U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team Roster Announced

The United States men’s national soccer team is headed to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, with the roster of players representing the country announced Monday morning, less than a month before the start of the Paris Games.

Several rising stars are on this year’s highly anticipated team, some of which were first announced exclusively on NBC’s “TODAY” show. They will participate in Team USA’s first event at the Paris Games, starting against host team France on July 24, two days before the opening ceremony.

US men failed to qualify for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics, but are ready to take the field again after a nearly two-decade hiatus.

The last time they were on an Olympic field, the team finished ninth in the tournament. Argentina won gold in 2008, followed by Nigeria with silver and Brazil with bronze.

The US national team – listed below alongside the players’ clubs and hometowns – will be led by coach Marko Mitrović.

Goalkeepers:

• Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; St. Charles, Missouri)
• Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/England; Addison, Illinois)

Defenders:

• Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Fürth/Germany; Frankfurt, Germany)
• Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Florida)
• Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; Arlington, Massachusetts)
• John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, New Jersey)
• Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta)
• Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; Lawrenceville, Georgia)

Midfielders:

• Gianluca Busio (Venice/Italy; Greensboro, North Carolina)
• Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Florida)
• Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Queens, New York)
• Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; Jacksonville, Florida)
• Tanner Tessmann (Venice/Italy; Birmingham, Alabama)

Advanced:

• Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht/Netherlands; Medford, New Jersey)
• Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/Netherlands; Eden, Utah)
• Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; Omaha, Nebraska)
• Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/Germany; South Riding, Virginia)
• Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/Belgium; Clifton, Virginia)

Substitutes:

• Josh Atencio (Seattle Sounders FC; Bellevue, Washington)
• Jacob Davis (Sporting Kansas City; Rochester, Michigan)
• Johan Gomez (Eintracht Braunschweig/Germany; Keller, Texas)
• John Pulskamp (Sporting Kansas City; Bakersfield, California)

Men’s Olympic football is primarily made up of players under the age of 23, but teams can have three “of legal age” players. The three from the USA will be Walker Zimmerman, 31; Miles Robinson, 27; and Djordje Mihailovic, 25.

While Olympic football doesn’t necessarily feature each country’s top stars, it allows young players on the rise in the sport to showcase their skills on the international stage and begin to make a case for being named in their country’s first team, especially if they haven’t previously participated. already (a certain Lionel Messi, for example, won gold with Argentina at the 2008 Olympics).

Tanner Tessmann will be someone to watch for North American fans. Tessmann, 22, a midfielder, had a standout season in Italy’s Serie B and, alongside club and international teammate Gianluca Busio, helped Venezia return to the Italian top flight.