The Orlando City forward is the only natural goalscorer in Marko Mitrovic’s squad ahead of the 2024 Paris Games
Duncan McGuire couldn’t stop smiling it when the call came in telling him he would be on the U.S. Men’s Olympic squad.
“I wanted to jump up and down like a little kid,” he admitted.
And it was a deserved acknowledgment. McGuire has been one of the best strikers in MLS for some time now, a bonafide goalscoring talent who puts in enough legwork to give opposing center backs nightmares for 90 minutes. He is industrious, strong, and clinical at all of the right moments.
As the rest of the squad trickled in, something became clear. McGuire might have been the obvious choice as a striker in the squad. But he is also the only striker in the squad. U.S. U23 coach Marko Mitrovic has pieced together an interesting roster for the tournament, and is putting all of his goalscoring hopes on one forward.
Numerically, it makes little sense. He may only have 18 spots at his disposal – eight less than the total offered to coaches for Copa America and Euro 2024. But it is also a massive risk for Mitrovic to take just one forward – no matter how good he may be. And so as the U.S. heads into its first Olympics appearance since 2008, the hopes fall squarely on the shoulders of one man, who will have to make a squad selection game look like a stroke of genius.