Jason Kreis named new coach as US U-23 national team roster released

The US U-23 men's national team roster is out for this coming international window — including the name of the squad's new coach. 

Former longtime MLS boss Jason Kreis has been appointed as the new coach of the U-23s, which will play their first matches of the 2020 U-23 cycle with a pair of friendlies in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.

Kreis will have a 23-man squad at his disposal for games against Egypt on Friday and the Netherlands on Sunday, including 13 players from MLS clubs as well as Josh Sergeant and Timothy Weah, who have both already earned full national team caps.

Both friendlies kick off at 12 pm ET.

Kreis played for 11 seasons in MLS and then was a head coach for 10, most recently for Orlando City SC. He recently joined the technical department of MLS expansion side Inter Miami CF and will continue in that role in addition to his duties with the U-23 MNT. Paul Tenorio of The Athletic first reported on the move last week.

He became the youngest coach in league history to win the MLS Cup when he led Real Salt Lake to the 2009 title and he guided RSL to a then best-ever finish for an American club in the Concacaf Champions League in 2011. (Toronto tied the latter feat last year.) He later coached New York City FC and Orlando City SC after a successful tenure at RSL.

“Jason’s qualities and experience made him stand out as the best candidate to lead our U-23 men’s national team in this important cycle towards the 2020 Olympics,” men's national team GM Earnie Stewart said in a statement. “The U-23s are a significant part of our program, and Jason is an experienced head coach with significant success both in league and Concacaf competitions. His knowledge of the player pool is impressive, and we are confident in his ability to implement the style of play we are building with the senior MNT and throughout our national teams.”

Said Kreis in a statement: “It’s a tremendous opportunity ... to be a part of a new system under the leadership of Gregg Berhalter and Earnie Stewart leading the national team the way that they are. It’s an opportunity to work with the country’s brightest young stars, and it’s an opportunity to represent your country. In my opinion, that’s the highest honor of all.”

The two matches represent the beginning of a long journey to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as the US aims to qualify for its first Men’s Olympic Football Tournament since 2008. The Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship will be played in late 2019 or early 2020, with the top two nations advancing to Tokyo the following summer.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997 are age-eligible for the 2020 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament. This roster features 13 players born in 1997, four born in 1998 and two born in 2000.

U.S. U-23 men's national team roster