The Catch-22 for U.S. men’s soccer in the Olympics is this: The better a player gets, the less likely he is to play. Former American defender Alexi Lalas, now a commentator for Fox, and ex-goalkeeper Tim Howard say the onus is on the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS to get better players from teams. Lalas maintains the burden to improve the Olympic effort lies with Kreis, senior national team coach Gregg Berhalter and U.S. men’s national team general manager Brian McBride. FIFA regulations say clubs don’t have to release players for Olympic qualifying or the Olympics. FIFA restricts Olympic qualifying to players 23 and under.

Source: Fox News March 29, 2021 21:56 UTC