Team USA’s Kevin Paredes is using 2024 Paris Olympics as proving ground and why the best is yet to come

Kevin Paredes is dancing yet again as the United States booked their place in the quarterfinals of the Olympics with a 3-0 victory over Guinea. It was the United States men’s first victory over an African nation in Olympic history and the first time that they will be in the knockouts of the Olympics since 2000. Part of the reason behind that is Paredes’ brace in the match. 

Already having an assist to his name during the group stage, Paredes showed that he should be feared as a finisher as well after making the most of his chances. For the Wolfsburg man, this could be an important platform. One of his goals this season was to take part in Concacaf Nations League and the Copa America with the senior national team, and while that didn’t happen due to depth at his position, more performances like this will ensure that Paredes doesn’t miss out on another opportunity with the senior side.

Paredes described playing in the Olympics as “every kid’s dream” and from his celebrations and constant smile, it’s clear that he’s enjoying every moment of this ride with the U-23s. 

Winning can be easier when you’re having fun and part of the team getting off to fast starts under Marko Mitrovic also makes the job that much easier. Only 21, Paredes is learning more by the day and he has already racked up more than 60 appearances for Wolfsburg playing both in defense and attack depending on what’s needed at the club.

To kick off the year, Paredes was named the 2023 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year following his senior USMNT debut and breaking into the XI with Wolfsburg. Joining players such as Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, Sergino Dest, and Christian Pulisic, it’s a meaningful honor and one that Paredes doesn’t take lightly.  

“It still gives me goosebumps to this day that I can call myself the young player of the year. To be named amongst the best that the country can provide, it’s an unreal feeling for me. The number of players that I got to compete against and the number of players that I get to learn from brought it down to that moment last year. They helped me become the best that I could be,” Paredes said in a roundtable back in March. 

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“To be named with a bunch of these great players before me and also my current teammates at the moment in the national team is a dream come true. When I first picked up a ball, I knew that I wanted to reach the highest but when you’re going through the process and you’re living it, you still don’t expect it, and with the correct hard work and the correct mindset I was able to achieve it. But I still know there’s still more work to go, still a lot to learn, and still lots more to prove for myself.”

The drive that Paredes has is something quite visible in his game and it’s not a new trait either. He came close multiple times to teeing up his former Loudoun and D.C. United teammate Griffin Yow during the match as both are players coming into their own in 2024 and using the Olympics as a chance to showcase their breakouts on the big stage. Being able to do that with someone who you’ve played with since being a kid can be one of the greatest feelings in sports, feeding off that familiarity. 

Even when the duo were plying their trade in the D.C. United academy and at Loudoun United, it was clear that they had the it factor, and together they could produce above and beyond expectations. 

“With those two in particular, there were countless moments [when I knew they could succeed at the highest level]. They were actually on the same U-17 team as well and then we had them all the way through at Loudoun. When I took the job, they came with me as well, but for me, I remember when we had our Generation Adidas Cup in the academy and the things that they could do and the way they could run by people was on a different level,” Loudoun United head coach Ryan Martin told CBS Sports in June.

“To this day, I remember Griffin’s ability to go one-on-one against top teams in the USL and score goals. The first ever goal in club history was Griffin Yow as a 17-year-old kid and when you look at Kevin, he grew up less than 10 minutes from the stadium and his first assist running down the right flank getting a ball and Kyle Murphy heading one home to get a result for us. So between those two guys and others that I’ve coached, you just know they have something different in terms of their game but even more so their personality and their love of their game and desire to become top players. And that’s where I’ve enjoyed working with them every day.”

The mental aspect is a critical one as Paredes could’ve taken being left out of the senior team this year after his improvement as a slight, but instead, he put his head down and is making the most of these Olympic games. As Paredes said himself, there’s more work to go and more to prove but he and the United States have accomplished something that hasn’t been done in his lifetime in making it out of the group stage at the Olympics. A few more wins and his name will be etched in history as the red, white and blue look to medal for the first time.