Utahn Taylor Booth will head to Paris to compete in the 2024 Olympics.
Booth was one of 18 players named to the U.S. men’s soccer team’s roster for the Summer Games, which was released Monday. This year marks the first time the U.S. men’s team has competed in the Olympics since 2008.
“It’s special always when you get the opportunity to play in a big tournament,” Booth told the Deseret News in June prior to the roster announcement.
The support not just from his family and American soccer fans but from the entire country will make his Olympic experience special, Booth said.
“What makes the Olympics so special is just Americans will watch the games even if they’re not fans of soccer,” he said. “I think having our families there, having everyone back home supporting us, it’ll be special, and it will give us extra motivation as well.”
Who is on the 2024 Olympics USMNT roster?
To be eligible for a men’s Olympic soccer team, players had to be born on or after Jan. 1, 2001, with the exception of three overage players.
“We have high expectations from every player that is going there, and every player will be on the field, every player will play,” head coach Marko Mitrović said of the roster in a press conference Monday.
The following 18 players made the U.S. men’s Olympic roster:
Goalkeepers:
- Patrick Schulte (St. Charles, Missouri)
- Gaga Slonina (Addison, Illinois)
Defenders:
- Maximilian Dietz (Frankfurt, Germany)
- Nathan Harriel (Oldsmar, Florida)
- Miles Robinson (Arlington, Massachusetts)
- John Tolkin (Chatham, New Jersey)
- Caleb Wiley (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Walker Zimmerman (Lawrenceville, Georgia)
Midfielders:
- Gianluca Busio (Greensboro, North Carolina)
- Benjamin Cremaschi (Key Biscayne, Florida)
- Jack McGlynn (Queens, New York)
- Djordje Mihailovic (Jacksonville, Florida)
- Tanner Tessmann (Birmingham, Alabama)
Forwards:
- Paxten Aaronson (Medford, New Jersey)
- Taylor Booth (Eden, Utah)
- Duncan McGuire (Omaha, Nebraska)
- Kevin Paredes (South Riding, Virginia)
- Griffin Yow (Clifton, Virginia)
What are the Olympics’ soccer rules for alternates?
In addition to the 18 players selected to the main roster, four alternates will travel to Paris. The alternates for the U.S. men’s national team Olympics roster are:
- Josh Atencio (Midfielder; Bellevue, Washington)
- Jacob Davis (Defender; Rochester, Michigan)
- Johan Gomez (Forward; Keller, Texas)
- John Pulskamp (Goalkeeper; Bakersfield, California)
Traditionally those four alternates never see the field unless someone on the main roster has a tournament-ending injury. A player swapped out for an alternate player would not be allowed to return to the main roster.
This year, that changes. A team can make a temporary change if they give a six-hour notice before a game, U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes said in Monday’s press conference.
Who and when will the USMNT play in the Olympics?
The U.S. are guaranteed to play in three games at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the group stage. As members of Group A, they will play France, New Zealand and Guinea.
Here is the USMNT’s schedule for the 2024 Olympics:
- July 24: U.S. vs. France at 1 p.m. MDT
- July 27: U.S. vs. New Zealand at 11 a.m. MDT
- July 30: U.S. vs. Guinea at 11 a.m. MDT