The Players Who Should Be at the Olympics
Leny Yoro, Khéphren Thuram and Valentín Barco are just some of the rising stars who are eligible for this year's tournament.
What could have been! It almost feels as though this iteration of the Olympic soccer tournament has been characterized more by its absences, which are numerous and notable, than by what’s happened on the pitch. Some of the absences are understandable — forcing Lamine Yamal to play in yet another competition this summer would fast-track his next injury. Still, there are plenty of players who were not given permission from their clubs to play despite (presumably) desiring to represent their country.
To offer a sense of the quality missed, we’ve prepared a scouting report of some of the eligible players who are missing from Paris, mostly at the behest of their clubs.
Valentín Barco (Argentina)
Valentín Barco is an attack-minded left back who can boost a team’s offensive efforts. The Argentine has played most of his youth and the past three seasons as a senior player at Boca Juniors. Barco has been on the radars of many top clubs in Europe and even featured in The Guardian’s list of next generation footballers back in 2021. He was poached by Brighton earlier this year, and featured in a handful of matches in the closing stages of the season. This will be a trying season for the 20-year-old as he’ll hope to displace Pervis Estupiñán and break into Brighton’s starting lineup. — Mauricio Salazar-Lozada
Leny Yoro (France)
Leny Yoro has been the talk of Manchester the past several weeks after the 18-year-old moved to Old Trafford for a whopping €62 million. A towering yet agile presence in the backline, Yoro has many characteristics that make him a potential star. He has a rare ability to anticipate play and is gifted on the ball, which allows him to play out of the back with comfort. He’s already been compared to the likes of Raphael Varane and William Saliba. As his former coach, Paulo Fonseca, recently said: “For me, he will be one of the best central defenders in France and probably in Europe.” — M.S.
Ricardo Pepi (United States)
Despite his young age, Ricardo Pepi has forced his way into the United States senior squad. He appeared in the recent Copa America, but took a back seat to Folarin Balogun in the tournament and was ineffective in 31 minutes of play. It is hard to say what difference he would have made in what was a tournament of feast or famine offense for the Americans. His presence might have forced coach Marko Mitrovic to take a different tactical approach, as the formation he employed did not feature a strong center forward. He was ultimately blocked from participating by PSV Eindhoven. — Dan Miller
Junior Firpo (Dominican Republic)
A dual national who ultimately decided to represent the Dominican Republic over Spain, Junior Firpo was a no-brainer selection for the D.R. in their olympics debut. He’s played for Barcelona and in 2021 earned the distinction of becoming the first Dominican to play in the Premier League. Firpo featured 26 times for Leeds in the Championship this past season, starting 19 of those after injuries forced manager Daniel Farke’s hand. Despite his selection for the Olympic squad, Leeds recalled him before the tournament. The D.R. certainly could have used his experience after they did not make much of an impression before bowing out in the group stage. — D.M.
Warren Zaire-Emery (France)
Already a talented midfielder getting regular minutes at Paris Saint Germain, 18-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery was included in Thierry’s preliminary squad before he was barred participation. He has had success representing his country in the past, winning the U-17 European championship and being named the tournament’s best player. A product of PSG’s youth academy, he became the youngest player in their history to play in a Champions League knockout game. — D.M.
Hugo Cuenca (Paraguay)
A player that many Paraguayan fans would’ve hoped to see in these Olympics, the 19-year-old Hugo Cuenca currently plays for AC Milan’s Primavera side. A skillful attacking midfielder who can also play on the right wing, Cuenca has repeatedly shown why he would’ve been a perfect addition to this side. A natural lefty, he enjoys cutting in when playing on the right, whether to find a teammate or to go for goal himself. He’s currently on tour around the United States with Milan’s first squad before the start of the Serie A. — M.S.
Khéphren Thuram (France)
Khéphren Thuram, a son of French great Lilian Thuram, is a product of Monaco’s storied academy but flourished during his time in the south of France with OGC Nice. Thuram played four seasons with Les Aiglons, helping them reach the Europa League in 2020 and the Conference league in 2022. He is a typical box-to-box midfielder who is equally comfortable dropping back and attacking space. Not afraid to carry the ball forward, Thuram is adept at slipping out of pressure with the ball close to his feet. He’s aggressive defensively, yet composed when on the ball. Sold to Juventus for a fee of €20 million, the Frenchman will hope to follow in his fathers footsteps and become a club stalwart. — M.S.
Claudio Echeverri
The reason why we’re adding Echeverri to this list even though he was included in the Argentine squad is because of his lack of playing time. The Manchester City youngster played a mere 15 minutes of regular time in the four matches that Argentina played throughout this tournament. Earlier this year James Westwood from Goal.com wrote an article titled Claudio Echeverri: Argentina's 'next Lionel Messi' destined for superstardom at Man City. Given his age and professional experience it’s a bit reckless to put that much pressure on a young footballer, but with his recent form, it’s only fair to dream of a Messi reincarnated. It will be intriguing to see how the ‘next Lionel Messi’ will adapt to the fast paced football of the Premier League given his transfer to Pep Guardiola’s side and many will be questioning Javier Mascherano’s decision to not play the youngster more given Argentina’s shortfall. — M.S.
Gabriel Slonina (United States)
Another player who was also called up to these Olympics, but featured less than expected. Gabriel Slonina is a dominating presence in goal. From Addison, Illinois, he moved to the Chicago Fire, where he played during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, before being loaned out by Chelsea, his parent club, to KAS Eupen in Belgium. The 20-year-old will be hoping to make a step to a club in Europe's top five leagues and gain valuable playing time. His exclusion from the starting lineup in the Olympic tournament is a disappointment for that reason — this was a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his skills. — M.S.
Mathys Tel (France)
The fourth French player on this list and probably the least known, Mathys Tel comes from Sarcelles, a Parisian suburb north of Saint-Denis. He grew up playing for Paris F.C. and later joined Stade Rennais, where he only featured for a year before making a move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022. Tel made an appearance on 38 separate occasions last season, scoring nine goals and assisting six. Compared to players with the same profile in Europe’s top 5 leagues, he places in the top 99 percentile for non-penalty goals, 99 percentile in assists and 96 percentile in successful take-ons per 90 minutes. — M.S.