The U.S. males’s nationwide group is again in Olympic motion for the primary time 2008 and aspirations are excessive in Marko Mitrovic’s squad.
The Individuals open their group stage schedule on Wednesday towards Olympic hosts France, the favorites of the match. After 16 years away from Olympic play, the USMNT brings a number of gamers with senior expertise to the desk together with overage gamers Walker Zimmerman, Miles Robinson, and Djordje Mihailovic.
All three can be combating to make use of this chance to springboard themselves again into the senior nationwide group image this fall, with a brand new head coach set to be named the close to future.
As well as, many younger gamers are in search of to make their mark within the competitors together with goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, midfielder Jack McGlynn, and ahead Duncan McGuire. All three have rapidly grow to be new starring faces in MLS, much like a number of of their worldwide teammates who now play overseas.
The expertise and willpower is seen within the group and a robust exhibiting towards Les Bleus is what the Individuals hope can be a place to begin en path to a gold medal.
“I believe as soon as we mirror on our lives sooner or later, we can be proud that we play this sport,” Mitrovic stated Tuesday to reporters. “We’re very grateful to play that sport tomorrow. It’s going to remain without end for us, however it’s solely certainly one of three video games that now we have within the group stage and the factors of the sport rely the identical as within the different video games.”
“This match could be a stepping stone in many individuals’s profession, not solely with the senior group however simply in a profession as a complete,” Schulte stated in a press convention. “However everybody right here is aware of that the collective objective is to win a gold medal, and if we are able to try this, if we are able to put an excellent exhibiting collectively, then the sky’s the restrict for gamers right here on this group.”
France, New Zealand, and Guinea will oppose the Individuals in group stage play over the subsequent seven days.