Robinson, Zimmerman, Mihailovic on US men’s Olympic soccer roster
NEW YORK (AP) — Defenders Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman along with forward Djordje Mihailovic will be the three overage players on the 18-man U.S. Olympic men’s soccer roster after failing to get used by the senior national team at the Copa America.
Olympic soccer is limited to players under 23, with each team allowed three over the age limit. The U.S. wild card picks are all from Major League Soccer; FIFA does not require clubs to release players for the Olympics.
Maximilian Dietz, a defender with Germany’s second-tier Greuther Furth, was added by coach Marko Mitrovic after missing the June training camp ahead of a 2-0 exhibition loss to Japan. He had been with U-23 team in October and March.
Ten players were dropped from the June roster: defenders Jalen Neal, Bryan Reynolds and Jonathan Tomkinson; midfielders Cole Bassett, Aidan Morris and Rokas Pukštas; and forwards Esmir Bajraktarevic, Cade Cowell, Damion Downs and Johan Gomez.
The U.S. men are in the Olympic soccer tournament for the first time since 2008 and will train in Bordeaux starting Tuesday. They open on July 24 against host France, then meet New Zealand and Guinea. The top two nations in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Fifteen players have appeared with the senior national team for a total of 114 international appearances.
Zimmerman, a 31-year-old on Nashville, has 42 international appearances and last played for the U.S. against Canada in the June 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final. Zimmerman captained the national team nine times and played in all four American matches at the 2022 World Cup, starting three.
Robinson, a 27-year-old on Cincinnati, was on the U.S. roster for the Copa America but didn’t get any playing time as the Americans were eliminated in the group stage. He has 29 international appearances, scoring the extra-time goal that beat Mexico in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. He missed the 2022 World Cup while recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon.
Mihailovic, a 25-year-old on Colorado, has three goals in 11 international appearances but hasn’t played for the national team since the loss to Panama in the July 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal.
Others with senior national team experience are midfielder Gianluca Busio (13 appearances); defender John Tolkin (four); defender Kevin Paredes (three); forward Taylor Booth, midfielder Tanner Tessmann and defender Caleb Wikey (two each); and forward Paxten Aaronson, defender Benjamin Cremaschi, midfielder Jack McGlynn, forward Duncan McGuire and goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Gaga Slonina (one apiece).
Dietz, defender Nathan Harriel and forward Griffin Yow have never played for the senior team.
Cremaschi at 19 is the youngest player and also is age eligible for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Ten players are from MLS, two each from newly promoted Venezia in Italy and the Dutch Eredivisie and one each from the Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the Germany second tier and Belgium’s top tier. All but Dietz played in MLS at some point or in an MLS development academy.
Omissions included Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady, Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna and Dallas winger Bernard Kamungo.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Patrick Schulte (Columbus), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea, England)
Defenders: Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Fürth, Germany), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville)
Midfielders: Gianluca Busio (Venezia, Italy), Benjamin Cremaschi (Miami), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia, Italy)
Forwards: Paxten Aaronson (Utrecht, Netherlands), Taylor Booth (Utrecht, Netherlands), Duncan McGuire (Orlando), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg, Germany), Griffin Yow (Westerlo, Belgium)
Alternates: goalkeeper John Pulskamp (Kansas City), defender Jacob Davis (Kansas City), midfielder Josh Atencio (Seattle), forward Johan Gomez (Eintracht Braunschweig, Germany)
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