When was the last time the U.S. Men’s soccer team qualified for the Olympics?
The Americans are on their way to the Under-20 Championship finals, but even more important is the fact that they just qualified for the Olympics in 2024.
In what has definitely been a big year for U.S. men’s soccer, the national team is now back in the Olympics following the senior team’s qualification for this year’s FIFA World Cup.
USMNT qualifies for Olympics for first time since 2008
When the Olympics get off and running in the summer of 2024 in Paris, the U.S. Men’s soccer team will be there to compete. This of course comes after the Americans booked there place at the games with a 3-0 win over Honduras in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Under-20 championship on Friday. This is in fact the first time that the team has qualified for an Olympics since 2008, when they failed to make it out of group play in Beijing.
The Americans got off to a great start early on in the match with a goal in the third minute from midfielder Paxten Aaronson who plays in the Philadelphia Union. It wouldn’t take long before the boys in red, white and blue began to pile on the pressure with two goals coming in quick succession from Alejandro Alvarado and Quinn Sullivan. They ended the first half leading 3-0 and quite frankly never looked back. Who’s up next for the U.S.? The Americans will be in San Pedro Sula in Honduras where they will face the Dominican Republic on Sunday evening in the Under-20 Final.
The USMNT can be proud of their run
Though qualifying for the Olympics isn’t as prestigious an achievement as clinching a spot in the World Cup, it most definitely goes a long way towards reaffirming the idea that the Americans are getting better and better. After all this is a team that has failed on varying occasions to qualify for the 16-team Olympic field. From the horrendous goalkeeper error that cost them a spot back in 2012 to David Ochoa’s infamous mistake just one year ago, it’s been some time coming for the USMNT. It will of course be interesting to see how this young crop of players performs in Paris. With Olympic rosters limited to players who are younger than 23 years old and only three players above the age max allowed to play, it will be an interesting litmus test for the Americans when the tournament kicks off in 2024.