The U.S. men’s national team is currently competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the roster will be missing one of the country’s most famous players.
Winger Christian Pulisic, who has the third-most appearances for the U.S. men’s national team among active players, is not playing in the Olympics, like nearly every other player seen frequently on the national team.
The AC Milan star, who captained the U.S. national team in the recently concluded Copa America, is the known face of U.S. soccer and, at just 25 years old, has already racked up 30 goals and 71 caps on the international stage.
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But the Olympics have special rules about who can compete in the tournament, barring most top national team athletes from taking part.
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Here’s why Pulisic wasn’t selected for the U.S. Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
Will Christian Pulisic play in the Olympics?
No, the U.S. men’s national team stars will not be competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics because the tournament is for players 23 and under, excluding the three over-age players allowed on each team.
The three U.S. over-age players competing in Paris are Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Djordje Mihajlovic (Colorado Rapids) and Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati).
Because the Olympics are not sanctioned by FIFA, which oversees top soccer tournaments like the World Cup, Euros and Copa America, clubs around the world are not required to send their players to international competitions. Instead, clubs can block players who have been called up by their national teams and keep them at club level.
The Olympics don’t usually feature the world’s best athletes – soccer stars Kylian Mbappe of France, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Rodri of Spain won’t be taking part – but all three played in the Copa America and Euros, which ended just a few weeks ago.
Overall, the USMNT roster is very different than what many fans are typically used to seeing, as the country’s top players do not typically compete in the Olympics (as is the case with most national teams).
USMNT Olympic Team
The U.S. Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics is as follows:
Goalkeeper
- Patrick Schulte
- Gaga Slonina
Defender
- Maximillian Dietz
- Nathan Harriel
- Miles Robinson
- John Tolkien
- Caleb Wiley
- Walker Zimmerman
Midfielder
- Gianluca Busio
- Benjamin Cremaschi
- Jack McGlynn
- Djordje Mihailovic
- Tanner Tessman
forward
- Paxten Aaronson
- Taylor Booth
- Duncan Maguire
- Kevin Paredes
- Griffin Yeo
USMNT Olympic Schedule
The U.S. men’s national soccer team will be competing in this year’s Olympics for the first time since 2008.
The United States is in Group A of the tournament, with the top two out of four teams advancing to the knockout stage. If they win their group, they will face the runner-up in Group B, which includes Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, and Ukraine. If they finish second, they will face the winner of Group B.
Here’s the USMNT’s schedule for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- Wednesday, July 24: France 3, USA 0
- Saturday, July 27vs. New Zealand, 1 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, July 30: vs. Guinea, 1 p.m. ET
