PREVIEW: U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team Aims to Get Back on Track vs. New Zealand

MARSEILLE, France (July 26, 2024) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team will continue its Paris 2024 campaign on Wednesday night against New Zealand, aiming to get back on track after an opening 3-0 defeat to host France. The U.S. Men have returned to the Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years, and despite a strong opening hour with the hosts and one of the tournament favorites came up short in front of a raucous crowd in Marseille.

Restricted to players under the age of 23, with an allowance for three overage players, the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament provides some of the nation’s top young talents the opportunity to face elite opposition on the world stage after rising through the ranks of American soccer development.

Saturday’s kickoff from Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France is set for 1 p.m. ET on USA Network, Telemundo and Peacock.

U.S. OLYMPIC MEN’S SOCCER TEAM – ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS; HOMETOWN)

Goalkeepers (2): 1-Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 4/0; St. Charles, Mo.), 18-Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; 0/0; Addison, Ill.)

Defenders (6): 4-Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth/GER; 7/0; Frankfurt, Germany), 2-Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; 8/1; Oldsmar, Fla.), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 3/0; Arlington, Mass.), 5-John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; 8/0; Chatham, N.J.), 17-Caleb Wiley (Chelsea/ENG; 6/0; Atlanta, Ga.), 3-Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 5/0; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

Midfielders (5): 6-Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 7/1; Greensboro, N.C.), 15-Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; 5/1; Key Biscayne, Fla.), 16-Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; 8/0; Queens, N.Y.), 14-Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; 10/0; Jacksonville, Fla.), 8-Tanner Tessmann (Venezia/ITA; 11/0; Birmingham, Ala.)

Forwards (5): 11-Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht/NED; 6/1; Medford, NJ), 10-Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/NED; 5/0; Eden, Utah), 13-Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; 6/1; Omaha, Neb.), 7-Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 3/0; South Riding, Va.), 9- Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/BEL; 4/1; Clifton, Va.)

Alternates (4): Josh Atencio (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC; 0/0; Bellevue, Wash.), Jacob Davis (Defender, Sporting Kansas City; 0/0; Rochester, Mich.), Johan Gomez (Forward, Eintracht Braunschweig/GER; 7/2; Keller, Texas), John Pulskamp (Goalkeeper, Sporting Kansas City; 3/0; Bakersfield, Calif.)

USA SCHEDULE – 2024 OLYMPIC MEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT

TOUGH START VS. HOST NATION

Despite a resolute opening hour against host nation France, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team fell 3-0 to the tournament favorites. Playing its first Olympic match in 5,824 days in front of a packed house at the historic Stade de Marseille, the USA held strong for large portions of the match, led by a rock-solid defensive effort from overage center backs Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson plus a strong showing from midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio.

Overage midfielder Djordje Mihailovic rattled a rocket of a shot off the crossbar in the 59th and France responded two minutes later as overage French attacker Alexandre Lacazette ripped home the opening goal from 25 yards out. The U.S. came achingly close to answering as forward Paxten Aaronson put a header on goal in the 63rd and defender John Tolkin hit the left post with another header seconds later.

Another well-struck shot from France’s Michael Olise doubled Les Bleus’ advantage in the 69th and defender Loïc Badé put an exclamation point on things with a header off a corner kick in the 85th. U.S. winger Griffin Yow looked to have pulled one back in stoppage time, but his tally was whistled a hair offside.

USA ROSTER NOTES

• All 16 players made their Olympic debut on Wednesday night. Goalkeeper Gaga Slonina and midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi will aim to earn their first Olympic appearances on Saturday against New Zealand.
• Coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, defender Caleb Wiley (19 years, 214 days) became the youngest player to represent the U.S. at the Olympics since Freddy Adu (19 years, 66 days). He’s the sixth youngest to take the field for the red, white and blue since the Under-23 restriction was implemented for Barcelona 1992.
• Defenders Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman paired together in central defense for the first time since March 30, 2022 at Costa Rica in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying. It was just the USA’s second loss with the duo starting next to each other on the back line.
• Of the USA’s 11 overage players since the rule was introduced for Atlanta 1996, Zimmerman (42 caps) ranks as the fifth-most experienced player at the senior level, behind Jeff Agoos (101 caps before Sydney 2000), Brian McBride (95, Beijing 2008), Alexi Lalas (69, Atlanta 1996) and Brad Freidel (66, Sydney 2000)
• Taylor Booth (Utah) and Tanner Tessmann (Alabama) are the first two U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer players from their respective states.
• Duncan McGuire is the second U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer player from Nebraska. Fellow Nebraskan Aage Brix represented the U.S. 100 years ago at Paris 1924.
• Gianluca Busio is the second U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer player from North Carolina, joining Eddie Pope (Atlanta 1996).
• Hailing from Georgia, Wiley and Zimmerman are the second and third U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer players from the Peach State alongside Josh Wolff (Sydney 2000).
• Coming from Virginia, Kevin Paredes and Griffin Yow are the second and third U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer players from the state, joining Brandon Pollard (1996)
• Venezia’s Busio and Tessmann are the second and third players based in Italy to represent the U.S. Men at the Olympics after Danny Szetala (Beijing 2008, Brescia).
• KVC Westerlo’s Yow is the third to ply his trade in Belgium, following Ian Feuer and Steve Snow (Molenbeek, Standard Liège, Barcelona 1992).

USA-NEW ZEALAND

• This is the first meeting between the U.S. and New Zealand at the Olympic Games. It’s also the first time that the USA will face a team from Oceania at the Olympics.
• The U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team faced New Zealand in the Round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, a 4-0 victory for the USA. Three U.S. players return from that roster and all started the match: goalkeeper Gaga Slonina, defender Caleb Wiley and midfielder Jack McGlynn. Five players return from New Zealand’s starting XI: goalkeeper Kees Sims, defenders Lukas Kelly-Heald and Finn Surman (captain at the U-20 World Cup), midfielder Fin Conchie and forward Jay Herdman.
• The U.S. is 4W-4L-5D in the group stage since 1992 when the Under-23 age restriction was introduced, including a 3W-1L-4D in its last nine games.

STRONG START FOR THE OLYWHITES

Making its fourth Olympic appearance all-time, New Zealand earned its second-ever victory on Wednesday with a 2-1 win against Guinea in Nice. Despite missing a penalty midway through the first half, Matthew Garbett rallied to tally a minute later and give New Zealand its opening goal. Guinea equalized on a strike from distance in the 72nd, but Ben Waine responded four minutes later with the game-winner.

IN FOCUS: NEW ZEALAND

OLYMPIC HISTORY

• Paris 2024 marks the New Zealand Olympic Men’s Soccer Team’s fourth participation at the Games, having first qualified for Beijing 2008.
• Including Beijing and this summer’s 2024 Olympics in Paris, The OlyWhites have qualified for four of the last five iterations of the Summer Games. They missed out in 2016 after being disqualified for fielding an ineligible player during the 2015 Pacific Games, which served as the qualifying tournament for the Olympics in Rio.
• In the team’s last appearance at the delayed Olympic tournament in 2021, New Zealand advanced from the group stage for the first time. A 1-0 win against Korea Republic and a 0-0 draw with Romania helped offset a 3-2 defeat to Honduras to secure a second-place finish with four points in Group B. In the quarterfinals, a 0-0 draw against host Japan eventually saw the OlyWhites defeated 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout.
• The delayed Tokyo 2020 tournament also saw New Zealand earn its first-ever victory in Olympic competition, the win over Korea Republic in the group stage. The squad finished 0W-2L-1D with one point and were eliminated in the group stage in both the 2008 and 2012 tournaments.
• New Zealand’s 2-1 win against Guinea in its first match of the 2024 competition was its second-ever Olympic victory, bringing the OlyWhites’ overall record in the Summer Games to 2W-5L-4D all-time.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

• New Zealand qualified for the 2024 Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament in dominant fashion, winning four straight matches in the 2023 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a goal differential of +22. They dispatched Papua New Guinea (3-0) and Fiji (3-1) in the group stage, before rolling through the knockout round with lopsided victories against Vanuatu (8-0) in the semifinals and Fiji (9-0) in the final.
• The OlyWhites played a single pre-Olympic friendly match ahead of the Games, falling 3-1 to Uzbekistan on July 18.

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD

• Head coach Darren Bazeley used all three overage spots for the 2024 Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament, bringing defender Michael Boxall (35) and midfielders Joe Bell (25) and Sarpreet Singh (25) with his squad to France.
• Boxall is the oldest and most experienced player on the team, with 49 caps for the senior side. Boxall will be familiar to American soccer fans, as he is currently the all-time leader in appearances (228) for Major League Soccer side Minnesota United, joining the club in 2017.
• Midfielder Matt Garbett captains the side, already an experienced member of the senior New Zealand Men’s National Team. The 22-year-old, who helped NAC Breda earn promotion to the Dutch Eredivisie ahead of the 2024-25 season, has 22 full international appearances after debuting in 2021.
• Forward Ben Waine, who scored the game-winning goal against Guinea on Wednesday, was the leading scorer for the senior New Zealand team en route to its 2024 OFC Men’s Nations Cup victory in June. The 23-year-old scored four times – second-most in the competition – to help New Zealand win its seventh championship in the tournament.
• In all, 13 players on this OlyWhites have made an appearance for the senior New Zealand squad.
• Ten players on the 18-man roster compete outside New Zealand on the club level, with England, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and the United States all represented.
• Seven players currently ply their trade domestically, with New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix (six players) which plays in the Australian A-League the most heavily represented. Midfielder Sarpreet Singh is currently unattached to a club.

NEW ZEALAND HEAD COACH DARREN BAZELEY

• Darren Bazely, 51, was named head coach for New Zealand’s senior squad on July 4, 2023. He’s currently appointed through the 2026 FIFA World Cup cycle and his responsibilities include leading the U-23 side for its Paris 2024 campaign. He had served as the interim head coach since March 2023.
• An experienced manager at the youth international level, Bazeley had previously led the New Zealand U-20s to the knockout round at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2015, 2017 and 2023. His sides were eliminated by the United States in both 2017 and 2023.
• Bazeley was an assistant coach for the Colorado Rapids of MLS from 2017-2020, primarily working under former head coach Anthony Hudson. Hudson was New Zealand’s manager from 2014-2017 before serving as an assistant for the U.S. Men’s National Team from 2021-22 and interim head coach in 2023.
• As a player, the English Bazely enjoyed a 20-year professional playing career in both his home country and New Zealand. Of his 456 matches played from 1989-2008, he featured most for Watford (283 appearances) and Walsall FC (100 appearances).