07-05-2021, 03:27 PM
82, you can likely strike "alternate" from next to Campbell and Macario--FIFA and the IOC have confirmed that for this year only, the rosters will now be 22 rather than 18. The details haven't been finalized yet, but for now, it looks like the 4 alternates for each team are now considered part of the full squad, though only 18 are available for any given match. That said, I also saw some confusing language from FIFA that suggested they were simply making alternates available for gameday selection but not making them part of the full roster, in which case a player might not be considered an Olympian (or get a medal with the team) unless they actually get on the field. I've also seen language in reports describing the change as including the four alternates in the full roster (thus making them Olympians), but I haven't seen that language directly from the IOC or FIFA in a press release, so that's why I'm still hedging with "likely" above.
This is useful, and with such a compressed schedule, I would now fully expect to see Macario on the field in Tokyo, most likely in that second group game against New Zealand.
This is useful, and with such a compressed schedule, I would now fully expect to see Macario on the field in Tokyo, most likely in that second group game against New Zealand.