Kreis Exposes U.S.A.’s Last U-23 Olympic Qualifying Team

The U.S. guys are seeking a very first Olympic berth considering that 2008– and a year after qualifying was originally arranged, the U-23 makeup is a bit different.

Concacaf’s Olympic qualifying tournament was initially scheduled to start on March 20, 2020, so it was among the very first events to be lost entirely to the emerging pandemic. Coach Jason Kreis had actually chosen his 20-man group, and it was training in Guadalajara ahead of its tournament opener when the world began grinding to a halt.

Kreis and the U.S. U-23 nationwide group are again training in Guadalajara ahead of their postponed tournament launching, scheduled for March 18 against Costa Rica. Others graduated, in a sense, moving onward and upward to European clubs and highlighting the truth that this particular U-23 group, while accounting for their nation’s Olympic fate, is not at all a reflection of the state of the American gamer pool.

” There’s a host of players that weren’t offered this year that were readily available in 2015,” Kreis said last week. “Eventually, it looks a bit various from the top-end viewpoint, perhaps. At the end of the day, I still feel perfect about the talent level we have.”

Groups in Europe typically are hesitant to do so unless that player is a reserve in the middle of their seasons. Atlanta United pulled three males, consisting of probable beginning center back Miles Robinson, from Kreis’s training camp roster because it’s preparing for next month’s start of the Concacaf Champions League.

Last week, Kreis named a 28-man team to begin training Mexico. Eight players were released Thursday, reducing the tournament team to 20.

Kreis stated last week that the program’s failures during the 2012 and 2016 cycles do not represent a present group concern. Rather, they represent a chance to show how far U.S. soccer has actually come.

” I don’t believe that any of us need to feel any genuine onus about what has actually occurred four years earlier and 8 years ago. None of us belonged to that. For me, it’s to just sort of right some wrongs,” he stated. “The other thing I believe is interesting about this circumstance with the men’s national team programs; truly, we consisted of, we have sort of the first opportunity to make a significant advance in getting approved for a major competition, whereas the complete group, they’ve got [World Cup] certifying turning up at the end of the year. So, we get the very first bite at this, which’s another encouraging element.”

Twelve players on Kreis’s new list became part of the group in 2020. Amongst those on last year’s qualifying roster who no longer were offered are Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Chris Gloster (PSV Eindhoven), and Mark McKenzie (KRC Genk).

Those four represent just the tip of the generational iceberg. THEORETICALLY, the U.S.A. might create a U-23 (or U-24, because of the year hold-up) squad that most likely would be a certainty to qualify and a medal contender this summer. Think of Kreis taking a team to Guadalajara, including Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Timothy Weah, Josh Sargent, Antonee Robinson, and Konrad de la Fuente. All are Olympic eligible. They were never part of the U-23 picture because of how far they’ve progressed in their club careers. The U.S. team that’ll take the field next week represents the player swimming pool’s increased depth and not its full potential.

However, as Kreis stated, he’s still positive about this group. Many players regularly feature for their clubs, and 11– more than half– have actually made caps at the senior level. After 8 years of failure, excuses will remain in short supply.

” We understand that certifying will be an obstacle, but it’s a challenge that we’re ready for,” Kreis stated in a Thursday statement. “We’ll require all 20 gamers on this roster to contribute for us to achieve our ultimate objective of qualifying for the Olympics. We have actually had a productive training school in Guadalajara, and our players are starving for the opportunity to compete. After beginning this journey nearly two years earlier, we’re delighted to get going with the tournament.”

Here’s the team that will try to take the U.S.A. back to the Olympics:

GOALKEEPERS: Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union), J.T. Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids)

MIDFIELDERS: Johnny Cardoso (SC Internacional), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal), Andrés Perea (Orlando City), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)

FORWARDS: Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids), Benji Michel (Orlando City), Sebastian Soto (Norwich City)