The U.S. men’s soccer team had the odds stacked against it heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics. It’s been over two decades since the team earned a spot at the knockout stage, and many were skeptical but hopeful about the opportunity at hand, as CBS Sports reported. The team may be on its way to seizing it. On Tuesday, Team USA beat Guinea 3-0, marking the first time the team has won against an African country at the Olympics. The win also earned Team USA a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.

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Team USA forward Kevin Paredes spearheaded the game against Guinea, scoring two of the three goals of the match. He may be the future of American soccer, but who is the 23-year-old? Read on to get to know Team USA’s shining star.

What to know about Kevin Paredes

Paredes was born on May 7, 2003, and started his professional soccer career in 2019. He played his first club match with Loudoun United FC, USL Championship reported. In 2020, Paredes signed with Loudoun’s parent club, D.C. United, scoring his first Major League goal the following year. He signed with VfL Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga in 2022, after which he became the fourth homegrown player from D.C. United to transfer to a European team, Bundesliga reported.

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In 2023, the Virginia native was named U.S. Soccer young male player of the year, a significant honor once obtained by soccer greats like Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, Sergino Dest, and Christian Pulisic, according to CBS Sports.

“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 during a roundtable discussion in March.

Following the win against Guinea, coach Marko Mitrovic told ESPN that, when it comes to soccer, Paredes is someone to watch.

“I think that this tournament could be a [breakout] for him in his career,” Mitrovic said of Paredes’ Olympic performance. “He has a lot of qualities and he’s always trying to be clinical, but he’s getting more mature in the final third and it’s great for his future as a player.”

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