U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has given a few hints as to the overage players that could be heading to Paris this summer as part of the U.S. Olympic roster.
The USMNT is getting set for its first Olympics since 2008, as head coach Marko Mitrović prepares to select an 18-man roster for the tournament.
Men’s soccer at the Olympics is an under-23 event (players born on or after January 1, 2001), with every team eligible to select three overage players.
On Monday, Berhalter named a 27-man roster for the USMNT’s pre-Copa América friendlies next month, with the bulk of the team’s 26-player roster for the Copa América expected to come from that squad.
In a call with the media, Berhalter said that a few players just outside that roster would be considered for an overage place on the Olympic team.
The coach was specifically asked about defender Auston Trusty and forward Brandon Vazquez, replying: “Brandon’s a guy that was definitely in the conversation for that group.
“We’re evaluating the availability of some of our other players for the Olympic pool. So it’s just about the communication with clubs and communication with the players. But certainly those are two names that came up in that context. Another name that came up was Walker Zimmerman. We know he’s working back to getting to fitness. So he’s another guy.”
In terms of Olympic age-eligible players who weren’t named to the USMNT squad on Monday, Berhalter mentioned Kevin Paredes, Bryan Reynolds and Aidan Morris as players who would likely benefit more from an Olympic roster spot than uncertain playing time with the senior team this summer.
One player who won’t be going to the Olympics as an overage player is midfielder Lennard Maloney, who also missed out on the senior USMNT roster.
“I’ve had conversations with him,” Berhalter said of the Heidenheim midfielder. “We see the depth chart for the Olympic group comprising of a number of Olympic age-eligible players in midfield. So he’s not in consideration for that as of now.”
On the senior roster, Berhalter added: “[Maloney] just misses out due to some other guys performing a really high levels.”
Berhalter added that with two major international tournaments coming up, it did make his roster decisions slightly less complicated than usual.
“Decisions were easier because we knew that there was certain opportunities for players with the Olympics coming up,” he said. “We have the Japan friendlies in June for that group. And then we have the Olympics.
“By the end of this, we’re going to get 42 players or 44 players prepared with international experience. So that’s definitely something that made it a little bit easier choosing our roster.”
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