CHICAGO (March 11, 2021) – Jason Kreis, head coach of the U.S. Under-23 men for men, has selected the 20 players who will represent the United States at the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championships, to be held from March 18 to 30 in Guadalajara, Mexico .
Kreis selected the group from a 28-player training camp roster that began training in Mexico on March 1st.
“We know qualification will be a challenge, but it is a challenge we are ready for. We need all 20 players on this roster to contribute to our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics, ”said Kreis. “We had a productive training camp in Guadalajara and our players are looking forward to the opportunity to compete. After starting this journey almost two years ago, we are excited to start the tournament. ”
The tournament contains eight countries divided into two groups of four teams. The top two contestants in each group advance to the main semi-final, which will send two winners to the Tokyo Olympics as representatives of Concacaf. The two winners will also meet in the final on March 30.
The U.S. trip to Japan begins when Group A play opens against Costa Rica on Thursday, March 18 (16:30 ET; FS1, TUDN). The USA will then face the Dominican Republic on Sunday 21 March (19:00 ET; FS1, TUDN) and end the group stage against Mexico on Wednesday 24 March (21:30 ET; FS1, TUDN). The U-23 USMNT aims to qualify for its first Olympic Games since 2008.
CONCACAF OLYMPIC QUALIFYING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION BY POSITION (CLUB; HUISDORP):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes, Alamo, California), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, California)
DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, California), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; Las Cruces, NM), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution; New York, NY), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; Colorado Springs, Colo.)
MEDIATORS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional / BRA; Denville, NJ), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen / NED; Lynwood, California), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal / CAN; Jacksonville, Fla.). ), Andrés Perea (Orlando City SC; Medellin, Colombia), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas / MEX; Park City, Utah), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; Bloomington, Minn.)
CONDITIONS (4): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; Plantation, Fla.), Benji Michel (Orlando City SC; Orlando, Fla.), Sebastian Soto (Norwich City / ENG; San Diego, California)
The final list includes 11 players restricted to senior USMNT level, and 10 who were part of a final roster at a FIFA World Youth Championship. Ten players previously won Concacaf championships at the U-20 level in 2017 and 2018.
Six members of the list were part of the USMNT’s 7-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in January, as forwards Jesús Ferreira and Jonathan Lewis scored their first full international goals, while defender Aaron Hererra and midfielder Andrés Perea debut for the senior team. The Olympic qualifiers will be Ferreira and Perea’s first official competition with the US after the double national players were selected to represent the US in January 2019 and 2021 respectively.
The Olympic qualifying tournament was originally planned for March 2020, but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players born on or after January 1, 1997 are eligible for age in the competition and District selects players from five different birth years: nine born in 1997, three born in 1998, one born in 1999, three born in 2000 and four born 2001.
TIMETABLE NOTES
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The group includes players from 11 MLS clubs, with Real Salt Lake contributing the most (3). The Colorado Rapids, Orlando City SC and the San Jose Earthquakes each named two players in the rankings.
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Four players compete in countries with competitions outside MLS: Cardoso (Brazil), Soto (England), Saucedo (Mexico) and Llanez (Netherlands).
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Eighteen of the 20 players played time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, including all current domestic players.
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Twelve players were also named in the U.S. list in March 2020 for the originally scheduled Olympic qualifying tournament.
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In addition to the 10 MLS players who came up through their respective academies, the remaining eight last played for the following DA teams: Dotson (Crossfire Premier), Kessler (Beachside FC), Lewis (Kendall SC), Llanez (LA Galaxy) , Mihailovic (Chicago Fire FC), Saucedo (Real Salt Lake), Soto (Real Salt Lake) and Yueill (Minnesota Thunder Academy).
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Ten MLS Homegrown players are on the list. Forward Sebastian Saucedo also began his career as a Homegrown player at Real Salt Lake.
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Djordje Mihailovic, the forward of the U-23 series, has the most experience at this age level. He has led the team in his last three international matches.
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Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski appeared in all nine training camps for the U-23 USMNT during this cycle, including the team’s joint camp in June 2019 with the senior team.
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International midfielder Johnny Cardoso scored his first professional goal on March 4 against Pelotas in Brazilian league.
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Along with accompanying Real Salt Lake to the MLS Cup in 2009, Kreis also achieved Confederate-level success in the professional club game, leading to the highest score ever for an American team in the Concacaf Champions League. The team reached the final of the 2010-11 tournament and dropped a stern 3-2 result to Mexican power Monterrey.
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In addition to the ten players with Concacaf championship experience at the U-20 level, forwards Jonathan Lewis and Djordje Mihailovic were part of the senior USMNT runners-up at the 2019 Gold Cup.
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Defender Justen Glad was named the best XI during the Concacaf U-20 Championship in 2017, while Ulysses Llanez earned the best XI honor in 2018 as one of the top scorers of the tournament.
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The four players born in 2001 are eligible for the 2024 Olympics.
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CJ Brown, Jeff Cassar and Steve Ralston will serve as assistant coaches for Kreis during the tournament, and Rob Vartughian will be the team’s goalkeeping coach.