With the USA bowing out of the Copa America now what seems to be a long time ago, the American fans have the 2024 Paris Olympics to look forward to. Coach Marko Mitrovic has selected his team and will be ready for the opening game against their French hosts on July 24 in the port city of Marseille.
Although every player is not his first choice, the Serbian-born American chose the best of what was available to him.
“We all know that it was actually a difficult process the last 8 to 10 months, talking to the clubs and trying to get all the players released,” he told the media. “It was a great experience for me to learn how that works. However we ended up with a roster that can represent us on the best possible way and I feel very good about the team that is going to Paris.
Two notable absentees are the pair from the Eredivisie champions, PSV Eindhoven. The club refused to release both Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman, who both represented the USA during the Copa America.
Another Eredivisie player who will become an Olympian is Paxten Aaronson. The Eintractracht Frankfurt loanee was with Vitesse Arnhem last season and will stay in the Netherlands another season, this time with Utrecht. According to Mitrovic, the Jersey native will be a vital piece of the Olympic team.
“Pax can play multiple positions for us. He’s been great (at) all those camps for us. He is a player that is very committed to play with a 16 field players roster (and) its important that you have players who can play multiple positions. Pax filled almost all spots in a front line; he can play as an attacking midfielder, a wide forward, a forward.
“We are actually happy to have Pax with us and we have high expectations of every player that is going there and every player will be on the field, every player will play and Pax is one of them. So we have very high expectations from every player at the same time. Pax as well.”
Perhaps a surprise addition to the team is Ben Cremaschi. The Inter Miami midfielder is just 19-years-old, making him the youngest player on the roster. The dual national, who is also eligible to play for Argentina, will also be young enough to qualify for the next Olympics in four years’ time.
“He’s the youngest player in our group,” the coach confirmed. “He’s (born in) 2005 and 2005 are pillars for the next Olympics. He has qualities that fit our team and needs.
“We know that he can fill out different roles and we talk about a player with a high competitive level. Like I said with Pax, we have high expectations with every player and we know that Ben is the youngest player and he is ready to compete and represent USA at the Olympics.”
After their opener, the Americans will then take on New Zealand and then Guinea, while hoping to make it into the knockout stages.