Guinea wasn’t his best game, but he was close to touch perfect against France and New Zealand. He has been solid defensively and incredibly effective going forward.

Tessmann has looked like the most talented player on the field for the United States through the group stage. His ability on the ball has been on display in this tournament.

Zimmerman has been rock solid in the back and actually pretty decent in distribution. He also had a scrappy goal against New Zealand.

Harriel has been one of the biggest surprises for me in this tournament. I knew he was good defensively, but he has been better than I thought going forward. He is opening some eyes in this tournament.

Aaronson was solid as an inverted left-winger, but he has been dynamic as a false nine, similar to his role for the U20s.

Yow looked dangerous as a sub in the first two games and electric as a starter against Guinea. It will be a massive shock if he isn’t starting at left-wing in the quarterfinals against Morocco.

Paredes would not have been on this list before the game against Guinea, but after an impressive brace it was impossible not to add him. He has been very good defensively all tournament and against Guinea he put it all together offensively. He was tidy on the ball, dynamic going forward and lethal in the final third.

Mitrovic has done an excellent job setting this team up for success in this tournament. The team is playing quick, expansive and confident. They look incredibly direct and decisive in transition and they have also had some good ideas in build up play. Defensively, they have been a little leaky, but nothing too  concerning. Even in their 3-0 loss against France, the team conjured up chances and played with confidence. The personnel adjustments to move Paxten into the false nine and Griffin Yow to left-wing worked extremely well. The team is going into the quarterfinals with a lot of confidence and belief. 

There are not a ton of questions going into the quarterfinal match against Morocco. There will likely be a decision to make in midfield, assuming that Gianluca Busio will not be healthy to start or play, but other than that I think the starting eleven is solidified.

Hasn’t been perfect, but solid enough to where it would not make sense to make a switch this late in the tournament. His match against Guinea was probably his best yet, so he is trending in the right direction.

Has been one of the top performing players from the group stage.

Has had a few little snafus on the ball, but he has been solid defensively, no reason to change anything here.

Has been really good in all three games, in all aspects of the game.

There are not any other natural right-back options and he hasn’t given Mitrovic any reason to get creative here because he has been good.

He is the captain and the most talented player on the team.

If Busio is fit, he deserves to be in the starting lineup. If he isn’t, I would like to see Jack McGlynn get his first start.

Djordje has not been the most impactful in open play, but he has had some good set play moments and I think he deserves the start at this point.

Yow is a must start after an incredible performance against Guinea.

Before the final game, I would have been leaning towards starting Taylor Booth, but Paredes had a great game and is playing with confidence and I think you have to go with that.

Moving Aaronson to false nine and benching Duncan McGuire was the big move by Mitrovic in the final game of the group stage and it worked wonders. I don’t see any reason not to go with that again.

The United States plays a very talented and dangerous Morocco team for a chance to advance to the semifinals and a chance to win a medal. Morocco finished first in a group that included Argentina after beating them 2-1 in their first game. They lost to Ukraine and beat Iraq to finish with six points, the same amount of points that the United States finished with in their group. 

This will be a difficult matchup, and while I think Morocco will be the favorites, the United States have shown that they will be able to compete. Morocco brought their all-world right-back, Achraf Hakimi, as an overage player and they also have a ton of attacking talent. It will be a great test and exciting matchup for a United States team that is flying high and playing with a ton of confidence.