United States men's national under-23 soccer team
The United States U-23 men's national soccer team, also known as the United States men's Olympic soccer team, is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is qualification into and competition at the quadriennial Olympic Football Tournament, the next of which is to be held during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The team's most recent major tournament was the tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in which the United States team did not qualify.
| Nickname(s) | Team USA[1] The Stars and Stripes[2] The Yanks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | United States Soccer Federation | ||
| Confederation | CONCACAF | ||
| Head coach | Jason Kreis | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 United States 1–2 Italy  (Barcelona, Spain; July 24, 1992) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
United States 6–0 Cuba  (Nashville, United States; March 22, 2012) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Mexico 4–0 United States (Guadalajara, Mexico; February 10, 2004) | |||
| Olympics | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1992) | ||
| Best result | Fourth place (2000) | ||
In accordance with FIFA regulations, the roster can be augmented with three "overage" players during Olympic competition.
History
Men's Olympic soccer became an under-23 competition for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. In the group stage, the Americans defeated Kuwait but lost to Italy and only managed a draw with Poland. As a result, they were eliminated in the first round. Several U.S. players on the roster, however, would go on to have a major influence with the United States men's national soccer team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which the United States would host.
The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia would be the first time that teams could add overage players to their rosters. Being the host nation and with Major League Soccer in the middle of its inaugural season, the USSF tapped then-D.C. United head coach Bruce Arena to manage the Olympic team. They would fall short again, however, as a loss to eventual-silver medalists Argentina offset a win against Tunisia and a draw with Portugal.
The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia marked a significant turnaround in the fortunes of the team. This time, the United States, led by head coach Clive Charles, won their group on goal difference on the strength of draws with the Czech Republic and eventual-gold medalists Cameroon and a win over Kuwait. A tense quarterfinal match against Japan ended in a penalty shoot-out which the United States won. Losses to Spain in the semifinals and Chile in the bronze medal match left the Americans short of medal dreams, but the fourth-place finish in a sixteen-team tournament was the program's greatest youth team.
The team did not compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; the United States, led by head coach Glenn Myernick, failed to qualify after a defeat to Mexico in the semifinals of the 2004 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament.
In late 2006, former Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley was given the reins to both the senior national team and under-23 national team. His tenure would be brief as his elevation to full-time head coach of the senior team would result in him handing control of the under-23 team to his assistant head coach, Piotr Nowak. Under Nowak, the United States qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics after a 3–0 win over Canada in the 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament, thanks to goals by Freddy Adu and Sacha Kljestan. The Olympics began promisingly; the Americans defeated Japan and led Holland late. However, a stoppage time goal equalized for the Dutch, and the Americans followed up with a loss to Nigeria.
Under the leadership of new coach Caleb Porter in the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the Americans defeated Cuba but were then beaten by Canada and surrendered a late lead against El Salvador, causing them to miss the Olympics for the second time in three tournaments.
Coaches
- 1988–1992: Lothar Osiander
- 1994–1995: Timo Liekoski
- 1995–1996: Bruce Arena
- 1996–2003: Clive Charles
- 2003–2004: Glenn Myernick
- 2006–2007: Bob Bradley
- 2007–2009: Piotr Nowak
- 2011–2012: Caleb Porter
- 2013–2014: Tab Ramos
- 2015–2016: Andreas Herzog
- 2019–present: Jason Kreis
Players
Current squad
The following 27 players were named to the squad for a training camp on January 9–24, 2021.[3]
Caps and goals are current as of November 7, 2019.
Recent call-ups
The following players were named to a squad in the last 12 months.
This list may be incomplete.
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Notes:
- PP: Postponed
- PRE: Preliminary squad
- INJ: Withdrew due to injury
- WTD: Withdrew due to other reasons
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Year(s) | U-23 Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Snow | 1992 | 10 |
| 2 | Landon Donovan | 2000–2004 | 9 |
| 3 | Jordan Morris | 2015– | 7 |
| 4 | Jerome Kiesewetter | 2015– | 6 |
| Brent Goulet | 1988 | 6 | |
| 6 | Freddy Adu | 2008–2012 | 5 |
| 7 | Joe Corona | 2012 | 4 |
| Luis Gil | 2011– | 4 | |
| Bobby Convey | 2004 | 4 | |
| Sacha Kljestan | 2007–2008 | 4 | |
| Alecko Eskandarian | 2004 | 4 | |
| Chris Albright | 2000 | 4 | |
| Mike Seeray | 1972 | 4 | |
| Carl Gentile | 1964 | 4 | |
Recent results
CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying
2016 Summer Olympics CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off
Upcoming Schedule
2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship
Competitive record
Olympic Games
| Olympics record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
 1992 |
Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 1996 |
Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2000 |
Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
 2004 |
Did not qualify | |||||||
 2008 |
Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
 2012 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 2016 | ||||||||
 2020 |
To be determined | |||||||
 2024 |
To be determined | |||||||
| 2028 |
Qualified as hosts | |||||||
| Total | 4/6 | 4th | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 24 |
Pre-Olympic Tournament
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Champions – Qualified | 10 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 12 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1996 | Qualify as hosts | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 | Runners-up – Qualified | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 2004 | Fourth Place | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| 2008 | Runners-up – Qualified | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2012 | Group Stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| 2015 | Third Place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 |
| 2020 | TBD | ||||||
 2024 | TBD |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Pan American Games
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Third Place | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 15 |
| 1963 | 5th Place | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 30 |
| 1967 | 6th Place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
 1971 | 6th Place | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 18 |
| 1975 | 12th Place | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 1979 | 6th Place | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
 1983 | 6th Place | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1987 | 6th Place | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 1991 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
 1995 | 12th Place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 1999 | Third Place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 2007 | 7th Place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
See also
References
- "Your comments on Team USA's win over Algeria and advancing to knockout round". Nj.com. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- Wilson, Paul (June 26, 2010). "USA 1–2 Ghana". The Guardian. London.
- https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2021/01/defender-julian-araujo-added-to-u23-usmnt-january-camp-roster-as-bryan-reynolds-departs
External links
- U-23 MNT official homepage at United States Soccer Federation
| National sports teams of the United States | |
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