MLS Minnesota United FC

MNUFC Midfielder Hassani Dotson Named to U.S. Olympic Qualifying Roster

Published on March 9, 2020 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - U.S. U23 Men's National Team head coach Jason Kreis has selected Minnesota United midfielder Hassani Dotson and 19 other players to represent the United States at the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship, to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico from March 20 to April 1. Dotson was first called up to the U23 U.S. Men's National Team in the fall of 2019 after a breakout rookie season with MNUFC.

Aiming to qualify for its first Olympic Games since 2008 with a victory in the tournament semifinals, the USA begins its journey when Group A play opens on Friday, March 20 vs. Costa Rica (6 p.m. CT; FS2, TUDN). The U.S. will then face Dominican Republic on Monday, March 23 (6 p.m. CT; FS1, TUDN) and wrap up the group stage vs. Mexico on Thursday, March 26 (10 p.m. CT; FS1, TUDN).

"With a lot of games in a short amount of time, we will need the contributions of all 20 players on this roster to achieve our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo," Kreis said. "This is our sixth time together with this U23 group, so I think we have a real firm understanding of how we want to play and who we want to be."

Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship - USA Roster by Position (Club; Hometown):

GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; Alamo, Calif.), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; Grapevine, Texas), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Chris Gloster (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Montclair, N.J.), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; Las Cruces, N.M.), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Austria Wien/AUT; Lee's Summit, Mo.)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United; Federal Way, Wash.), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Phoenix, Ariz.), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; Lemont, Ill.), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; Bloomington, Minn.)

FORWARDS (5): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers; Bethesda, Md.), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; Plantation, Fla.), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; Lynwood, Calif.), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas/MEX; Park City, Utah)

The final roster features 10 players who have been capped at the senior USMNT level and 12 who have represented the USA at a youth World Cup.

Ten players were recently a part of the USMNT's annual January camp in Bradenton, Fla. and Carson, Calif. Four earned their first senior team cap on Feb. 1 vs. Costa Rica in Carson: defender Mark McKenzie, midfielder Brenden Aaronson as well as forwards Jesús Ferreira and Ulysses Llanez. Llanez scored his first international goal to give the USA a 1-0 victory, while Ferreira, a Colombian dual-national, made his first appearance for the U.S. after receiving clearance from FIFA. The Olympic qualifying tournament will be Ferreira's first official competition with the USA.

Three players helped the USA reach the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Final: defender Reggie Cannon, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic and forward Jonathan Lewis. Twelve have previously won Concacaf youth tournaments, including Erik Palmer-Brown, who took home the Golden Ball as the best player when he helped guide the USA to the 2017 Concacaf U20 Championship title.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997 are age-eligible for the tournament, and Kreis selected nine players born in 1997, three born in 1998, two born in 1999, four born in 2000 and two born in 2001.

The 2020 Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship features eight nations divided into two groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the pivotal semifinals that will send two winners to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as representatives of Concacaf. The two winners will also meet in the final on April 1.

Date Match Kickoff (CT) Venue TV Info

Friday, March 20 USA vs. Costa Rica 6 p.m. Estadio Jalisco; Guadalajara, Mexico FS2, TUDN

Monday, March 23 USA vs. Dominican Republic 6 p.m. Estadio Akron; Zapopan, Mexico FS1, TUDN

Thursday, March 26 USA vs. Mexico 10 p.m. Estadio Jalisco; Guadalajara, Mexico FS1, TUDN

Tickets for the first half of the 2020 season at Allianz Field are on sale now at mnufc.com/tickets. Season ticket members, members of The Preserve and subscribers to the MNUFC newsletter will get access to special presales throughout the season before the general public. Visit mnufc.com/preserve for more info on The Preserve and mnufc.com/newsletter for more info on subscribing to the newsletter.

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