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Yesterday the United States Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Jason Kreis selected his 20 players to represent the country at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers in Guadalajara. And after training with the side early this month, Loons midfielder Hassani Dotson has been named to the squad.
This is not the first time that Dotson has been named to the side, as late in 2019 both himself and then-MNUFC and current-Club de Foot Montréal forward Mason Toye were named to the side. Dotson was also named to the original Olympic Qualifying roster in March of 2020 just before the pandemic took hold. However the aforementioned COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic scuppered plans for that tournament along with almost all facets of everyday life.
Qualifying for the tournament has not been a strong suit for the United States as the country hasn’t made an Olympic appearance since 2008 in China.
“We know that qualifying will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that we’re ready for. We’ll need all 20 players on this roster to contribute for us to achieve our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics,” Kreis said. “We’ve had a productive training camp in Guadalajara and our players are hungry for the opportunity to compete. After starting this journey nearly two years ago, we’re excited to get started with the tournament.”
The side heading to Guadalajara to attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics is laden with MLS and first team talent. A total of 11 of the 20 players on the side have had some USMNT Senior level experience in their International careers. In addition 16 of the 20 players call Major League Soccer their league for club play, with just four players playing in four different countries coming from outside the league.
The USMNT will open group stage play on Thursday, March 18th against Costa Rica at 3:30 PM CT. On Sunday, March 21st they will face the Dominican Republic at 6 PM CT for their second match of group stage action. The third and final group stage match will be on Wednesday, March 24th at 8:30 PM CT against the tournament hosts Mexico. All matches will be seen live on FS1 in English and in Spanish on TUDN.
For more USMNT Coverage head over to our sister site Stars and Stripes FC. But stay tuned here for all your Minnesota United FC coverage.