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US Men's National Team Under-23 Head Coach Andi Herzog named his 20-man roster for 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying today, and fans of the Red, White and Blue (and green) will be pleased to see one Jordan Morris leading the list of forwards headed to Kansas for the two-week tournament.
The flip side of this decision is that Morris won't be included in the United States' Confederation Cup playoff match against Mexico on Oct. 10. Morris had been named to the preliminary list of eligible players.
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The U-23 team is looking to make it back to the international tournament for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While Morris is joined by other U-23 players with Senior US appearances (Wil Trapp, Luis Gil,) his six caps make him the veteran presence on the United States' qualifying side.
The qualifying tournament will be played in the United States this year, starting Oct. 1 and stretching until Oct. 13. Like with the World Cup, teams are separated into groups of four teams, who will all play each other once. The top two teams from each group will then play in the semifinals. Those who make it to the finals will receive automatic berths to the Olympics, while the winner of the third-place game will have to go on to face Colombia (CONMEBOL) for the opportunity to play in Brazil.
The US is in group A, scheduled to play Canada (Oct. 1 6 p.m. PT) Cuba (Oct. 3 2 p.m. PT) and Panama (6:30 p.m. PT.) Group B consists of reigning Olympic gold medalists Mexico, Costa Rica, Haiti and Honduras.
Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Charlie Horton (Leeds; Cleveland Ohio), Ethan Horvath (Molde; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Zack Steffen (Freiburg; Downington, Pa.).
DEFENDERS (5): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), William Packwood (Unattached; Concord, Mass.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield; Arlington, Va.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham; Dallas, Texas), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wis.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; Gahanna, Ohio), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.).
FORWARDS (4): Alonso Hernandez (C.D. Juarez; El Paso, Texas), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Maki Tall (FC Sion; Washington, D.C.).