The U.S. Men’s Olympic national team is just over one month away from kicking off its quest for gold medal glory in France and Taylor Booth and Bryan Reynolds are two players aiming to be a part of it.
Booth and Reynolds are coming off career-best campaigns at club level as they continue their preparations in the U.S. for a June 11 friendly vs. Japan in Kansas City. Both players began their careers in MLS academies before also featuring alongside one another at several U.S. youth national teams.
After coming through the ranks, both Booth and Reynolds reflected on their past experiences together.
“Me and [Taylor] Booth have been in the national team program since the U-14’s,” Reynolds told reporters Thursday in a conference call. “It’s crazy that we’re here together.”
“I think for sure [youth national team play] had a big impact on our careers,” Booth added. “You’re always playing in top tournaments. It was great exposure for us. I know I got scouted from Germany at one of the youth camps in Italy.”
Booth, 23, registered six goals in 21 combined appearances for Eredivisie side FC Utrecht this past season. Despite missing eight matches earlier this year due to a knee injury, Booth featured in the club’s final four matches before earning his latest call up to Marko Mitrovic’s squad.
The Utah native never truly got his chance with Bayern Munich’s first team before making the move to Holland in July 2022, however, Booth credited the German giants for helping him get to where he is now.
“In the Bavaria region the language was super important for the locals and the fans,” Booth said. “The club told all of the foreign players that we’re gonna have to learn German.
“We were doing really intense lessons, a couple three-hour sessions a week for six months,” he added. “It wasn’t easy, but it’s something that helped me. And now moving to the Netherlands, the language is very similar. So I’m able to understand.”
The 22-year-old Reynolds witnessed a similar pathway following his move to AS Roma in 2021. Reynolds made just eight appearances for the Serie A club, eventually being loaned to Belgian side Kortrijk and Westerlo in back-to-back seasons.
Westerlo exercised Reynolds’ purchase option last summer, providing the former FC Dallas homegrown with a consistent role in the club’s backline. Reynolds now has 68 appearances, one goal, and nine assists under his belt at Westerlo, seeing a large role at right back over the past two seasons.
All of the experiences in Europe to date have provided Reynolds with valuable experience for what could come in Paris this summer.
“When I was young and first arrived at Roma,” Reynolds said, “I was like, wow, this is a lot. But I adjusted to that. And then even this last season, it was pretty rough. We were pretty much fighting against relegation.
“Obviously that makes the whole locker stressed and some people don’t know how to act,” he added. “And these certain situations, for me personally, with the experience that I’ve had, set me up if I make the roster for the Olympics.”
Mitrovic’s current 25-player roster will be reduced to 18 before the start of the Olympics, ending the dreams for several players in the player pool. Both Booth and Reynolds have a strong case to make the final roster, especially after being involved in several U-23 camps over the past year.
Pressure will certainly be on the Americans heading into their first Olympic Games since 2008, however Booth expects the team to handle it knowing the amount of support they have behind them back home.
“We’re expecting every game at the Olympics to be a big game and we’re gonna have a lot of pressure because everyone’s going be watching these games back in America, not just soccer fans,” Booth said. “And I think everyone who’s here [in camp] has dealt with pressure on and off the field. We know how to handle it.”
