FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas Homegrown trio Jesús Ferreira, Ricardo Pepi and Tanner Tessmann were named to the U-23 USMNT training camp ahead of the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship beginning later this month.
The 31 players included in the pre-tournament training camp traveled to Mexico and began training on March 1. The final Olympic qualifying roster will be whittled down to 20 players for the tournament itself. The U-23 head coach (and FCD/Dallas Burn legend) Jason Kreis will announce his final roster selections later in the month, at least 10 days prior to the tournament's start on March 18.
FC Dallas' Mexico-bound Homegrowns are no strangers to the USMNT system. Pepi, who's the youngest player included in the camp, featured in the US's U-17 World Cup team two years ago and Tessmann made is senior international debut this January in a 7-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago. Ferreira is the trio's most experienced player having earned his first senior cap in 2020 before starring against Trinidad & Tobago this January with a two-goal and three-assist performance
"I'm really happy," Pepi told FCDallas.com. "Going to the U-23s isn’t something that happens every day. It’s a group that’s obviously older than me so I think I’m blessed and just happy for the opportunity.
"I think it’d be great to be a part of Olympic qualifying. Like I said, it’s for an age group that’s older than mine so I just want to go out there and compete and do my best for the team."
Tessmann's inclusion caps off a whirlwind 12 months for the Alabama native. The 19-year-old signed his first pro contract with FC Dallas just two days prior to the club's 2020 home opener—where he started and played 90 minutes. In his rookie year, Tessmann played in 21 games, including a start and a sub appearance in FCD's playoff run to quarterfinals.
"I was really excited," Tessmann said after hearing the news. "The US hasn’t made the Olympics since I think 2008 so it’s a big opportunity for the group going down there to make a difference in how the world sees US Soccer. I’m super excited and ready to go and I’m sure everybody else is too.
"I just want to qualify first and hopefully we can do that. After that, I still have to make the roster for that. I have definitely been thinking about the possibility to go to the Olympics which would be crazy. It’s crazy to think that I might be an Olympian. But there’s a lot of work to do before that so we got to do it."
The U.S. will compete in the tournament's opening game against Costa Rica on March 18 at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico. The team will also face the Dominican Republic (3/21) and Mexico (3/24) to round out its group stage matches.
2020 Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Schedule
*Listed in EDT/local time
Group Stage
Thursday, March 18 – Jalisco Stadium
17:00/15:00 USA vs Costa Rica
19:30/17:30 Mexico vs Dominican Republic
Friday, March 19 – Jalisco Stadium
15:30/13:30 Honduras vs Haiti
18:00/16:00 Canada vs El Salvador
Sunday, March 21 – Akron Stadium
19:00/17:00 Dominican Republic vs USA
21:30/19:30 Costa Rica vs Mexico
Monday, March 22 – Akron Stadium
18:00/16:00 Haiti vs Canada
20:30/18:30 El Salvador vs Honduras
Wednesday, March 24 – Jalisco Stadium
19:00/17:00 Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic
21:30/19:30 Mexico vs USA
Thursday, March 25 – Jalisco Stadium
19:00/17:00 El Salvador vs Haiti
21:30/19:30 Honduras vs Canada
Semifinals
Sunday, March 28 – Jalisco Stadium
18:00/16:00 1B vs 2A
21:00/19:00 1A vs 2B
Final
Tuesday, March 30 – Akron Stadium
21:00/19:00 Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2
