US Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Jason Kreis has selected his 20 player roster for Olympic qualifying, US Soccer announced Thursday. The squad will play three matches in Mexico from March 18-20 in a bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic games this summer.
The final roster was selected from a 28 player training camp that began on March 1.
“We know that qualifying will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that we’re ready for. We’ll need all 20 players on this roster to contribute for us to achieve our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics,” Kreis said in a US Soccer release. “We’ve had a productive training camp in Guadalajara and our players are hungry for the opportunity to compete. After starting this journey nearly two years ago, we’re excited to get started with the tournament.”
Roster (club – league)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union – MLS), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes – MLS), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake – MLS)
DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy – MLS), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake – MLS), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake – MLS), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution – MLS), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC – MLS), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids – MLS)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional – Brasileirão), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC -MLS), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen – Eridivisie), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal – MLS), Andrés Perea (Orlando City SC – MLS), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas – Liga MX), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes – MLS)
FORWARDS (4): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas – MLS), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids – MLS), Benji Michel (Orlando City SC – MLS), Sebastian Soto (Norwich City – Championship)
The US will play their first match against Costa Rica on March 18, taking on the Dominican Republic on March 21. They’ll wrap up the group stage against Mexico on March 24. All matches will be televised on FS1 and TUDN. The top two sides will advance to the semifinals, with the two semifinal winners qualifying for Tokyo.
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