DeAndre Yedlin, John Brooks will skip Olympic qualifying to play in Confederations Cup playoff

DeAndre Yedlin and John Brooks will both play for the United States in the Confederations Cup playoff against Mexico, not Olympic qualifying. Jurgen Klinsmann confirmed that the duo would be tapped for senior team duty as opposed to playing with the U-23's.

Yedlin and Brooks are both young enough to play for the U-23 team, and will likely be on the Olympic team if the U.S. qualifies, but the Confederations Cup playoff and Olympic qualifying are being played at the same time in October so Klinsmann had to choose where the two would play. The decision is not a surprise, as Klinsmann has made the playoff against Mexico the team's top priority and emphasized the importance of making the Confederations Cup, overshadowing the Olympics, even though he has put more weight and resources into the U-23 team than any U.S. manager before him.

There is only one other notable senior team player who could play for the U-23's, and that is Jordan Morris. In his case, Klinsmann said that it's still up in the air.

"We haven't made the decision yet on Jordan Morris yet if he joins us toward the Mexico game or goes with the Olympic team, but definitely John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin will be with the senior team,"said Klinsmann.

Part of the reason it was an easy choice on Yedlin and Brooks is their status in the senior team. Both are key members of the squad and in contention to start every match. Moreover, the start of the Olympic qualifying tournament does not fall on a FIFA international date so players who are vital to their clubs -- like Yedlin and Brooks -- are unlikely to be released for it. Instead, they would have to join the team for the third match of the competition.

Morris doesn't have the same complications, and that makes things more complicated for Klinsmann. Whle Morris has shown well in his few senior team appearances, he's not key to the team and may not even be part of the best 23. He's also at Stanford, which will happily release him for all of the Olympic qualifiers.

Most likely, Morris will be with the U-23 team trying to qualify for the Olympics in October, but with Klinsmann, it's always dangerous to guess. We don't need to guess with Yedlin and Brooks, though. They'll be at the Rose Bowl, taking on Mexico.