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Olympic Qualifying Roster for the United States Set by Jason Kreis

By Kristian Dyer

BRADENTON, FL - JANUARY 23: Jason Kreis speaks to players during training on January 23, 2020 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
BRADENTON, FL - JANUARY 23: Jason Kreis speaks to players during training on January 23, 2020 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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The Olympic qualifying roster is set for the United States ahead of qualifying in Mexico later this month. Although not at full strength, it is arguably the deepest and most talented roster that the United States has ever fielded at this level.

The roster includes 17 players currently in MLS. The team will open their tournament on March 18 against Costa Rica before playing the Dominican Republic and Mexico to close out the group stage.

This is the first time in program history that there isn’t a player on the roster currently with a college program, making this the first Olympic qualifying roster made up entirely of professional players.

In 2015, Jordan Morris, then a standout at Stanford, was the sole player on the roster currently matriculated with a college.

This group is being coach by Jason Kreis, a former MLS All-Star and United States national team player.

Per a release from the United States Soccer Federation, here is the final roster ahead of qualifying:

CONCACAF MEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN):

GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes, Alamo, Calif.), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, Calif.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; Las Cruces, N.M.), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution; New York, N.Y.), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; Colorado Springs, Colo.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; Denville, N.J.), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen/NED; Lynwood, Calif.), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal/CAN; Jacksonville, Fla.), Andrés Perea (Orlando City SC; Medellin, Colombia), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas/MEX; Park City, Utah), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; Bloomington, Minn.)

FORWARDS (4): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; Plantation, Fla.), Benji Michel (Orlando City SC; Orlando, Fla.), Sebastian Soto (Norwich City/ENG; San Diego, Calif.)

In 2015, ahead of the qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, the United States got off to a strong start under Andreas Herzog. The Americans topped the group with nine points from their first three matches before shockingly losing to Honduras in the semifinals, summarily missing out on the Olympics in the process.

In 2000, the United States under the late Clive Charles placed fourth in the Olympics, setting up the United States for a quarterfinal run at the World Cup two years later.

Of this current squad, 11 players have already been capped at the senior national team level.

March is a busy month for the senior national team as well with friendlies at Northern Ireland and against Jamaica (in Austria) at the end of the month.

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