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Colorado Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett could be headed to Paris this summer.
U.S. Soccer announced 25 players Wednesday morning who are being called up to represent the U.S. in an international friendly against Japan on June 11. The match will be held at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.
Bassett, who has been playing the best soccer of his career dating back to the final eight games of last season, was the only Rapids player to be selected. 12 players in the pool currently play in the MLS.
So far this season, Bassett has shone in a double-pivot alongside fellow homegrown Oliver Larraz as a part of a new-look midfield for Colorado, scoring five goals to go along with two assists in 15 games.
The 22-year old Littleton native fits under the U-23 age eligibility for the U.S. Olympic team, which is required for all but up to three players on any given squad. U.S. Olympic coach Marko Mitrović selected just one overage player for this match in 31-year-old Walker Zimmerman from Nashville SC.
The match against Japan will be the last before a final team, which will consist of just 18 players, is selected to participate in the Olympics in Paris. The games officially start July 26, though the U.S. Olympic squad will play its first group stage match against host country France on July 24. The other teams in Group A are Guinea and New Zealand.
Bassett joins Rapids defender Moïse Bombito in being called up to international squads.
Canada men’s national team coach Jesse Marsch, who was announced for the job earlier this month, selected his first squad on the job to compete in two international friendlies in Europe against the Netherlands and France next week.
The call-up is Bombito’s third, his last one being for the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year when he started all four of his matches en route to a quarterfinals loss to the U.S. in penalties.
The June friendlies will serve as key preparation for the 2024 Copa América, which kicks off June 20 with a match between Canada and defending World Cup champion Argentina.
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