The U.S. men’s national team is starting to shape up its Olympic team two months before the start of the 2024 Paris Games.
On Wednesday, the team announced its 25-player Olympic roster for its June camp, where the U.S. will play Japan on June 11 in Kansas City amid final preparations.
Head coach Marko Mitrovic said playing in Kansas City was purposely planned as a morale booster for his team.
"Kansas City has great training facilities, a great stadium, great fan support and we believe these people will come out for this kind of send-off game for us to show support for our team," Mitrovic said during a press conference. "I know that the whole country will root for us at the Olympic Games but it would be great for the guys to feel that support from the fans and we believe that we can get that from people in Kansas City."
For the first time in the team’s tune-up to the Olympics, Mitrovic called up an overage player in defender Walker Zimmerman. The 31-year-old Nashville SC star played every game for the senior U.S. men's team at the 2022 World Cup, including three starts. Mitrovic said Zimmerman, who plays as a center back, will bring experience and leadership to a position on the Olympic team that needed strengthening.
"The last seven, eight months, we found center back as a position of need and with all the qualities that Walker has and brings to the table, we are very happy to have him with us in the camp," Mitrovic said.
The men's team is required to bring players under the age of 23 with an allowance for three overage players. Mitrovic added that he will evaluate all players in this camp and everything he had seen in the previous Olympic camps to determine what other positions needed strengthening and which two other overage players he will take to Paris.
With Mitrovic calling up 25 players, he will need to trim his team down to 18 when he makes his final Olympic roster. The deadline to submit his official roster is on July 3 and changes can only be made if a player is injured. Mitrovic and senior USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter previously said they are in constant communication with each other to determine which other overage players will be best for both parties to take to the Olympics. This means at least nine players under age 23 who were called up to the June camp may be cut ahead of the Games.
The U.S. will play France for its opening match at the Olympics, as both teams were drawn into Group A, along with Guinea and New Zealand. The first contest for the U.S., however, will most likely determine if the squad can compete with some of the best teams in the tournament.
It’s no surprise that’s why Mitrovic called up players who play in some of the biggest leagues in Europe, such as Kevin Paredes (Vfl Wolfsburg), Gaga Slonina (K.A.S. Eupen), Gianluca Busio (Venezia FC), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia FC) and Paxten Aaronson (Vitesse). Berhalter previously talked about some of these players being part of the senior team to compete at the 2024 Copa America, but he decided they were best suited to join the Olympic team.
The full Olympic roster for the June camp is listed below:
Goalkeepers:
- Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; St. Charles, Missouri)
- Gaga Slonina (Chelsea FC; Addison, Illinois)
Defenders:
- Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Florida)
- Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, California)
- Bryan Reynolds (KVC Westerlo; Fort Worth, Texas)
- John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, New Jersey)
- Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich City FC; Plano, Texas)
- Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United; Atlanta, Georgia)
- Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; Lawrence, Georgia)
Midfielders:
- Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; Littleton, Colorado)
- Gianluca Busio (Venezia FC; Greensboro, North Carolina)
- Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Florida)
- Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Queens, New York)
- Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
- Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split; Stillwater, Oklahoma)
- Tanner Tessmann (Venezia FC; Birmingham, Alabama)
Forwards:
- Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt; Medford, New Jersey)
- Esmir Bajraktarevic (New England Revolution; Appleton, Wisconsin)
- Taylor Booth (Utrecht; Eden, Utah)
- Cade Cowell (CD Guadalajara; Ceres, California)
- Damion Downs (Koln; Schwebenried, Germany)
- Johan Gomez (Eintracht Braunschweig; Keller, Texas)
- Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; Omaha, Nebraska)
- Kevin Paredes (Vfl Wolfsburg; South Riding, Virginia)
- Griffin Yow (KVS Westerlo; Clifton, Virginia)
A surprise exclusion from the June camp roster includes midfielder Diego Luna. The 20-year-old Real Salt Lake star currently has three goals and seven assists so far in the MLS this season. Mitrovic claimed nothing is final on which players will be going to Paris, including those who will or will not be at the team's June camp.
"Diego is one of the players we are considering and he was in consideration for the November camp but unfortunately, he was injured," Mitrovic said. "In the March camp, he was with us. Now, there are some other guys that we want to evaluate. But the doors are open for every player, and for Diego not being in the June camp, like for any other player that is not in the camp, it doesn't mean that they're not going to be at the Olympic Games. The doors are still open for everyone."
The U.S. men’s team will be competing at the Olympics for the first time since 2008. The team’s first match against France will be played on July 24, two days before the Opening Ceremony.
