THE UNITED STATES Olympic team ended its Paris 2024 with a difficult 4-0 loss to Morocco on Friday and now the players will return to their respective clubs to move forward with their careers and their development.

The loss to Morocco was ugly, but this Morocco team was outstanding in every capacity and were boosted by a raucous crowd at the Parc Des Princes. After attending games for both France and Morocco at this tournament, Morocco has the best support. This Moroccan team is also boosted by a roster that consists almost entirely of dual nationals who were born and raised in Europe (primarily in top soccer nations such as Spain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands). Their team feels very much like a national team from those countries.

As for the U.S. team, this was their first time in the Olympics since 2008 after three straight failed qualifying efforts. When the U.S. team used to qualify with regularity, the Olympics served as an important springboard into the full national team and many players used the tournament to advance their careers.

It is way too early to know which will progress into the full national team and contend for a spot on the 2026 World Cup roster. Even with a tough loss to Morocco, there were plenty of positives with this team – not just at the Olympics, but throughout the cycle. Looking at the 2008 team, which did not advance out of the group, many of the players found themselves on either the 2009 Confederations Cup team, the 2010 World Cup team, or both (Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore, Benny Feilhaber, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, Michael Bradley, and Stuart Holden were all such players).

It’s a bit trickier for this team given that the USMNT remains a young team and is in the middle of a coaching change where the next manager might not be following the Olympic team, but it’s hard not to see several making the jump.

Head coach Marko Mitrovic is bullish on this team’s future.

“I believe that this is a great experience for them,” head coach Marko Mitrovic said after the game. “To play in a tournament like this, to be in a spotlight, to feel how that looks like. This is, I think, my sixth tournament. I've never been to the Olympics, but you kind of have a taste of uncertainties that you might face. But for some of the guys, this is like our first big tournament like this. And then once you get past that uncertainty in your life, it's much easier.”

"I always think how to win games," Mitrovic said. "But saying that, I'm not disappointed because I really enjoyed every day, every moment. This is an exceptional group of people, staff and players. I just enjoy working with them."

Here are some more thoughts on this team                                                                                                           

U.S. team struggled late in games

One of the biggest weaknesses with this team was in the way it closed games. In each of the four games (including the wins), the U.S. team was on its back foot for the final 20-25 minutes of the game. Success for this team was determined in the first 30 minutes. If the U.S. team was not ahead by this time, it was in trouble.

Against Morocco, the U.S. team was in the game with Morocco, but a tough penalty call on Nathan Harriel, but the U.S. team in a tough spot. Unlike against France where the U.S. team was close to equalizing after France’s opener, the team was frustrated against Morocco.

For Mitrovic, as he looks forward to the next steps in his coaching career, he will want to examine this and see why the team wasn’t sharp late in games.

Tough performances for many

This U.S. team looked rattled by the environment in Paris. For many of these players, even those based in Europe, it was their first time in such an atmosphere. It was easy to seem them lost in the moment.  

Harriel was called for a penalty in the first half, and it was a tough call. But Harriel didn’t have a good game. It was a tough assignment as Morocco was targeting his side of the field for a high percentage of their attacks. For Harriel, he was not expected to be the team’s starting right back but got the nod after Bryan Reynolds was not released. He was actually solid in the group stage games, but the Moroccan game did not go his way.

“They are very, very strong on the ball,” Mitrovic said of the game. “To defend them, they challenge you all the time. But I felt in the first 25 minutes before the penalty we were there.  Once we conceded a goal, I felt it in the last 20 minutes of the first half, we kind of became nervous, rushed to finish the attacks.”

“Then at halftime we said: guys, we have to get on the ball,” he added. “When you're in a quarterfinal and winning 1-0, by nature you become more conservative. And I think first 15 minutes of second half, just my subjective opinion, I felt we had moments with the ball. We have a great opportunity with Miles Robinson. We were coming into the box. But our throw-in in the final third, we conceded transition with the second goal. I think that goal broke the game.”

Kevin Paredes was decent against Morocco and worked hard on both sides of the ball, but Paxten Aaronson and Griffin Yow faded early in the first half. Djordje Mihailovic wasn’t able to get nearly as many touches as needed to generate attacks. Jack McGlynn was swarmed and didn’t win many balls in the midfield during the first hour as Morocco built up a possession edge.

Morocco continues to be a force

While the U.S. team’s performance will be criticized and analyzed, the biggest reason why they struggled was the quality of Morocco. There might not have been anything Mitrovic could have done on this day that would have gotten a result on a day when things just clicked for a talented Moroccan team. It would certainly not be a surprise if they won the gold medal, especially with the support they have in France right now. After their senior team went to the semifinals in Qatar and now their U-23 team is in the semifinals of Paris 2024, their program is rolling.

"They have great support and probably some extra 5% with that in these moments, because all the players are exhausted and maybe it added another dose of adrenaline that fans bring to them with support," Mitrovic said.

But when playing against teams as good as Morocco and France, there are important lessons for these young U.S. players to learn.

“Like when we played against France,” Mitrovic said. “In an elite level, elite players use those small opportunities. For me, that's the biggest lesson that we can learn in the future. For our players to become even better is when we get those opportunities, how we can convert them and not give them to the opponents.”

Looking ahead

It’s a long way off, but at least the U.S. team won’t enter into another long drought of failing to participate in the Olympics. Given that the country is hosting the next summer games, the U.S. team will participate in LA 2028. That will raise the importance of the current U.S. U-20 team, which fortunately qualified for the 2025 U-20 World Cup last week. That team will be the backbone of the next Olympic team.

Even four years away, it’s easy to see that tournament being critical for U.S. Soccer. It will be two years after hosting the 2026 World Cup and it will be in another cycle altogether. That cycle is when many of the current player pool turns 30. Exactly who replaces those players will be decided in LA 2028. Unlike this summer, there are no current plans for the USMNT to be involved in a Copa America (which conflicted many players out of these Olympics).

That will be an interesting tournament and it will be here before we know it.