Jack McGlynn wasn’t even born when Team USA last reached the knockout stages of the Summer Olympics. Neither were any of his fellow under-23 players on this year’s squad.
But the Philadelphia Union midfielder, who was part of the group that helped the US qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2008, and his teammates are on the precipice of more history when they face Guinea to conclude Group A Tuesday in Saint-Étienne.
A win would send the US through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000, when the team reached the semifinals and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal.
“I was a part of the team that qualified us here and that was kind of a huge deal for us, being the ones that did it since the past couple of groups really couldn't get it done. And I think to now be here, I think it's like me and Paxten [Aaronson] that are kind of the only two that were at qualifying in here, we kind of understand the significance,” McGlynn said.
“And the older guys here, they've also talked to us, telling us about the moment how big it is and how big it could be if you make it to the next stage too.”
The US, which opened with a 3-0 loss to host France, rebounded to beat New Zealand, 4-1, Saturday in Marseille. It was a historic win, the first time they scored four goals in an Olympic match.
But that’s in the rearview now with full focus on Guinea, which lost 1-0 to France on Saturday.
The US defeated Guinea, 3-0, in a March friendly in Spain. But McGlynn knows the stakes are too large to overlook Syli National.
“We know it's going to be a very different game,” he said. “It's a big tournament and they have kind of a completely different group. So we can't really take much there. We know we had a good result against them, but it's all about having a good result now. That’s all that matters.”
Reaching the knockout stages would be significant for Miles Robinson, the FC Cincinnati defender whose dreams of competing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup were dashed due to a torn Achilles.
“I think it would mean everything but … we can't get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Robinson, one of three overaged players selected by head coach Marko Mitrović. “I think we got a big game coming up. And it's just full focus on that. And hopefully, a good result happens and then we can go from there.”
