U.S. men’s national team duo Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman are both eligible for Olympic involvement this summer, but both will reportedly not be involved.
PSV will not give either player permission to feature in Paris, France this summer, manager Peter Bosz told Dutch outlet ED in an interview. Both Pepi and Tillman were recently part of the USMNT’s senior squad that suffered Copa America elimination on Monday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
They are now expected to have a short summer break before rejoining PSV for the start of preseason camp, according to the report.
The 21-year-old Pepi joined PSV last summer in a permanent deal from German Bundesliga club Augsburg. Pepi mainly served as an option off the bench, scoring nine goals in 40 combined appearances for the Eredivisie winners.
He featured in all three of the USMNT’s Copa America matches, logging 92 combined minutes of action.
Tillman, 22, spent last season on loan in Eindhoven from Bayern Munich, and proceeded to be a key player in the PSV squad. The attacking midfielder scored nine goals and added 15 assists in 39 combined appearances, eventually joining PSV in a permanent deal of his own last month.
Tillman did not feature against Bolivia or Panama, but played one minute in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
Marko Mitrovic’s squad is set to be announced on July 8 by U.S. Soccer ahead of the Olympic group stage.
