The USMNT’s failure to qualify from the group stage of the Copa América on home soil has thrown US Soccer into crisis.
An antidote to the negativity around the team could soon arrive, though, with the Olympic football tournament kicking off in France this afternoon. Competing nations are limited to picking rosters made up predominantly of under-23 players, with just three overage exceptions allowed.
And the USMNT squad includes a handful of emerging stars who could soon fill positions of need for the US before the home World Cup in 2026.
The goals haven’t exactly flowed for the USMNT over the last couple years. At the 2022 World Cup, they scored just three goals in four games. Although they have since run up big scores against international football minnows like Grenada (7-1), Saint Kitts and Nevis (6-0), Trinidad and Tobago (6-0) and Oman (4-0), they have struggled to score against stronger sides. In games this year against Serbia, Slovenia and Germany, they either drew a blank or scored only once. In their final pre-Copa warm-up friendlies, they were thrashed 5-1 by Colombian and drew 1-1 with Brazil.
The one major positive to come out of the disastrous Copa campaign was the emergence of Folarin Balogun as a genuine top-level threat at the point of attack. And in captain Christian Pulisic, they have a reliable goal threat from wide.
Among the midfielders currently at Berhalter’s disposal, though, there is a stark lack of scoring potential. That problem could be remedied by Gianluca Busio.
The former Sporting Kansas City midfielder will go into the Paris Games off the back of the finest club season of his young career to date. The 22-year-old from Gainsborough, North Carolina, scored seven goals and provided five assists to help Venezia – whom he joined in a $10.5m deal three years ago – earn promotion back to Italy’s top flight via the Serie B playoffs.
Busio already has 13 senior international caps to his name and scored his first USMNT goal last year in a 6-0 Gold Cup win over Trinidad and Tobago.
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Tanner Tessmann
A Venezia team-mate of Busio, Tanner Tessmann possesses a skillset that could see him not only offer goals in the USMNT midfield makeup but, at 6ft 4ins, a level of physicality Berhalter’s current options can’t match.
Able to play as a holding midfielder or slightly higher up in a box-to-box role, the 22-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, has demonstrated a calmness in possession and sound defensive instincts across 99 appearances for Venezia. He also showed a fresh wrinkle to his game last season with a career-best return of seven goals in the Italian second tier, along with three assists.
Tessmann’s performances might not have been enough to earn a first USMNT selection since October 2023, but they did catch the eye of Serie A champions Inter, who are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign the former FC Dallas youngster.
Gaga Slonina
The US have produced more top-class goalkeepers than any other position over the last 30 years, with the likes of Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard attaining a level of stardom in European soccer few American outfield players prior to the current generation ever reached.
And the position has not been a cause for concern for much of the past four years, ever since Matt Turner emerged to cement his status as the USMNT’s No 1 option between the posts.
But Turner fell out of favour at club level with Nottingham Forest last season and back up Ethan Horvath looked shaky when replacing the injured Turner during the Copa América defeat to Panama.
At the Olympics, Columbus Crew’s 23-year-old shot-stopper Patrick Schulte will have the chance to prove he is ready to compete for the starting spot at senior level. And his second-in-command in France may be an even more promising prospect.
Gaga Slonina only turned 20 in May, but already the young goalkeeper has accumulated an impressive degree of first-team experience. He broke through in MLS with the Chicago Fire aged just 17. And after 34 senior appearances, he earned an $11m move to Chelsea in 2022.
Slonina is yet to play for the Premier League side, but last season he impressed while on loan with KAS Eupen in the Belgian top flight, keeping five clean sheets despite his side being relegated to the second tier.
Kevin Paredes
The biggest asset Kevin Paredes possesses that should ensure the 21-year-old enjoys a long career at the senior international level is his versatility.
With roster numbers limited at major international tournaments, having a high-level player who can operate in multiple positions is a tremendous advantage. And the 21-year-old Wolfsburg youngster offers just that.
Fast, dynamic, creative and hard-working in any role he plays, Paredes is comfortable playing anywhere on the left side of the pitch, be it as a full-back, wing-back or winger. He can also slide over to the right side of a front-three further up the field.
Paredes moved to the Bundesliga club from DC United in a $7m deal two years ago and he has since clocked 55 first-team appearances. He has also made three senior USMNT appearances and the fact the 2024 Olympics could be a springboard to contention for a World Cup place has been made abundantly clear to the Virginia-born star.
Benjamin Cremaschi
The fact that 19-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi has already locked down a prominent role within the most star-studded and talent-packed rosters in MLS suggests the midfielder has the potential to develop into a star at club and international level in the near future.
And the Inter Miami teenager – who holds dual US and Argentinian nationality – has reportedly caught the eye of his most famous team-mate, with Lionel Messi said to have been impressed by the youngster in their time working together.
And energetic and versatile central midfielder, Cremaschi has shown the ability to get forward and create in the final third for Tata Martino’s side, with three goals and an assist from nine MLS appearances to date. He also ranks in the top 10% in MLS in touches in the opposition box, progressive passes and expected assists. But where Cremaschi has grown most is without the ball, displaying discipline and maturity beyond his years in the completion of the defensive tasks demanded in his position.
With his international allegiance courted by Argentina, Cremaschi was handed a senior debut by the US last September, coming off the bench in a 1-0 friendly win over Oman. A string of impressive displays in France could catapult the teenager into a more prominent role as the USMNT begin their preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
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Caleb Wiley
Teenage left-back Caleb Wiley is one of the most talked-about players on the Olympic soccer roster due to the news this week that he has signed for Chelsea in an $11m deal.
The 19-year-old has already played more than 80 times for Atlanta United, impressing with a positional maturity beyond his years and a level of technical quality that makes him a threat going forward as a scorer and creator, with six goals and six assists to date for the Five Stripes.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson currently has the left side of the USMNT backline locked down, with the 26-year-old one of the team’s most important players on defense and attack. But Wiley’s emergence and imminent move to Europe – where he will first spend a year on loan with Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg – will provide healthy competition and a bright future in the position.
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