The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team is set to play Qatar in Europe for the second time in 2015 and again the stakes are high. In June, the U-23's defeated Qatar 1-0 on the way to a third-place finish in the renowned Toulon Tournament in France. This time the teams square off in a match that is the U-23's last before the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, where they'll look to punch their ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Gigg Lane in Bury, England and fans can follow the match on Twitter @ussoccer.
The match concludes the U-23 training camp in Manchester that began on Aug. 30. On Sept 4, the team battled to a narrow 1-0 defeat against England at Deepdale Stadium in Preston, England. A hard-fought defensive effort was spoiled when England's winning goal came after the Young Lions played a quick free kick that beat the recovering U.S. defense down the left side.
With their eyes on Rio, the U-23's will look to put in one last solid performance before they reconvene for the Olympic Qualifying tournament at the end of the month. The U.S. hopes to return to the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Games in Beijing, where it posted a 1-1-1 record but could not advance past the group stage. The USA's best showing in the Olympics came during the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, when the team advanced past Japan in the quarterfinals and finished fourth in the event.
The 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying championship will be played in the United States from Oct.1-13. The U.S. was drawn into Group A and opens with a pair of games at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, against Canada on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. CT and Cuba on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. CT. The U.S. will conclude group play at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on Oct. 6 against Panama at 7:30 p.m. MT. [TICKETS]
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ethan Horvath (Molde; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Zack Steffen (Freiburg; Downington, Pa.).
DEFENDERS (7): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.),
Shane O'Neill (Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz; Boulder, Colo.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles,
Calif).
MIDFIELDERS (7): Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield; Arlington, Va.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Benji Joya (Club Necaxa; San
Jose, Calif.), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wisc.), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.).
FORWARDS (5): Alonso Hernandez (C.D. Juarez; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.),
Rubio Rubin (Utrecht; Beaverton, Ore.), Maki Tall (Scion; Washington, D.C.).
Roster Notes: