The United States start their 2024 Summer Olympics campaign Wednesday with a Group A match against host nation France, beginning matchplay two days before the opening ceremony in Paris.
Watch
- English: USA Network, Peacock
- Spanish: Telemundo
When
- Wednesday, July 24 | 3 pm ET/12 pm PT
Where
- Stade Vélodrome | Marseille, France
The US hope to make their first Olympic knockout stage since 2000. That requires finishing top two in a group that, aside from France, contains New Zealand (July 27) and Guinea (July 30).
Rosters for the Olympic men’s soccer tournament are restricted to players under 23 years old, with an allowance for three overage players. Further complicating squads, clubs are not required to release players since the competition falls outside of FIFA’s match calendar.
France's U-23s are led by former New York Red Bulls forward and CF Montréal manager Thierry Henry.
Les Bleus boast arguably the most talented squad at the Olympics, highlighted by Bayern Munich attacker Michael Olise, Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki and Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Their captain is former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette, an overage selection alongside Mateta and Sevilla defender Loïc Badé.
France, gold medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, automatically qualified as the host nation. Otherwise, they would have traversed the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship pathway.
Major League Soccer profoundly shapes head coach head coach Marko Mitrović's 18-player squad. Ten players are active MLSers, while another seven played in MLS or developed in an MLS academy.
The three overage players are center backs Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati) and Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), as well as attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids).
From the U-23 crowd, goalkeeper Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), fullback Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United), midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF), midfielder Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union) and striker Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC) are all primed for big roles.
