way. I have a very good feeling about the squad that’s going to Paris.”
The U.S. team will be in Bordeaux, France, for a training camp this week. Group play will begin on July 24 against France in Marseille, followed by games against New Zealand in Marseille on July 27 and Guinea in Saint-Etienne on July 30. Two teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
Since the age limit was introduced in 1992, the only time the U.S. men made it out of the group stage was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where they finished fourth.
Of the players called up to the U.S. national team, all but three have played for the senior national team.
Paredes and You are among eight European players competing at the Olympics. Paredes scored three goals in 28 league games (15 starts) last season, his second full season in Germany since United moved to him for a club-record fee of $7.35 million in January 2022.
He was a candidate for the Copa America this summer, but U.S. senior national team coach Gregg Berhalter decided to save him for the Olympics.
Yo, who moved to Belgium in July 2022, scored seven goals in 28 league games (25 starts) last season.
The other 10 U.S. players are with MLS teams, including all three over-age selections: center backs Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC) and Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati) and midfielder Djordje Mihajlovic (Colorado Rapids).
Zimmermann, 31, and Robinson, 27, started together in six 2022 World Cup qualifiers and eight games overall. Zimmermann started in the World Cup in Qatar while Robinson missed the tournament with an Achilles injury. Mihajlovic, 25, has played 11 times for the senior team and is enjoying an outstanding MLS season with 10 goals and nine assists.
The squad also includes midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi, who was the youngest player selected at 19. Cremaschi, in his second season with Inter Miami’s first team, is coached by Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.
Goalkeeper: Gabriel Slonina (Chelsea), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew).
Defender: Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Fürth), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United) and Walker Zimmermann (Nashville SC).
MidfielderGianluca Busio (Venice), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union), Djordje Mihajlovic (Colorado Rapids) and Tanner Tessman (Venice).
forwardPaxten Aaronson (Utrecht), Taylor Booth (Utrecht), Duncan Maguire (Orlando City), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Griffin Yeo (Westerlo).
Alternative proposalGoalkeeper John Palskamp (Sporting Kansas City), D Jacob Davies (Sporting Kansas City), midfielder Josh Atencio (Seattle Sounders), F Johan Gomez (Eintracht Braunschweig).
