Esmir Bajraktarevic Makes Pre-Olympic Roster
Esmir Bajraktarevic Makes Pre-Olympic Roster
Will the 19-year-old make it to Paris?
After making his USMNT debut this year, 19-year-old forward Esmir Bajraktrevic has been called into the United States Men’s Olympic Squad for the final camp before the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics is named.
Bajraktarević has made six appearances and scored one goal for the Olympic squad. This will be a major opportunity for him but it doesn’t come without its challenges.
The 19-year-old is joined by Benja Cremaschi as the only players born in 2005 to make the pre-Olympic roster. Both of these players will have to compete against older teammates to make the final roster including the likes of Paxten Aaronson, Kevin Paredes, and Taylor Booth.
Looking at the entire roster, Walker Zimmerman is the lone overage player who will bring a wealth of experience at the international level to the roster. Gaga Slonina also seems to be on his way to earning the No. 1 spot at goalkeeper.
In the midfield, Aidan Morris deserves some praise and U.S. Soccer fans should be excited to potentially watch him in the Olympics. Venezia teammates Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann also seem primed to be a dynamic midfield duo in the Summer Games.
Up front, Cade Cowell and Duncan Maguire could make a major impact.
Below is the full roster for the June camp:
U.S. MEN’S OLYMPIC SOCCER TEAM – JUNE TRAINING CAMP
GOALKEEPERS (2): Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; St. Charles, Mo.), Gaga Slonina
(Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (7): Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Fla.), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.), Bryan Reynolds (KVC Westerlo/BEL; Fort Worth, Texas), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, N.J.), Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich City/ENG; Plano, Texas), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta, Ga.), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; Lawrenceville, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; Littleton, Colo.), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; Greensboro, N.C.), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Fla.), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Queens, N.Y.), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Stillwater, Okla.), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia/ITA; Birmingham, Ala.)
FORWARDS (9): Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Medford, N.J.), Esmir Bajraktarevic (New England Revolution; Appleton, Wisc.), Taylor Booth (Utrecht/NED; Eden, Utah), Cade Cowell (Guadalajara/MEX; Ceres, Calif.), Damion Downs (Köln/GER; Schwebenried, Germany), Johan Gomez (Eintracht Braunschweig/GER; Keller, Texas), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; Omaha, Neb.), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Va.), Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/BEL; Clifton, Va.)
The U.S. Olympic squad will take on Japan in a friendly on June 11 in what will be the final match before the Olympic squad is announced.