The U.S. men's national team is in the midst of its annual, monthlong January training camp, and the eyes of the U.S. soccer world are focused on next week's friendly matches with Iceland and Canada.
Eric Miller, a former Woodbury High School player who was called up to the senior national team for the first time this month, is looking forward to next week as well — but March may be more on his mind. That's when the American under-23 team will play Colombia home and away, with Olympic qualification on the line.
"I think in the back of our mind we're all thinking about Colombia in March, and how these games can help us with those games," said Miller, a two-year MLS veteran who has played numerous times for U.S. youth national teams. He's one of 11 players in the camp who could see the field against Colombia, a sign that U.S. technical director Jurgen Klinsmann is taking Olympic qualification seriously.
The Olympic men's tournament doesn't get the attention of a World Cup or the European championships, but it's quite important to Miller — especially after a disappointing 2015 for the men's national teams. "I think it's hugely important to show where your youth program is at," he said. "The year wasn't what everybody wanted it to be, but if you can show a lot of progress with your youth, that shows a sign of what's to come, and people can get excited about that."
It's also personally important to the young fullback, who dealt with several injuries in 2015, leading to an extended spell on the bench for MLS' Montreal Impact. After playing 21 games in his rookie season in 2014, Miller — who just turned 23 — played only nine games in his second year and is looking to bounce back.
"I don't know if I'd say it was a lost year, but I think I learned a lot, on and off the field," he said. "I came into the league right away, and I was starting right away, so I never really had to re-evaluate where I was at, what I was good at and what I was bad at. Being out of the team for a while causes you to do that."
Fullback has been a weak position for the U.S. for decades, and so Miller still has his sights set high, on filling that gap with the senior national team.
"That's something you think about all the time, even when you're a lot younger than I am," he said. "It's not a position we've produced a ton of players at. I think a camp like this is a great opportunity to make an impact and show what you can do."
