Caleb Wiley won’t be in the lineup for Atlanta United as it travels to Toronto FC on Saturday.
Instead, the 19-year-old left back is in Europe with the U.S. U-23s for a pair of pre-Olympic friendlies against Guinea on Friday (in Spain) and host country France on Monday. And as it turns out, the U.S. will be grouped with France in the Olympics, who will square off in the tournament’s curtain raiser on July 24. It could face Guinea in the group stage as well if the latter wins an inter-confederation play-off against the 4th-place team in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
“If we win those two games (this weekend), we will try to see with the Olympic committee if we can transfer those points to the Olympic games,” U.S. U-23 and Olympic team head coach Marko Mitrovic joked on Wednesday.
While Wiley’s stock continues to rise in the MLS (and national) ranks, he’s not quite a shoo-in for the Summer Games. Still, he’s made a good impression on Mitrovic, who’s worked with Wiley with the U.S. U-20 setup and with the USMNT under interim coaches B.J. Callaghan and Anthony Hudson.
“[He] has high potential for us,” Mitrovic said. “He’s very focused on the work. He’s giving his best and competing for his spot like every other player.”
Would be very odd if Wiley isn’t already assumed to be at the Olympics, though obviously if he plays very badly that can change. He and Diego Luna are two of the U23’s best players imo
Is Wiley pretty much just competing with John Tolkin for the LB spot? I’m not familiar enough with the other guys on the roster.