Duncan McGuire to make Olympic debut, trying to bring back U.S. Men’s Soccer’s first medal
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Two days after news broke that Orlando City FC forward Duncan McGuire made the U.S. Olympic men’s soccer team, the former Creighton soccer star was on a plane to Europe.
It all started with a FaceTime call from Team USA Olympic head coach Marko Mitrovic, a moment McGuire will never forget.
“[Mitrovic] said the words ‘you’re coming to Paris with us’ and I couldn’t stop smiling for like six days,” said McGuire reflecting on the call. “I wanted to jump up and down like a little kid.”
The 2024 Paris Olympics is the first time the U.S. men’s national team has qualified for the Olympics since 2008 when they were in Beijing and finished ninth in the tournament. 16 years later, McGuire hopes to help bring Team USA brin home the first-ever medal in men’s soccer in the modern Olympic era.
Making the 18-man Olympic team roster is yet another accomplishment McGuire adds to his long list of achievements and awards the former Creighton standout has received in the last 24 months.
McGuire helped lead the Bluejays to their sixth College Cup appearance and a Big East Tournament Championship. The Omaha native ended his junior campaign with a nation-leading 23 goals, All-American honors, being named Big East Offensive Player of the Year, and winning the MAC Hermann trophy.
“It’s been a little wild of a two years. You know going from not thinking I was going to get drafted at all to having a good college season, getting drafted, winning the MAC Herman, having a good year,” said McGuire.
Not only was McGuire drafted, he was the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City FC. In only 48 matches in the MLS, McGuire has already netted 20 goals and he doesn’t plan on slowing down when he’s in France.
McGuire said what he’s most looking forward to about the Paris Olympics is “hopefully scoring and you know winning a gold medal with the guys honestly that would put a cherry on top of all this.”
Whether he’s in Omaha, Orlando, France, or wherever the game of soccer takes McGuire, his hometown is always cheering him on.
“The support from Omaha has been unreal,” said McGuire. “I’ve gotten a lot of texts and calls from friends, family, everyone who has been a part of my journey has reached out. It means the world to me to hear from them.”
When to watch: McGuire and Team USA begin their quest for a medal on Wednesday, July 24 at 2 p.m. CT against Olympic host France.
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