Minnesota United's Hassani Dotson, Mason Toye eyed for possible national team call-ups this month

By Tuesday, the U.S. men's national under-23 team will announce 20 players from its provisional 50-man Olympics qualifying tournament roster and send them on their road to Tokyo, starting with a March 20 qualifier against Costa Rica in Mexico.

Minnesota United's Hassani Dotson and Mason Toye have been called to three U-23 camps already. Will they be summoned for training a fourth time after Saturday's game at San Jose?

When asked what it would mean to play in the Concacaf qualifying championship in Guadalajara and then be one of two teams from eight to reach Tokyo, Dotson said, "It'd be absolutely everything. I watched old Olympic teams in the past. I follow the U.S. team. I'd be very proud and honored to wear the colors of the U.S."

The United States hasn't qualified for an Olympics since 2008.

On Tuesday, Loons coach Adrian Heath said he expected Dotson will make the final 20-man qualifying roster, but he wasn't sure about Toye. The presence of national team members such as Jackson Yueill and Reggie Cannon on the qualifying team will make competition for roster spots more competitive.

Heath acquired MLS veterans such as Raheem Edwards, Marlon Hairston and Jacori Hayes for depth if or when Dotson, Toye, Chase Gasper, Robin Lod, Jan Gregus and others get called to national team duty.

"It'd help my experience a lot," said Dotson, a 2019 second-round draft pick. "A different stage, playing with a whole bunch of talented players around my age. Every time I have the chance to play in different environments, it's always an opportunity to get better."

The game Saturday reunites Gasper with Yueill, San Jose's rising young star who attended Bloomington Jefferson. They played with each other on a U.S. national under-18 team, played two seasons together at UCLA and now most recently as January on the U.S. national team.

"He's an incredible player, one of my favorite American players definitely," Gasper said. "He has great technical ability and the ability to read the game. He sees passes, and he sees spaces that most people don't. It's truly a job to watch him play."

Yueill was drafted sixth overall in 2017 after the Loons selected Abu Danladi first. At 22, he's a foundational piece for the national team after a 2019 breakout season playing in San Jose coach Matias Almeyda's unique man-to-man marking system.

The Loons visited San Jose in the season's second game a year ago, winning 3-0 against an Earthquakes team just learning Almeyda's unconventional system.

"It's not easy playing against it," Heath said. "But there's one or two areas I think we can exploit. We did a really good job of it last year. Can we take them opportunities when they come because the way they play, when they do turn it over at times they do give you opportunities."