The 20 players tasked with leading the U.S. to the Olympics have officially been revealed.
Jordan Morris, Wil Trapp and Gedion Zelalem lead the 20-man roster selected by Andi Herzog for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers. The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team will kick off the group stages against Canada on Oct. 1 before facing Cuba and Panama on Oct. 3 and 6, respectively.
“For us it was important that we find the right balance between attacking players and defensive-minded players,” Herzog said. “Because there are no FIFA dates for the first week of the tournament, there were challenges in getting players released. We had discussions with a lot of teams, and while some clubs didn’t release their players overall we received a lot of support, especially from MLS.
“There was a lot of competition for spots. Of course a few players will be disappointed that they didn’t make the roster and I understand, but we can only have 20 players on the roster and only 17 field players, so they weren’t easy decisions. Now we have to be focused on the games and we have to win.”
Six members of the roster were a part of the Under-20 World Cup earlier this year, while eight previously featured for the U.S. in this past summer’s Toulon Tournament.
The U.S. will be looking to reach the Olympics for the first time since 2008 after failing in the 2012 CONCACAF qualifiers. Most recently, the U-23s played a final tune-up ahead of qualifying, falling to England while defeating Qatar.
Here’s a closer look at the full U.S. roster for Olympic qualifying:
GOALKEEPERS: Charlie Horton (Leeds; Cleveland Ohio), Ethan Horvath (Molde; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Zack Steffen (Freiburg; Downington, Pa.).
DEFENDERS: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.)
MIDFIELDERS: Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield; Arlington, Va.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wis.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; Gahanna, Ohio), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.).
FORWARDS: Alonso Hernandez (C.D. Juarez; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Maki Tall (FC Sion; Washington, D.C.).
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