How will international fixtures impact Atlanta United in 2024?

Depth issues due to international call-ups were a major theme for Atlanta United in 2023 and could also play a role in 2024. While the overall depth of the squad has greatly improved from the last few seasons, that overall quality also means more talented players earning opportunities to represent their countries.

With just a couple of weeks to go until the first FIFA international break of the 2024 MLS season, let’s take a look at how Major League Soccer’s stubborn determination to schedule fixtures during international windows could impact Gonzalo Pineda’s match-day line-ups.

The March window will run from the 18th-26th and is set to feature international qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2024 and Copa America, the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, and plenty of friendlies. During that time, Atlanta is scheduled to face Orlando City at home on March 17th, travel to Toronto FC on March 23rd, and return to Atlanta for a home match against Chicago Fire FC on March 31st.

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Poland, Greece, and Georgia will have the final qualifying playoffs for Euro 2024, with Bartosz Slisz and Poland facing Estonia on March 21st for a chance to advance to play the winner of Wales and Finland on March 26th. Greece and Georgia are both in Path C, with Greece playing Luxembourg and Georgia playing Kazakhstan on the 21st — with the chance for Saba Lobjanidze and Giorgos Giakoumakis to face each other in the qualifying final on the 26th.

Meanwhile, the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, and Panama will face off in the Nations League semifinals on March 21st and 24th, while Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Honduras, and Costa Rica vie for the final two CONCACAF spots in this summer’s Copa America. Ajani Fortune, Caleb Wiley, and Josh Cohen are the potential call-ups for these matches.

There will also be other international friendlies so Thiago Almada, Ronald Hernandez, Luis Abram, and Stian Gregersen could potentially be called up, too.

While international call-ups are a great accomplishment for the players and a point of pride for the club, it could leave Atlanta in a tricky situation. If a maximum of Slisz, Lobjanidze, Giakoumakis, Almada, Hernandez, Abram, Gregersen, Wiley, Fortune, and Cohen are called up for international service in the March window, depth at key positions in the attack and at left-back will be further exposed.

In the summer, if Poland, Greece, or Georgia reach Euro 2024, Atlanta will lose at least one of Slisz, Lobjanidze, or Giakoumakis for at least a month from June 14-July 14. This will overlap with Atlanta United’s home fixture against Houston Dynamo FC on June 15th, at D.C. United on June 19th, at St. Louis CITY SC on June 22nd, against Toronto FC on June 29th, at the New England Revolution on July 3rd, at Real Salt Lake on July 6th, and at CF Montr´al on July 13th.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the run of road games at the end of June through July; since Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be a host site for Copa America, Atlanta will be forced into the undesirable combination of being road warriors while also missing key players. Copa America runs from June 20 – July 14. Atlanta United has players on its roster that could arguably be called up by the USMNT, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and maybe Trinidad & Tobago if they qualify in March. That could mean Almada, Abram, Hernandez, Edwin Mosquera, Efrain Morales, and potentially Fortune could be away from the club for up to a month and a half if clubs choose to have pre-Copa camps.

Just as Copa America ends, the next generation of CONCACAF talent will take the field in Mexico for the 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Twelve national programs will assemble from July 19th to August 4th, showcasing some of the best players in the region not bound for the Olympics.

The United States, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Panama are automatically qualified for the tournament, with another 27 competing for the final 6 spots. Ashton Gordon has been a standout player for Jamaica during the qualifying tournament, helping lead Jamaica to a top finish in their group. Canada and Haiti have also qualified. Atlanta United could see academy midfielder and preseason debutant Julian Bretous called up for Haiti this summer, extending what has been an impressive couple of years for the young holding midfielder. Atlanta’s teenage homegrown players Noah Cobb and Adyn Torres could also be in consideration by the United States at the tournament, with Cobb competing against more established U-20 regulars who aren’t locks for the Olympic roster. With Wiley likely heading to the Olympics, it is unlikely that he will participate in this tournament.

Another Atlanta United product likely to receive a call-up is Mexico’s Jonantan Villal, who transferred to San Luis this past off-season. Academy defender Brayden Barnett has looked good for Puerto Rico in the qualifying tournament, helping his team finish the group stage unbeaten and just behind Haiti in the group. They did not qualify for the tournament this summer, but he could have a bright future with the Puerto Rican program in future competitions.

Almada and Wiley will depart for the Olympics from July 24-August 10. Depending on when the United States and Argentina’s U-23 teams have their team camps in July, Almada and Wiley could miss Atlanta’s home matches against NYCFC on July 17th and Columbus on July 20th, and potentially the first road match after the Leagues Cup against the LA Galaxy on August 24th.

Not counting any additional matches lost to fitness or recovery from international competitions, Atlanta could lose key players for 13 league matches and the entire Leagues Cup in 2024. While every team in the league will be dealing with the same roster challenges, it remains a unique self-imposed issue for Major League Soccer when their teams are losing key players due to scheduling conflicts for nearly a third of league matches.

For fans hoping to enjoy Thiago Almada while he is still playing in Atlanta, your last chance to see him play at home could either be against Charlotte on June 2nd or against NYCFC on July 17th depending on whether he takes part in Copa America, the Olympics, or both. Either way, with rumors of interest from Europe swirling and with Almada eager to prove himself at the highest level, his time in Atlanta could be a lot shorter than most realize.

With all of these potential absences in mind, we must once-again commend the front office for constructing the deepest roster Atlanta United has ever had with a sustainable mix of experience, prime-aged talent, and rising youth. This could be the direct result of brutal international windows over the last few seasons where the club fielded wafer thin rosters full of youth and prayers in what many fans wrote off as automatic dropped points. That may not be as much of a given in 2024.

Thiago Almada may be the most glaring absence for this team going forward but the attacking midfield position may also be the deepest it has been in years. Last year’s high-scoring Nick Firmino received a much-deserved promotion during the off-season and looked right at home when playing with the first team this preseason as Thiago Almada guided Argentina’s U-23 team through the CONMEBOL Olympic Qualifiers. The club could also play any combination of Saba, Muyumba, Tyler Wolff, or even Derrick Etienne at the attacking midfield position if necessary.

Noah Cobb will also be expected to start at least 8-10 matches this season alongside Derrick Williams when Gregersen and Abram are away, or when the club lines up in a back-3 to compensate for McFadden or a yet-to-be-signed left-back starting at fullback. He was arguably the standout player of the preseason so there is an outside chance he could play his way into United States Olympic team contention alongside Caleb Wiley if he takes that next big step in his development. The same is true for Efrain Morales but for the Bolivian national team, who have called him up in the last few years and who could include him on their Copa America roster to cap tie the talented dual national.

The club will also be able to survive the short-term loss of Slisz from the holding midfield position with veteran Dax McCarty, rising talent Ajani Fortune, and teenage homegrown Adyn Torres all available to play alongside Muyumba.

The one position that could be the most problematic other than left-back would be center forward. If Giakoumakis and Greece qualify for Euro 2024, the club will have exactly one target forward on the roster in Jamal Thiare. Thiare showed a lot of promise in the preseason but is also dealing with the unpredictable impacts of concussions so depth behind him is vital. Teenage Homegrown Ashton Gordon could be brought up from the 2s through the Short-Term Call-Up or Injury Hardship rules, but those opportunities are limited and should not be counted upon. Wolff, Silva, or the other attacking players could line up as false 9s, but the club will be even harder pressed to create scoring opportunities when missing Giakoumakis and Almada.

So how much will international windows impact Atlanta United’s season?

That remains to be seen based on the impacts of the March window, but what we can say is that across the league, depth will be exposed this summer in ways that we may have never seen on such a scale. If Atlanta United’s youth and reserves can stay healthy, keep a gritty and competitive mindset, and be ready for their moment, the club could turn what has historically been its kryptonite into an opportunity to earn tough road draws and emerge from Leagues Cup ready to make a run at MLS Cup.