USA Olympics men’s soccer roster: USMNT squad revealed for June friendly vs. Japan before 2024 Paris Games | Sporting News

The 2024 Olympics in Paris will see the United States compete on both the men’s and women’s side for the first time since 2008, making for an exciting few months for U.S. fans who can enjoy a full summer of soccer.

While the U.S. women’s side will be able to bring a full squad of professional players, the men’s Olympic tournament restricts rosters to players 23 years old and younger, with a few exceptions. Therefore, while the U.S. senior squad will take part in the 2024 Copa America through late June and early July, the U-23 squad will be deployed to the French capital for Olympic duty.

It’s the first Olympics in over a decade for the United States who did not qualify for the 2012, 2016, or 2020 games. Their participation this summer is a significant development with the World Cup to be played on home soil in two years before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The Sporting News breaks down who will lead the United States men’s side in the 2024 Olympic games and how they could line up in Paris.

MORE: Full schedule, group draw, and knockout path for men’s & women’s soccer at 2024 Olympics 

USA Olympic men’s soccer roster 2024

The following list of 25 players will convene for June U-23 training camp before matching up against Japan’s U-23 side in Kansas City on June 11.

The only overage player appearing on this roster is Walker Zimmerman (32 years old), who has just recovered from an injury and did not make the Copa America roster at a deep center-back position, but is on hand here to provide leadership at the Olympics at a position of need. Jalen Neal has returned from a hernia injury to take part, which likely rules out the candidacy of other overage players like Mark McKenzie (25 years old), Auston Trusty (25 years old), and Jackson Ragen (25 years old).

Only 18 players can be named to the final Olympic roster, which leaves very little wiggle room from a positional level. It makes for some very difficult decisions to make in the coming month, especially considering that two more overage players could eventually be added to this squad for Olympic duty, meaning up to nine players from this roster could be cut for the trip to Paris.

Age as of kickoff at the first Olympic football match on July 24, 2024.
* = Player requires overage exemption for 2024 Olympic duty

Who will make the USA men’s Olympic soccer roster?

Largely, this squad will be the makeup of the roster for the Olympics in just under two months. However, the three overage player exceptions are one important wrinkle to consider. Nations are not required to use their exceptions, but many do make use of the additional flexibility they provide.

For the United States, it will be highly unlikely for players to serve double duty at both the Copa America and Olympics, as serving at the two major tournaments this summer would be extremely taxing on a player’s workload regardless of whether it is mid-season for domestically based players or their offseason for European based players.

Therefore, any of the overage players for the U.S. at the Olympics will likely come from the group of players who fell short of making the Copa America squad. In addition to Walker Zimmerman named to this pre-tournament squad above, chief amongst that bunch is Alejandro Zendejas (26 years old) who is in excellent form with his Mexican side Club America but was not chosen by Gregg Berhalter. Same goes for another Mexican-based player in Brandon Vazquez (25 years old), and one or both could be picked for duty at the Olympics instead.

Another who could be in the mix depending on how the staff wishes to distribute the positional depth is midfielder Lennard Maloney (24 years old) who impressed in his short time with the United States senior side recently while helping German club Heidenheim to a surprising eighth-place finish in their first top flight season.

Some notable exclusions to the June friendly squad include center-back Max Dietz (injured), wingers Diego Luna and Brian Gutierrez, and midfielders Dan Edelman and Josh Atencio. Luna’s exclusion is the most surprising given he has been in good form with Real Salt Lake of late and has senior national team experience, where he’s impressed in his few opportunities.

Who is USA U-23 men’s head coach at Olympics?

Leading the U.S. squad at the 2024 Olympics is U-23 head coach Marko Mitrovic, a native of Serbia whose lengthy playing days saw him deployed in midfield for a host of clubs across a 15-year career. He made 85 appearances for now defunct Serbian club FK Buducnost Banatski Dvor, as well as 45 appearances for another defunct side FK Banat Zrenjanin, eventually retiring in 2010 and moving to coaching.

Mitrovic worked for four years with the youth ranks of the Serbian national team for four years between 2012 and 2016, also working with the famed Red Star Belgrade academy staff for a time during that span as well. He first moved to the United States for a coaching stint in 2016 to join the staff of fellow Serbian Veljko Paunovic, spending four years in that role.

In 2022, Mitrovic was hired by the United States national team federation, first joining as U-19 head coach. He was part of the senior staff under interim head coach B.J. Callaghan which took over between Gregg Berhalter’s stints, including the winning run through the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League finals. Mitrovic was then promoted to U-23 head coach in September of 2023, with U-16 coach Michael Nsien promoted behind him to take over the U-19 level.