07-05-2021, 03:48 PM
It looks like for this year and 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:
That might mean they're not 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, sort of like how swimmers in the relay prelims get the medals their teammates earn in the final.
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. Campbell still won't see the field in case of injury, but Williams will get used to give our aging forward corps some rest. The expansion makes Krueger's inclusion stand out all the more, since it was Margaret Purce getting time at outside back to spell O'Hara and Dunn, not Krueger. As a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, Krueger makes sense for if either Dunn or O'Hara is severely injured and you need a reliable defensive backup for whoever starts in their place (likely Sonnett). But with a larger roster and more flexibility, I would think Purce is the obvious choice. Think it's too late to make any changes, though, so Krueger will probably make the roster for that second group to give O'Hara's legs some rest. Of course, the second game is when we'd see old friends and teammates O'Hara and Ali Riley go head to head, and that would be popcorn-worthy.
Quote:“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made official a more flexible approach towards the participation of the alternate athletes in the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020. As a result, the Participating Member Associations will be entitled to reconstitute their teams ahead of every match,” FIFA said in a statement to The Associated Press.
“The number of athletes on the start list will therefore remain at 18, but teams will now have the total of 22 players (18 Athletes + 4 Alternate Athletes) to select their team from for every match. The IOC has also remarked that this is an exception for the Tokyo 2020 Games and does not create a precedent for future Olympic Games,” the statement said.
That might mean they're not 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, sort of like how swimmers in the relay prelims get the medals their teammates earn in the final.
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. Campbell still won't see the field in case of injury, but Williams will get used to give our aging forward corps some rest. The expansion makes Krueger's inclusion stand out all the more, since it was Margaret Purce getting time at outside back to spell O'Hara and Dunn, not Krueger. As a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, Krueger makes sense for if either Dunn or O'Hara is severely injured and you need a reliable defensive backup for whoever starts in their place (likely Sonnett). But with a larger roster and more flexibility, I would think Purce is the obvious choice. Think it's too late to make any changes, though, so Krueger will probably make the roster for that second group to give O'Hara's legs some rest. Of course, the second game is when we'd see old friends and teammates O'Hara and Ali Riley go head to head, and that would be popcorn-worthy.