Utahn Taylor Booth and U.S. men’s soccer clinch historic Olympic berth

The U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team is headed to the quarterfinals, snapping a 24-year knockout stage drought in the Olympics.

The U.S. beat Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday in their final group stage match, which clinched the quarterfinal berth. It is the first time the U.S. has advanced to the quarterfinals in the Olympics since 2000. Prior to this summer, the U.S. men had last competed in the Olympics in 2008.

Utahn Taylor Booth entered Tuesday’s match in the 66th minute and has played in all three of the U.S.’s games as a second half substitute. He is Utah’s first U.S. men’s soccer Olympian, according to U.S. Soccer.

Who will the U.S. men’s soccer team play in the Olympic quarterfinals?

The U.S. will face Morocco in the quarterfinals. Morocco finished the group stage with the same record as the U.S. They beat Argentina in their first match, then fell to Ukraine in their second but beat Iraq to clinch their berth.

Has the U.S. men’s soccer team ever won an Olympic medal?

The U.S. men’s team has never won a medal at the Olympics. It’s best finish was fourth in 2000.

This is only the second time the U.S. has advanced to the knockout stage since the group stage was introduced in 1960 and only the third time in the U.S. men’s soccer team’s 100-year Olympic history, according to U.S. Soccer.

The U.S. men’s soccer team’s results at the 2024 Paris Olympics

To qualify for the quarterfinals, the U.S. had to finish as one of the top two teams in their group or as one of the top two third-place teams in the tournament.

The victory over Guinea meant the U.S. finished second in their group behind France, who beat the U.S. 3-0 on Wednesday. After the loss to France, the U.S. rebounded against New Zealand, winning 4-1 on Saturday.

How to watch the U.S. men’s soccer team’s Olympics quarterfinal match

The U.S. men’s Olympic team plays their quarterfinal match on Friday at 7 a.m. MT. Fans can watch the U.S.-Morocco game on the USA Network or on Peacock.