CHICAGO (March 1, 2021) —US Under-23 Men’s National Team coach Jason Kreis called 31 players to a training ground ahead of the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico.
U-23 USMNT will train together in Mexico before Kreis selects the final tournament roster of 20 players later this month. The US starts Olympic qualification on Thursday, March 18 against Costa Rica at 5 pm ET, faces the Dominican Republic on Sunday, March 21 at 7 pm ET and ends the group stage against Mexico on Wednesday, March 24 at 9:30 pm ET. All three US group stage games will be broadcast on FS1 and TUDN.
“We are excited to finally be returning to Guadalajara before the Olympic qualifying tournament,” said Kreis. “A lot has changed since March 2020, but we’ve seen our player pool grow and gain invaluable experience over the past year. We wait a few weeks of preparation before the tournament and we thank the clubs for their cooperation in releasing their players to this important training ground. I am confident that the group we set up can achieve our final qualifying goal for the Tokyo Olympics. “
List of USMNT U-23 training camp by position (club; hometown):
GOALS (4): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), Jonathan Klinsmann (LA Galaxy; Munich, Germany), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes, Alamo, California), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, California)
DEFENDERS (10): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, California), George Bello (Atlanta United FC; Douglasville, Georgia), Marco Farfan (LAFC; Gresham, Ore.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Arizona), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; Las Cruces, NM), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution; New York, NY), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC; Bolingbrook, Illinois), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; Arlington, Massachusetts), Austin Trusty (Colorado) Rapids; Media, Pa.), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; Colorado Springs, Colorado)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Frankie Amaya (FC Cincinnati; Santa Ana, California), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; Littleton, Colorado), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional / BRA; Denville, NJ), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Andrés Perea (Orlando City SC; Medellin, Colombia), Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas; Hoover, Ala.), Eryk Williamson (Portland Timbers; Alexandria, Va.), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; Bloomington, Minnesota.)
ADVANCES (9): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United FC; Paradise Valley, Arizona), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; Plantation, Florida), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen / NED; Lynwood, California), Benji Michel ( Orlando City SC; Orlando, Florida), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal / CAN; Jacksonville, Florida), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas / MEX; Park City, Utah), Sebastian Soto ( Norwich City / ENG; San Diego, California)
The training camp list features 15 players who were internationalized by the senior USMNT and 16 who played in a junior World Cup.
A total of 14 players made the USMNT player list against Trinidad and Tobago last month, a 7-0 victory. Defenders George Bello and Aaron Herrera, as well as midfielders Andrés Perea and Tanner Tessmann, made their debut in the first team, while forwards Jesús Ferreira and Jonathan Lewis scored their first full international goals. Before the match, 18 players attended the U-23 USMNT training camp in January. All but six players have been involved with the USMNT program since it returned to action in November 2020.
The Olympic qualifying tournament was originally scheduled for March 2020, but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players born on or after January 1, 1997 are eligible by age for the competition, and Kreis selected 13 players born in 1997, five born in 1998, one born in 1999, four born in 2000, six born in 2001, one born in 2002 and one born in 2003 for the training field.
The tournament features eight nations divided into two groups of four teams. The top two in each group advance to the essential semifinals, which will send two winners to the Tokyo Olympics as representatives of Concacaf. The two winners will also face each other in the final on March 30.