This year’s Copa América will be closely watched, but the ensuing Olympic Games in Paris will have just as much to say about the broader state of the U.S. men’s player pool. Unlike the women’s side of the Olympic tournament, the men’s competition relies on players under the age of 23, though every team is allowed to bring up to three over-age players in the 18-man squad.  

If the team that U.S. Olympic coach Marko Mitrović selects comes close to matching the program-best 4th place finish in 2000, it would be a potential indicator that the U.S. can now consistently produce top-end talent. If the U.S. is embarrassed in Group A, though, some will fear that 2026 will be the program’s high point for quite some time.

After the draw in March, Mitrović touted a “big pool of players that we are following” for potential inclusion. He stressed that he wants to bring “the best 18 players” he can, and didn’t show his hand yet about areas where he feels he can sacrifice depth given the squad limitations of an Olympic tournament.

GO DEEPER

USMNT to play France in Olympic tourney opener

With that in mind, here’s a crib sheet of Olympic-eligible players to track in the coming months. This list focuses on MLS players, and with good reason: A full half of the most recent…

Major League Soccer will kick off this season with stand-in referees when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosts Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

The MLS Players Association (MLSPA), the labor union that represents MLS players, said the lockout of the league’s match officials was a “backward step,” adding in a statement on Tuesday that “the use of replacement referees will not only negatively impact the quality and results of our matches, it may also jeopardize the health and safety of players.”

The move comes after PSRA, the union that represents professional referees across MLS, the second- and third-tier United Soccer Leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League, and PRO, the MLS-funded body that manages professional officiating in the United States and Canada, failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in January.

The Athletic explains what’s going on…

---

So, who is going to referee the opening MLS games?

On February 17, The Athletic reported PRO had commitments from 66 replacement officials. Of those, 26 can be assigned as a referee or fourth official, and 29 can be assistant referees.

Cristian Campo Hernandez will be the center referee for Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake. The Spaniard officiated matches in the second-division USL Championship last year…

Negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement between the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) and the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) have not resulted in a new deal and, barring changes over the next 10 days, a work stoppage feels “imminent,” said once source briefed on the negotiations. Another source characterizes the negotiations between the two sides as being “a very discouraging process so far.”

If it drags on, a work stoppage could leave MLS needing to find replacement officials at the start of its season and preseason. The current CBA between the PSRA and PRO, which has been in place since early 2019, expires on Jan. 15. The MLS season begins on Feb. 21 when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosts Real Salt Lake.

The PSRA is the union that represents professional referees across Major League Soccer, the second and third-tier United Soccer Leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League. PRO, founded in 2012 by MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation, oversees the professional officiating landscape in the United States, including assigning games, assessing and educating officials, and identifying new talent. An associated organization, PRO2, oversees officiating in the NWSL, USL, and MLS Next Pro. The PSRA and PRO2 ratified a CBA of their…

The dawn of any Texas summer forces residents to re-examine their clothing options to compensate for the sweltering heat; on Saturday, May 6, North Texas SC head coach Javier Cano was no exception. It was a fairly normal day, with his MLS Next Pro team training ahead of a crucial clash with St. Louis City 2. Before heading to the practice field, his wife, Melanie, had asked if he’d stay home with their 22-month-old daughter Lyra so she could add a few new items to her wardrobe ahead of a week-long business trip in North Carolina.

Instead, on the way back from training, Cano thought that on a rare night off, his family should be together. He and Lyra joined Melanie for a mid-afternoon outing — after all, he needed some shorts if he was going to get through the impending months-long heat wave. The family decided to return to a shopping complex they first visited with relatives in April: the Allen Premium Outlets, an outdoor mall about 45 miles northeast of North Texas’ Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. It was a place the Cano family seldom visited before that day, but became one they will never forget.

Along the way, Melanie asked if they could stop for coffee. Javier figured they could swing by the mall’s Starbucks to get their fix.

“It’s always crowded, full of cars, so…