An Olympic men’s soccer berth does not come close to carrying the importance of qualifying for the World Cup, but the U.S. program’s inability to secure passage to the Summer Games had become a source of quadrennial embarrassment.
On Friday, the Americans ended their drought in resounding fashion, scoring three times before intermission and routing Honduras, 3-0, to clinch their first Olympic berth since 2008.
The breakthrough came in the semifinals of the Concacaf under-20 tournament in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, which served as the qualifiers of both the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia and 2024 Olympics in Paris.