US Men's Soccer Team 2016 Olympic Qualifying Final Camp Roster Announced

As the United States under-23 men's national team attempts to make the Olympics in soccer for the first time since 2008, head coach Andi Herzog has named his roster for the final preparation camp before CONCACAF qualifying begins in October.

According to USSoccer.com, Herzog has selected a 24-player roster that will compete in friendly matches against England Sept. 3 and against Qatar Sept. 8. Here is a look at the squad Team USA will put on the pitch:

Position	Player	Club Team
Goalkeeper	Cody Cropper	MK Dons
Goalkeeper	Ethan Horvath	Molde
Goalkeeper	Zack Steffen	Freiburg
Defender	Cameron Carter-Vickers	Tottenham Hotspur
Defender	Matt Miazga	New York Red Bulls
Defender	Eric Miller	Montreal Impact
Defender	Boyd Okwuonu	Real Salt Lake
Defender	Shane O'Neill	Apollon Limassol
Defender	William Packwood	Unattached
Defender	Dillon Serna	Colorado Rapids
Defender	Oscar Sorto	LA Galaxy
Midfielder	Gboly Ariyibi	Chesterfield
Midfielder	Luis Gil	Real Salt Lake
Midfielder	Emerson Hyndman	Fulham
Midfielder	Benji Joya	Club Necaxa
Midfielder	Marc Pelosi	San Jose Earthquakes
Midfielder	Matt Polster	Chicago Fire
Midfielder	Wil Trapp	Columbus Crew
Midfielder	Gedion Zelalem	Rangers
Forward	Alonso Hernandez	C.D. Juarez
Forward	Jerome Kiesewetter	VfB Stuttgart
Forward	Mario Rodriguez	Borussia Monchengladbach
Forward	Rubio Rubin	Utrecht
Forward	Maki Tall	Scion

Per USSoccer.com, Herzog believes the camp and the friendlies that come along with it will be crucial in terms of selecting the final roster he will take with him for the Olympic qualifying group matches in Kansas City, Kansas, and Commerce City, Colorado:

"

These are two important games here because they are our last before the Olympic qualifying tournament. We have a strong group of players that we believe in, and now we are able to look as some of the guys who did very well with our U-20 team. This is really the last chance for all of the players to make an impression before we select the final roster for qualifying.

"

The biggest name on the camp roster is undoubtedly that of 18-year-old Arsenal phenom Gedion Zelalem. The German national, who is now attached to the U.S. national team, recently made an excellent debut for Rangers as he notched two assists.

Zelalem is joined by several other skilled midfielders, which Andy Edwards of NBC Sports Soccer believes is among the squad's greatest strengths:

The camp roster has a fairly sizable domestic contingent, as Herzog selected nine MLS players—all of which are either defenders or midfielders.

Team USA missed out on the 2012 Olympics in London, so there is additional pressure to make the field for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Americans have plenty of talent headed by young up-and-comers such as Zelalem, Emerson Hyndman, Wil Trapp, Rubio Rubin and Cody Cropper, but they certainly won't be gifted a spot in Brazil.

Based on the success the United States' U20 and U23 teams have enjoyed this year, though, the Yanks have to be considered favorites to make it through qualifying.

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