PREVIEW: USA Chasing Olympic Men’s Soccer History in Quarterfinal Clash with Morocco

PARIS (Aug. 1, 2024) – After a strong 3-0 win against Guinea to advance from the group stage for the first time since Sydney 2000 and second time since pool play was introduced at Rome 1960, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team will aim for a spot in the semifinals when it faces Morocco on Friday, Aug. 2.

Back in the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament for the first time in 16 years and playing in the quarterfinals for just the third time in its 100-year history at the Games, a win would send the USA to the semifinals where it would be guaranteed a shot at the first medal in program history.

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.

Friday’s kickoff from Parc des Princes in Paris, France is set for 9 a.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; 6/0; St. Charles, Mo.), 18-Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; 0/0; Addison, Ill.)

Defenders (6): 4-Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth/GER; 9/0; Frankfurt, Germany), 2-Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; 10/1; Oldsmar, Fla.), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 5/0; Arlington, Mass.), 5-John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; 10/0; Chatham, N.J.), 17-Caleb Wiley (Chelsea/ENG; 7/0; Atlanta, Ga.), 3-Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 7/1; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

Midfielders (5): 6-Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 8/2; Greensboro, N.C.), 15-Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; 6/1; Key Biscayne, Fla.), 16-Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; 10/0; Queens, N.Y.), 14-Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; 12/2; Jacksonville, Fla.), 8-Tanner Tessmann (Venezia/ITA; 13/0; Birmingham, Ala.)

Forwards (5): 11-Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht/NED; 8/2; Medford, NJ), 10-Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/NED; 7/0; Eden, Utah), 13-Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; 8/1; Omaha, Neb.), 7-Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 5/2; South Riding, Va.), 9- Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/BEL; 6/1; Clifton, Va.)

Alternates (4): Josh Atencio (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC; 1/0; 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

SURGING INTO KNOCKOUT STAGE

Two emphatic victories propelled the U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team out of the group stage for the first time in 24 years and the second time since the group stage was introduced at Rome 1960. After knocking off New Zealand 4-1 on Saturday, the U.S. downed Guinea 3-0 in strong fashion to secure its place in the quarterfinals.

Following a fast start against the OlyWhites, the U.S. also got off on the front foot against the Syli National with Djordje Mihailovic netting the opening goal on an exquisite free kick from outside the box in the 14th minute. The U.S. doubled its lead with a lovely team goal in the 31st, capped off by a beautiful through ball from Paxten Aaronson to Kevin Paredes, who finished it cleanly.

Paredes bagged his brace - just the second ever for a U.S. Men’s player at the Olympics - in the 75th minute. After he was served up by midfielder Jack McGlynn, the Wolfsburg winger cut in and ripped a hard shot to the back of the net to put an exclamation point on the 3-0 shutout victory.

USA ROSTER NOTES

• The USA advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since Sydney 2000, where it earned a fourth-place finish, its best at the competition.
• The U.S. has reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament for the third time in its 100-year history at the Games, dating back to Paris 1924 (Paris 2024, Sydney 2000, Melbourne 1956).
• The 3-0 win marked the USA’s third shutout victory since Barcelona 1992 and fourth all-time at the Olympics. It’s the fifth clean sheet that the U.S. has kept at the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament.
• The USA’s seven goals (through three games) at Paris 2024 rank second-most all-time across its 14 appearances at the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament behind Sydney 2000 (eight goals in five games).
• The USA is now 6W-4L-5D in the group stage since the Under-23 rule was introduced in 1992.
• Midfielder Djordje Mihailovic opened the scoring on Tuesday, becoming the seventh player to score in multiple games for the U.S. Men at the Olympics and first since midfielder Sacha Kljestan at Beijing 2008.
• Mihailovic is also the eighth player to score multiple goals for the U.S. at the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament. Forward Kevin Paredes became the ninth with his brace.
• Paredes is just the second player to score two goals in a game for the U.S. at the Olympics, following Rick Davis in the group stage vs. Costa Rica at Los Angeles 1984.
• Paredes’ tallies made him the USA’s fifth scorer at Paris 2024, matching the U.S. Men’s record for most scorers at the Olympics (five at Sydney 2000, Barcelona 1992).
• Midfielder Josh Atencio made his Olympic debut vs. Guinea, marking the 18th debut of the tournament.
• Midfielder Tanner Tessmann captained the squad vs. Guinea, his eighth time wearing the armband over this cycle’s 10 games. He’s served as captain in every match for the Olympic Men’s Soccer Team since Nov. 18 vs. Iraq.
• Robinson and Zimmerman have paired together in central defense for the senior USMNT and the U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team 12 times, compiling an 9-2-1 combined record. All USMNT matches came in official competition (2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying) plus the first three matches at Paris 2024.
• Taylor Booth (Utah) and 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, Caleb 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, 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-MOROCCO

• The U.S. and Morocco have met once previously at the Olympics, resulting in a 0-0 draw in the group stage at Munich 1972.
• The U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team squared off with Morocco in November as part of its prep for the Games, a 1-0 loss in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.
• Five players from Morocco’s November roster made the final Olympic squad: Ilias Akhomach, Mehdi Boukamir, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Rachid Ghanimi and Yassine Kechta.
• Eight return from the U.S. roster: Taylor Booth, Gianluca Busio, Benjamin Cremaschi, Maximilian Dietz, Nathan Harriel, Jack McGlynn, Tanner Tessmann and John Tolkin.

ROARING START FOR ATLAS LIONS

Making its fifth appearance at the Olympics since it became an Under-23 competition in 1992, Morocco has advanced from the group stage for the first time. The Atlas Lions kicked off the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament in wild fashion, topping Argentina 2-1 after a controversial disallowed late goal for the South Americans. Soufiane Rahimi netted both goals for Morocco on either side of halftime to go up 2-0 before Argentina rallied to cut the deficit.

In their second match, the North Africans fell 2-1 to Ukraine on a goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, Rahimi equalized for Morocco in the 64th before the late game-winner. In its final match, the Atlas Lions clinched their place in the quarterfinals with a clinical 3-0 victory against Iraq. Three different players scored, all in the first half: Amir Richardson, Rahimi and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli.

IN FOCUS: MOROCCO

OLYMPIC HISTORY

• Including Paris 2024, Morocco has qualified for the Men’s Olympic Soccer Tournament eight times since its first appearance at Tokyo 1964.
• This year marks Morocco’s first trip to the Olympics since London 2012.
• At that tournament, Morocco finished 11th overall after drawing twice against Honduras (2-2) and Spain (0-0), but suffering a 1-0 defeat to Japan that ultimately cost the African nation advancement out of Group D.
• It’s Morocco’s second time advancing out of the group stage after reaching the second round at Munich 1972. A 0-0 draw with the United States and a 6-0 win over Malaysia helped offset a 3-0 defeat to host West Germany and see the Moroccans through as second place in Group A.
• At Munich 1972, teams advanced out of the group stage into a second group stage with the eight first and second-place finishers from the initial group stage. Drawn into a second group with Poland, Soviet Union and Denmark, Morocco suffered three straight defeats and was eliminated from the competition.
• The 2024 team has already made history for the country, becoming the first Moroccan team to win two games in a single Olympic tournament after group stage victories against Argentina (2-1) and Iraq (3-0). Paris 2024 also marks the first time Morocco has ever won its group at the Olympic tournament.
• In all, Morocco’s current record in Olympic competition 5W-16L-5D all-time.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

• Morocco enters Friday’s quarterfinal match against the United States as winner of Group B.
• Morocco qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games via the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, which they won for the first time in the competition’s history last July on home soil. The two finalists (Morocco and Egypt) and third-place finisher (Mali) all automatically qualified for the 2024 Summer Games, while the fourth-place finisher, Guinea, had to qualify via an intercontinental playoff match against Indonesia.
• Prior to the Olympics, Morocco played a trio of 2024 friendlies in preparation. The Atlas Lions were defeated by Ukraine 1-0 on March 22 in Antalya, Turkey, but were then 2-0 victors against Wales on March 26. On June 4, in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, head coach Tarik Sektioui’s side drew 2-2 with Belgium.

MOROCCO SQUAD

• Sektioui used all three of his allotted overage spots for the 2024 Olympics, bringing goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi (35) of Moroccan side RS Berkane, Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi (25) and forward Soufiane Rahimi (28) of UAE Pro League club Al-Aïn.
• Rahimi currently leads the Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament in goals scored with four, having scored in all three of Morocco’s group stage matches. Crucially, Rahimi netted a decisive brace against Argentina in the team’s 2-1 win to open the tournament.
• Hakimi is captain of the side and the team’s most-capped member of the senior Morocco Men’s National Team. The PSG player has 77 senior appearances since debuting in 2016 and represented his country at the FIFA World Cup in both 2018 and 2022, starting all seven matches at the latter tournament en route to Morocco’s fourth-place finish.
• Of the under-23 players on the squad, Real Betis forward Abdessamad Ezzalzouli leads the squad with 15 senior caps, followed by Genk’s Bilal El Khannouss with 14.
• Defender Zakaria El Ouahidi leads the team with 13 appearances for the Morocco Under-23s and started all three matches in the Olympic group stage for Morocco
• At the club level, the majority of the Morocco Olympic Men’s Soccer Team plays outside of their home country, with France (six players) the most heavily represented. Members of the roster also play in Belgium (three players), Spain (two), Italy (one), and United Arab Emirates (one).
• Five players on the roster compete domestically in Morocco, representing four clubs in the top-flight Botola Pro 1.

MOROCCO HEAD COACH TARIK SEKTIOUI

• Sektioui, 47, was appointed head coach of the Morocco Under-23 Men’s National Team in February 2024, replacing Issame Charaï.
• To date, he has accumulated a 3W-2L-1D record including the 2024 Olympics.
• Sektioui has been coaching since 2013 and has led five teams in the Moroccan Botola Pro 1 (Maghreb Fès, Wydad Fès, Moghreb Tétouan, RS Berkane and Union Touarga), as well as Emirates Club of the UAE Pro League.
• As a player, Sektioui enjoyed a 15-year professional career that began in his native Morocco and took him to France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Portugal, UAE and ultimately back to Morocco, where he retired with Maghreb Fès in 2011. He made the majority of his career appearances with Dutch sides Willem II (85) and AZ Alkmaar (48) but was also a three-time Portuguese Primeira Liga winner with Porto from 2006-2009.
• Sektioui appeared 21 times for the Morocco Men’s National Team from 2001-08.