Two MLS players will join their national teams for the group stage of the European U21 Championship, with the Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan and Austin FC's Zan Kolmanic getting selected for Romania and Slovenia, respectively.
Winger Matan has eight caps for Romania's U-21 team, scoring once, and will join a team looking to follow up a strong performance at the last edition of the tournament in 2019. That year, Romania made it to the semifinals, where they lost to eventual runner-up Germany 4-2. The 21-year-old officially signed for the Crew last week, and has yet to report to camp for preseason.
Kolmanic, 21, has been capped once by Slovenia's U21 team. Slovenia is one of the host nations for the tournament, and will be participating in the U21 Euros for the first time. The defender joined Austin earlier this month on loan from Maribor for the 2021 season.
“Participating in an elite tournament such as the UEFA U-21 is a meaningful accomplishment for Zan, who has shown consistency throughout his youth national team tenure,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said in a club statement.
The U21 Euros will be hosted in Slovenia and Hungary, and will for the first time take place in a broken-up format. The group stage will take place during the March international window, and will have each team play the traditional three matches. The knockout rounds will be played in May and June, at the end of club seasons in Europe.
