CHICAGO: Marko Mitrović was hired Wednesday to coach the U.S. under-23 men's soccer team at next year's Paris Games, the first Olympics for the Americans since 2008.
The 45-year-old Mitrović was an assistant for the Chicago Fire from 2016-19 and Reading from 2020-22, then became head coach of the U.S. under-19 team in April 2022. He served as an assistant to national team interim head coaches Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan from this April until July.
After the U.S. under-23 team failed to qualify for the last three Olympics, the regional governing body of North and Central American and the Caribbean said the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in June and July of 2022 would serve as qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. The U.S. won the tournament and qualified for both the Olympics and the Under-20 World Cup, where the Americans lost 2-0 to Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
Olympic men's soccer is limited to players under 23, with each nation allowed three wild-card players over the age limit.
Michael Nsien replaced Mitrović as U.S. under-19 coach after coaching the under-16 team since last November.