Colorado Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovicdefender for FC Cincinnati Miles Robinson Nashville Defender Walker Zimmerman He tops the 18-man roster of the U.S. men’s Olympic team announced by coach Marko Mitrovic on Monday.
The men’s Olympic soccer competition is open only to players aged 23 or under, but allows three “over-age” players to compete – Mihajlovic, Robinson and Zimmermann – and the rest of the team will be made up of players born on or after January 1, 2001.
This summer’s Paris Games will be the first time the U.S. men have qualified for the Olympics since 2008.
The midfielder also joined the team. Gianluca Busio and Tanner TessmanBoth players led Venezia to successful promotion to Italy’s Serie A last season.
Because the Olympics is not an official FIFA tournament, club teams are not required to send players to the tournament.
That’s part of the reason why most of the players on the U.S. men’s national team that just played in the Copa America aren’t on the roster, with Robinson being the lone exception.
Those restrictions posed a challenge for Mitrovic when it came to selecting his roster, but 15 of the 18 players named have played every minute for the U.S. men’s national team, with 2022 World Cup veteran Zimmermann leading the way with 42 appearances.
Ten of the players are currently under contract with MLS clubs, while the rest play in Europe.
The last time the U.S. team participated, in 2008, it was led by former U.S. men’s national team mainstays Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, and they narrowly missed out on making the medal round.
This time, the U.S. men’s team won the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and qualified for the tournament. The only team from this team that can participate is the Philadelphia Union. Jack McGlynn FC Utrecht Paxten Aaronson He was selected for the final Olympic team.
All group stage matches for the 16-team tournament will be played in Marseille, with the opening match against hosts France on July 24, two days before the opening ceremony.
They will then face New Zealand on 27 July before facing Guinea in their final group stage match three days later.
If the United States advances to the medal round, they will play in the quarterfinals in either Paris or Bordeaux.
The semi-finals will be held in Marseille and Décines-Charpieu, near Lyon. The final will be held in Paris on 9 August, with the bronze medal match taking place the day before in Nantes.
The U.S. will prepare for the Olympics in Bordeaux from July 9-20 at the home of Ligue 2 side Bordeaux before traveling to Marseille for the opening match.
United States Olympic Men’s Soccer Team: Members by position (club and hometown)
Goalkeeper (2) Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew, St. Charles, Missouri), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG, Addison, Illinois).
Defender (6): Maximilian Dietz (Greuter Fürth/GER, Frankfurt, Germany); Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union, Oldsmar, Fla.), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati, Arlington, Mass.); John Tolkien (New York Red Bulls, Chatham, New Jersey) Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC, Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC, Lawrenceville, Georgia).
Midfielder (5) Gianluca Busio (Venice/ITA, Greensboro, North Carolina); Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF, Key Biscayne, Fla.), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union, New York), Djordje Mihajlovic (Colorado Rapids, Jacksonville, Fla.) and Tanner Tessman (Venezia/ITA, Birmingham, Alabama).
Forwards (5) Paxten Aaronsson (FC Utrecht/NED, Medford, N.J.); Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/NED, Eden, Utah) Duncan Maguire (Orlando City, South Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska) Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER, South Riding, VA), Griffin Yeo (KVC Westerlo/BEL, Clifton, VA).
Alternative (4): Josh Atencio (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC, Bellevue, Washington) Jacob Davis (Defender, Sporting Kansas City/Rochester, Mich.), Johan Gomez (Forward, Eintracht Braunschweig/Germany/Keller, Texas); John Palskamp (Goalkeeper, Sporting Kansas City, Bakersfield, California)
