US Under-23 national team calls in 31 players ahead of Concacaf men's Olympic qualifying

US Under-23 national team coach Jason Kreis has called in a roster of 31 players to a training camp ahead of the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico, US Soccer announced Monday.

The squad, which will be paired down to 20 before the opening match on March 18, consists of players from 15 MLS teams as well as 17 Homegrown signings.

Notably absent is LA Galaxy standout Efrain Alvarez, who was on the 48-player preliminary rosters released by Concacaf for both the US and Mexico, as well as Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse.

In a media availability following the announcement of the roster, Kreis said that the Atlanta trio of Miles Robinson, George Bello and Brooks Lennon, though named on the roster, would not be part of the training camp after their club declined to release them due to participation in the Concacaf Champions League.

“We’re excited to finally return to Guadalajara ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament,” Kreis said in a statement. “A lot has changed since March 2020, but we’ve seen our player pool grow and gain invaluable experience over the last year. We’re looking forward to a few weeks of preparation ahead of the tournament and we’re thankful for the cooperation of the clubs in releasing their players for this very important training camp. I'm confident that the group we’ve assembled can achieve our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics in Tokyo.”

The training camp roster features 15 players who have been capped by the senior USMNT and 16 who have played at a youth World Cup, as well as 14 who were on the gameday roster for a 7-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago last month.

With five U-23 caps, CF Montréal forward Djordje Mihailovic has the most experience on the roster at this age level. He has captained the squad in its last three international matches. San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski has appeared in all nine training camps for the U-23 USMNT this cycle, including the team’s June 2019 joint camp with the senior team.

Conversely, midfielders Frankie Amaya from FC Cincinnati and Colorado Rapids standout Cole Bassett as well as forwards Ulysses Llanez (SC Heerenveen) and Ricardo Pepi from FC Dallas will take part in their first U-23 USMNT training camp. Last March, Llanez was named as part of the roster for Olympic qualifying but did not arrive in camp before the tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997 are age-eligible for the competition, and Kreis selected 13 players born in 1997, five born in 1998, one born in 1999, four born in 2000, six born in 2001, one born in 2002 and one born in 2003 for the training camp.

The US U-23s will open Group A play against Costa Rica at Estadio Jalisco on March 18, then face the Dominican Republic on March 21 at Estadio Akron before concluding group play against Mexico on March 24. The top two finishers from Group A and Group B advance to the semifinal round, and the two sides who win those matches will represent the region at the Summer Games in Tokyo.

United States Olympic qualifying training camp roster