Young Orlando City stars poised for big U-23 match

Orlando City stars Andrés Perea and Benji Michel could help the U-23 U.S. men’s national team qualify for the first Olympic Games since 2004 with a win over Honduras in the Concacaf Olympic qualifying semifinals Sunday in Mexico.

The U.S. secured a place in the semifinals with wins over Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The team took the secondary place in the Group A standings after a 1-0 loss to Mexico.

Both Perea and Michel assisted goals in the opening wins of the group stage against Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Honduras took the top spot in Group B despite winning only one game over Haiti, tying El Salvador and Canada in 1-1 draws.

A win would qualify the Americans for the Tokyo Olympics. But the team might need to do it without their leading scorer in the tournament — Hassani Dotson, who scored two of the team’s five goals.

U-23 coach Jason Kreis said Dotson suffered an ankle sprain against Mexico and didn’t train with the team Friday. Kreis, who also previously coached Orlando City, said Dotson trained lightly Saturday and remains questionable for Sunday’s match.

The match will kick off at 6 p.m. with a live broadcast on FS1 and TUDN.

USMNT faces N. Ireland

Before the U-23 team makes its bid for the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. men’s national team will face off against Northern Ireland in Belfast at 12 p.m. ET.

The match is the second in a series of European-based friendlies that has seen a higher concentration of the team’s starters.

It will also serve as an opportunity for Orlando City star Daryl Dike to prove himself at the senior national team level after being held out of Thursday’s game against Jamaica with a slight injury.

The striker could be well-fitted to face off against Northern Ireland, which coach Gregg Berhalter described as a physically demanding opponent.

“It will be a big challenge for us,” Berhalter said. “It’s a very physical team with height, strength and aggressiveness.”

Berhalter previously noted Dike’s ability to compete with the physicality and aggression of the Championship league. The striker has scored five goals since joining Barnsley Feb. 1.

The coach said he might rotate through a new group of players for the second match of the week in order to continue his assessment of which players to utilize during a packed summer of international competition. Berhalter specified he’ll manage minutes for Aaron Long, Sebastian Lletget and Kellyn Acosta.

Sunday will be the last time the coach will be able to field his European players until the CONCACAF Nations League in June.

The game will be broadcast FOX, UniMás and TUDN.