On Friday afternoon, Andi Herzog announced his 20-man USMNT roster for who will compete in the CONCACAF Qualifying Championship for the Olympics. Amongst the names is New York Red Bulls' defenseman, Matt Miazga. He is one of six members from the U-20 World Cup team to make an appearance for the squad.
CONCACAF qualifying for the Olympics will take place October 1-13 in the US. The U-23 USMNT team have been drawn into Group A with Canada (October 1; Sporting Park, Kansas City), Cuba (October 3; Sporting Park, Kansas City) and Panama October 6; Dick's Sporting Good Park, Colorado). The winners and runners-up from both Groups A & B will play in the semifinals on October 10 and ultimately the finals/third place game on October 13, all played in Sandy, Utah.
Both teams that make the finals will qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, August 3-20. The winner of the third place will play in the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff against Columbia sometime in March 2016. The US did not qualify for the 2012 London games, so Jurgen Klinsmann and Herzog have put a lot of focus on this tournament.
The Red Bulls have important league games against Columbus on October 3 and Montreal October 7. Miazga will miss these games at a minimum. If they make the finals on October 13, there could be a chance he'd miss Toronto on the 14th as well. Congratulation and good luck in October, Matt.
Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Charlie Horton (Leeds; Cleveland Ohio), Ethan Horvath (Molde; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Zack Steffen (Freiburg; Downington, Pa.).
DEFENDERS (5): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield; Arlington, Va.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wis.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; Gahanna, Ohio), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.).
FORWARDS (4): Alonso Hernandez (C.D. Juarez; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Maki Tall (FC Sion; Washington, D.C.).
