Meet the players on the first U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team in 16 years

After failing to qualify for the last three Olympics, the U.S. men’s soccer team is finally back at the Summer Games this year.

The Olympics men’s soccer event is a youth age-group tournament for players under 23 during the qualifying cycle. That’s mainly so the Olympics don’t become a bigger deal than the World Cup. But FIFA and the International Olympic Committee want it to get some attention, so once teams have qualified, they can have three overage players each.

Rosters are small, just 18 players plus four alternates who travel and can play in case of injuries. That’s smaller than the 23-player total that’s traditional for World Cups and continental tournament, and the 26-player total used at the 2022 World Cup and this year’s European Championship.

» READ MORE: Here are the top Olympics men’s soccer group stage games to watch

Now that you know all this, get to know the players on the American squad, including three with local ties.

Club: Columbus Crew Age: 23

He’s the starter for the reigning MLS champions, and you can expect him to be the starter for the U.S. in France. The U.S. team could have used one of its overage picks here, but chose to focus them on other positions, and that probably was the right call.

Club: Chelsea, England Age: 20

The Chicago-area native has been a big-time prospect ever since he turned pro with his hometown Fire at age 14. Two years later, he became the youngest starting goalkeeper in MLS history at 17 years, 81 days.

European clubs already were watching Slonina, and in August 2022, England’s Chelsea pounced with a $10 million deal to buy him. He spent last season on loan at Belgium’s Eupen, where he played 34 games. Unfortunately, he gave up 65 goals over those games, though Eupen wasn’t very good overall.

Hopefully, Slonina will fulfill his potential down the road. For now, while he has a higher ceiling than Schulte, the latter player has the safer hands.

Club: Greuther Fürth, Germany Age: 22

Here’s the player you probably know the least about, and that’s OK. Dietz is a New York City native who grew up in Germany and has spent his entire soccer career there.

He has played six times for the U.S. under-23s on the way to the Olympics and reportedly was picked because he can also play some defensive midfield. That versatility gave him an edge over other players at what is a weak position in the player pool.

Club: Philadelphia Union Age: 23

Some Union academy prospects are pegged for greatness from an early age. Harriel wasn’t that when he moved north from the Tampa, Fla., area in 2018. But he earned his way up the ranks with years of hard work and now is a first-team regular.

Harriel’s place on the Olympic team also was earned with a later run than other prospects. His versatility was a huge asset in that: Usually a right back, he also can play left back or centerback if needed and is great at jumping to head corner kicks and free kicks.

» READ MORE: Nathan Harriel’s years of hard work pay off with a place on the U.S. Olympic men’s soccer team

Club: FC Cincinnati Age: 27

The centerback is the only player on the Olympic squad who also was on the senior team’s Copa América squad. He didn’t play in that tournament, so his legs are fresh, and he’ll start in France. But since clubs aren’t required to release players for the Olympics, it still was a bit surprising that Cincinnati let him go.

Club: New York Red Bulls Age: 21

Union fans have seen his bleach-blond mullet many times over the years. U.S. fans will see him as a platooning left back starter on the Olympic team. Tolkin has had a lot of hype over the years, and this is a chance to live up to it.

Club: Chelsea Age: 19

Some scouts believe he’s got a higher ceiling than Tolkin. Who’s better right now might not end up mattering if the players rotate as starters in France.

Wiley’s potential was further confirmed earlier this month when English giant Chelsea agreed to terms on an $11 million purchase from Atlanta. It then loaned him to French club Strasbourg, which it also owns.

Club: Nashville SC Age: 31

The veteran centerback was such an obvious pick for one of the overage slots that he was part of the under-23 team’s last pre-Olympic training camp in June.

Zimmerman was part of the 2022 World Cup squad and has long been a leader on the field and in the locker room. Though he isn’t so high on the senior team’s depth chart anymore, a trip to the Olympics is a deserved honor.

Club: Venezia, Italy Age: 22

Born in North Carolina and raised at Sporting Kansas City, it’s hard to believe he’s still just 22. When Busio turned pro six years ago, he became the youngest pro player in MLS since Freddy Adu in 2004. (It’s a sign of the league’s progress that other players have come closer since then, including the Union’s Cavan Sullivan.)

Busio joined Venezia in 2021, and helped the club bring Venice — one of the world’s most famous cities — back to Serie A. The club has gone up and down since, but will be back in Serie A this coming season, and Busio will be with them. Before then, he’s likely to be a midfield starter at the Olympics.

Club: Inter Miami Age: 19

U.S. manager Marko Mitrović thinks so highly of the Argentine-American that he brought the Miami-area native up an age group. But Argentina’s national team thinks so highly of Cremaschi that it’s also trying to recruit him — and Inter teammate Lionel Messi has done his own lobbying.

As of now, it looks like Cremaschi will pick the United States. Playing at the Olympics is a good sign, but doesn’t lock him in.

Club: Philadelphia Union Age: 21

You’ve read here about his magical left foot for years now. Hopefully, you’ve watched the great plays that the Queens, N.Y., native has made for the Union since he leaped onto the scene three years ago.

Now, the world will get to see McGlynn on the biggest stage he has reached yet. European scouts are already on his case, and it should be no surprise if the Union get big offers this year — and cash in on them.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Jack McGlynn makes the U.S. Olympic soccer team, opening the door to stardom

Club: Colorado Rapids Age: 25

This pick was a bit controversial, in part because it might have come at the expense of Real Salt Lake’s entertaining playmaker prospect Diego Luna. Mihailovic is a good enough player, but he’s not a player who quickly came to mind for an overage pick.

Choosing him in this circumstance means he’s likely to start. That’s fine within who’s on this roster, but it means some pressure to deliver.

Club: Venezia, Italy Age: 22

He’ll be the starting defensive midfielder at the Olympics, and you’ll hear a lot more about him after that. The FC Dallas product reportedly was about to sign a deal to join Italian giant Inter Milan in 2025.

Club: FC Utrecht, Netherlands Age: 20

The Medford native is a local product made good and one of the pillars of proof that the Union can sell their academy products for big money. Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt paid $4 million for him up front in late 2022 and offered a lot more than that in incentives and bonuses over time.

Aaronson hasn’t played a lot for Frankfurt, and he spent the second half of last season on loan at Dutch club Vitesse to get regular minutes. He’ll spend the coming season at Utretcht for the same reason. But Frankfurt still believes in him, recently agreeing a contract extension through 2028.

Though Aaronson is listed as a forward, he can play many positions for this Olympic team and likely will: winger, central attacking midfielder, and even center forward if needed for a spell.

» READ MORE: Paxten Aaronson makes it three players with Union ties on the U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team

Club: FC Utrecht, Netherlands Age: 23

A Utah native who used to play in Real Salt Lake’s academy, Booth moved to Europe in 2019 when German superpower Bayern Munich invited him to its academy. He only ended up playing once for Bayern’s first team and moved to Utrecht as a free agent in early 2022.

Booth has been more of a regular there, playing mainly as a right winger. That’s the position he’ll play for the U.S., and he could be the starter there.

Club: Orlando City Age: 23

The proper way to describe his position is “target forward.” Soccer’s old-school parlance would call him a “true No. 9.”

The colloquial way to put it is “Get the ball to the big guy up top and have him put it in the net.” That is the 6-foot-1 Nebraska native’s job, and as his 23 goals in 59 games for Orlando show, he doesn’t mind one bit.

But McGuire is the only pure striker on this team, and that could be a problem. Mitrović wanted U.S. veteran Brandon Vazquez of Mexican club Monterrey as one of his overage players, but Monterrey wouldn’t let him go.

That’s why Aaronson, who has a scoring touch but not the same size, could end up as the backup plan.

Club: VfL Wolfsburg, Germany Age: 21

Perhaps the most accomplished player on the roster in terms of European performance. The D.C. United product moved to Wolfsburg in 2022 for more than $7 million, and has played 55 times for the Bundesliga’s club first team. He has also played three times for the senior U.S. men’s team already.

Paredes has played left wing and left back and is ticketed to play the former at the Olympics. He’s a near-certainty to start, but he might not start every game because there are so many in quick succession.

Club: Westerlo, Belgium Age: 21

Another D.C. United product, he can play on either wing. Expect to see him, Booth, Paredes, and Aaronson rotate through the winger spots across the group stage.

Position: Goalkeeper Club: Sporting Kansas City Age: 23

He has three previous appearances for the U.S. under-23s.

Position: Midfielder Club: Seattle Sounders Age: 22

Increasingly a regular for the Sounders at defensive midfield, he made his senior U.S. debut in January at the end of a camp for prospects in MLS.

Position: Midfielder Club: Sporting Kansas City Age: 22

He’s capable of playing outside back or central midfield, but has never played for any U.S. youth national team.

Position: Forward Club: Eintracht Braunschweig, Germany Age: 23

A regular with the U.S. under-23s recently, with two goals for the group. But the roster was too tight for him to crack the 18.