US Olympic roster - Guzan, McBride and Parkhurst overage Olympians

Peter Nowak has released his 18 man roster for Beijing and there are not a lot of surprises. As expected, Nowak went with Bad Guzan in goal and McBride up top. Both will give the team much needed depth in their positions with McBride providing a little bit more then Guzan.

The overage selection that could benefit the most from this experience is New England's Michael Parkhurst. Since the US's backline is probably going to have a lot put up against it, especially if they advance to the knockout stage (hello Argentina), a solid showing by Parkhurst could get some European suitors.

Overall this roster represents the best the US has to offer in the under 23 group at this moment.

As far as MLS teams go, they account for 10 of the 18 with the Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC each losing two players for the games.

Here is the full roster:

GK (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

D (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

M (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)

F (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Olympic Qualifying - Freddy Adu's and team US's are going to Beijing

US 3-0 Canada

This was the game US fans had been waiting for. Finally the play on the field reflected the talent in the roster as Canada was no match for the U23 US men. And although Freddy Adu will deservingly get the headlines, that second goal was pure art, but he was far from alone out there. Altidore, Edu, Holden, McCarty, Spector, Orozco, Wynne, Kljestan, Sturgiz and Seitz all provided key plays that resulted in this victory

Yes, there were little missteps that could still use some tightening, but in the end, last night was as close to a perfect match as anyone can expect to come on the international level. Makes me wonder if all the folks who bashed Peter Nowak after the US's sad sack routine against Cuba last Tuesday are ready to apologize.

As far as Canada is concerned, they have talent, but they were no match for the US on the night. Combine this result with their failure to get out of their group at last summer's U20 World Cup and it points to a youth system that needs some work.

So the US is returning to the Olympics and as of this point, they look like a team that has a chance at a medal.

Goals:
US - Adu 27', 47', Kljestan 78'


Guatemala 0(5)-(6)0 Honduras

And the other Concacaf spot goes to Honduras. Although the game was not as pleasing to watch as the later match, there was plenty of good soccer on display. Both teams would have deserved the win, so it is only fitting that it went to pk.

The question I want to know is what was Honduran goalie Kevin Hernandez yelling before every Guatemalan shot? Something tells me it wasn't words of encouragement.

Olympic Qualifying - Mexico fails to reach the Olympics

Mexico 5-1 Haiti

Even with a win, Mexico fails to make it out of their group. In a match where they played up a man for an hour, had a penalty kick (which was stopped) and had at least three open shots on goal, there is no reason for Mexico to have failed to get the needed six goals, but they did.

Haiti just collapsed in the final 15-minutes giving Mexico numerous three or four on none breaks, but Mexico could not make the most of them.

Overall, this was one of the strangest soccer matches I've ever seen as even when Haiti was getting stomped in the back, they still seemed to place the majority of their team up top. Add to it a red card for a Haitian player on the bench and another for some odd flight call and you've got a heck of a way to finish up group play.

This means Mexico will fail to make the Olympics for the first time since 1984 and that the US will face Canada on Thursday night in Nashville.

One last thing, I'm guessing Leonel Saint Preux is every Canadian's best friend tonight (he got Haiti's lone goal).

Update: One more last think, Haiti's goalkeeper Johnny Placide was fantastic on the night. I know that seems strange with 5 goals getting past him but he basically played the entire Mexican team by himself for the second half. He stopped shots that he had no right to stop and is the biggest reason Mexico is not going to Beijing. Okay, the biggest reason was Mexico's failure to make anything of their huge number of chances, but you get the point. So when will Hugo Sánchez get the boat for this one?

Olympic Qualifying - Mexico needs huge win to advance out of group

Canada just washed the pitch with Guatemala's B-team 5-0, meaning the Maple Leafs sit in second with four points and a +4 goal difference. Mexico and Haiti will kick off in 30-minutes with Mexico needing a victory by at least 5 goals to advance out of their group. For Haiti, all they need is a tie to move forward.

Things are looking bad for Hugo Sánchez.

Olympic Qualifying - US men win their group, look better but still have issues

US 1-0 Honduras

First the good news, the US U23 men were able to bounce back from a dreadful opening match to win their group. In the process players such as Holden, Edu, Kljestan, Orozco, McCarty stood up and showed what they have in them. Although they did not dominate their final two matches, they did control them. However, that leads to the bad thing.

During their 3 group matches, the team had 18 shots on goal and only managed to net 3. Although this doesn't sound that bad, one must remember that 2 of the goals were from penalty kicks. So 1 goal from 16 shots on frame. Even worse is the number of times the team created dangerous situations in front of goal but never got off a shot.

This is an issue that is common across all ages of US soccer. How many times have we seen the national team dominate one of the 'lesser' teams in the confederation only to sneak out with a 1-0 win or a tie (normally thanks to a penalty kick)?

With much of Concacaf playing a pack the back style of game against the US, the solution is having someone that is willing to take the shot. Freddy Adu still has a lot of growth ahead of him, but he already understands the idea of taking the shot. Clint Dempsey gets it and Jozy Altidore seems to have it in him as well, but too many others are not there yet.

But I don't want this post to be all negative, because the team really has looked good the last two games. Yes, they are still giving the ball away too much and there needs to be better communication in front of goal, but compared to were the team was at Tuesday night, things are much better.

Now the question is who will they play next Thursday night. Will Mexico find a way to limp out of their group and setup a 2004 semifinal rematch or will Canada give us another addition of the growing northern neighbor rivalry or will Haiti get at least a point and bring their rough style of soccer to the red, white and blue? Of these three, I think Mexico has looked the worse while Haiti has impressed the most.

Whomever it is, Peter Nowak should have a great understanding of what he can put on the pitch. With the semifinal being the biggest game of the whole tournament (the two winners go to the Olympics), it will be the A-team. Altidore, Adu, Holden, Edu, Orozco, McCarty, Wynne and Seitz plus three more should get ready for the start.

Olympic Qualifying - Does the US even want to win?

US vs. Honduras
7pm ET/4pm PT
TV: Fox Soccer Channel

With Panama dispatching Cuba 4-1, the US is assured of advancing to the knockout round, now the question is what spot will they take? If they can pull of a win against a decent Honduras side, they will take first. Anything less and they stay in the second spot.

Over in group B last night, both Mexico and Canada lost meaning that the best either side can hope for is a second place finish. So if the US do not win tonight, the earliest they could face either North American team is the final.

Does that mean they should play for the tie? In a word, no. Guatemala did not beat Mexico on a fluke, they played the better game. Same goes for Haiti over Canada. With neither Mexico or Canada looking fantastic, facing them might be the best way to go. Still, like all tournaments done over a short period of time, a good team one day can be a crap team the next.

Which brings us to the US and Honduras. With both teams already in the knockout phase, don't expect many stars. Such enough, here is the lineup:

---------------Cervi---------------
Hill----Ianni----Orozco---Freeman

Zizzo---Holden-Kljestan--Gaven

-------Findley----Barrett--------

It is great to see Holden in the middle as he was outstanding on Thursday night. If he can combine with Findley and help provide some cover for fellow Houston Dynamo Ianni, the US will be alright on the right side.

Kljestan has also proved himself during this tournament, so he and Holden will be expected to be the fire for the team.

It looks like Peter Nowak is using this game as a test of yet another formation, so I don't think he is overly worried about the result. I even think that if Charlie Davies was not riding a yellow, he would be included in it.

Overall, I'm guessing the team will take a win, but they are more interested in seeing how different players react with each other.

Olympic Qualifying - Can the US pull it together?

US - Panama
8pm ET
TV - Fox Soccer Channel

The US U-23s return to the pitch tonight looking to improve on their poor form from Tuesday. Although the team does not have to win to make it into the next round, anything short of a full three points will make it very difficult to sneak by.

With group mates Honduras and Panama all but assured of three points from their remaining games with Cuba, the US is looking at a -2 point weight around their necks (this is because the US only earned 1 point from their Cuba experience. Add to this the goal difference both Honduras and Panama are likely to run up against Cuba and the US has an even bigger mess on their hands).

To make up these points, the team must figure out a way to control the midfield and finish the chances that appear in front of them. My personal suggestion, don't let Freddy Adu be the only quality player on the pitch.

Panama didn't show much in their match against Honduras other then a great ability to lose the ball in the final third (to be fair, Honduras showed much the same), so Nowak and his squad should have time to settle and make some dangerous plays.

Still there is the question of the wing play. With both Davis and Findley having bad nights in the opening match (and with just 48 hours off since their last game), Nowak will need to find a way to seal these gaps.

With Panama likely to play a very defensive game, Altidore is going to need a lot of help up top. If the US can use their speed and overall better stock of players to sneak balls into the box, a full three points will be their reward. However, if they continue to turn the ball over and fail to show a good center, don't be surprised to see the team end the night tied with Cuba on points.

Concerning the other game on the night, I wonder if Cuba will be able to keep Honduras under 7 goals. With most of their starting 11 now calling the US home, it's going to be a crap night for the team.

Olympic Qualifying: Seven Cuban players defect

In the last 24-hours, seven Cuban U-23 players have defected. The seven include goalkeeper Jose Manuel Miranda, defenders Erlys Garcia Baro, Yendry Diaz, Eder Roldan and Yenier Bermudez and midfielders Yordany Alvarez and Loanni Prieto.

Cuba only brought 18 players with them to the tournament so all they have left is 11. But it is worse then it seems as Roberto Linares, who is one of those 11, received a red card on Tuesday night so he is not available for today's game against Honduras. That means the team will have to play the whole match with just 10 players.

This has become a routine occurrence whenever Cuban teams come to America to play tournaments. Divorcing the politics from this, it is a shame as their U-23 team looked strong against the US and probably could have made it out of the group. Now they will be lucky to get even one more point.

But you can never really take the politics out of things, so to the new Americans, welcome home. As Yenier Bermudez put it, "Of course, my heart will be in Cuba with my family, but I want to have the freedom to better my life, to play professional soccer, to be the best I can be, and for that we had to make this sacrifice."

And it might not take long for this to happen as USL side Miami FC has already said they plan on hosting a tryout for the seven next week. I think Miami's GM Luiz Muzzi summed up what a number of US teams are think right now, "I watched their game against the U.S. on TV, and I thought the Cuban team played very well ... We were kind of scouting that game because anytime a Cuban team comes to the United States, there's a chance someone might defect."

After his performance on Tuesday, goalkeeper Jose Manuel Miranda is probably on the short list of a number of MLS squads.

Olympic Qualifying: US limps to 1-1 tie with Cuba

US 1-1 Cuba

The US U-23 men did not get their tournament off to a good start last night as they fluttered their way to a 1-1 tie with Cuba. Although they opened up the match with a very impressive first 15-minutes, the next hour saw the team combine poor passing with lack of aggression and sub-par play in the midfield. Cuba was able to exploit these openings and earn a goal.

If there is some good news for coach Peter Nowak it was the final 15-minutes of play as his team finally started playing together again. Sure enough, once they stopped trying to pass the ball through the Cuban players, they started having much better luck.

Now to breakdown the match:

The Good
Freddy Adu - He was by far the best player on the pitch. His free kicks were dangerous and his skill was obvious, however he disappeared during the final 20-minutes of the first half. Still, he was the threat.

Dax McCarty - Okay, his first half was not the best, but he improved as the match went on. It was his attacking and pressure that woke the team up in the second half.

Sacha Kljestan - He provided some good speed and found his spots.

Chris Seitz - Made a few quality saves to keep a shock result from taking place. Was screaming at his back line trying to get them organized.

The Bad
Charlie Davies - When did Carlos Ruiz start playing for the US? Every time anyone looked at Davies, he drops to the ground to eat some dirt. His dive in the box when he had a great opportunity to score on an open goal was a major mistake. Combine this with his poor passing and it was not a great night.

Chad Barrett - He gave away the ball, missed his marks and never got into the flow.

Patrick Ianni - How did he not get a boot on the pass that lead to Cuba's goal? Also, how did Cuba cause such havoc in front of goal? He did show a little better later in the match.

Robbie Findley - He died out on the wing. He was fast but he showed little ball control and had few decent centers on the night.

The Questions
Jozy Altidore - Was he just exhausted from being the lone striker or does his game not fit well with Adu's? If the midfield gave him more balls, would his night have been better? He looked tanked after the first 20-minutes, but so did a number of other US players, so is this a sign of lack of fitness?

Maurice Edu - Was he missing so much because he was dropping back to cover for defensive mistakes?

Peter Nowak - Five forwards in the starting lineup yet leaving Altidore alone up top?


And that's the way the US U-23s looked to me. They return to action on Thursday night against Panama. What changes will Nowak make to his lineup? Will Altidore again be alone up top? Will Jonathan Spector come in to sure up their back line?

Right now, I still think they have it in them to win the group, but I'm not sure they will have enough to make it to the final and win a spot in Beijing.

Oh, one last thing, what was up with referee Walter Lopez and his red card to Cuban Roberto Lines? His first yellow was for slapping the corner flag after scoring the goal. His second yellow was for popping in a shot less then a second after the offside whistle blew. I can see giving him a warning on the second one but a second yellow is the sign of an overeager ref.


Goals:
USA – Freddy Adu (Robbie Findley) 14th
Cuba – Roberto Linares (Yordany Alvarez) 42nd

Starting lineup:

--------------------Altidore----------------

Davies--------------Adu-----------Findley

------------McCarty-------Edu----------

Freeman----Ianni------Sturgis--------Hill

---------------------Seitz-----------------

Subs:
Sacha Kljestan on for Altidore in the 46'
Chad Barrett on for Davies in the 61'
Eddie Gaven on for Findley in the 77'

Nowak names his US Olympic Qualifying roster

Peter Nowak has selected the roster that he thinks will return the US men to the Olympic games. After an impressive showing in 2000, the U-23s won their qualifying group in 2004 but lost to Mexico in the semifinals and missed a trip to Athens.

The US should have a good chance of taking their group again this time around, however the question is can Mexico do the same or will they finish in second and force another semifinal showdown? Either way, this roster looks to be the best U-23 group the US has ever put forward, so they should be ready.

Here is Peter Nowak's full Olympic Qualifying roster:

GK (2): Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

D (7): Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

M (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

F (4): Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire),
Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

Jonathan Spector (West Ham United) is on this roster even though he was not called into the final training camp early this month. Oddly enough Benny Feilhaber (Derby County) did not make the final roster. Not sure if he suffered an injury, was called back to his club or just didn't fit in with Nowak's plans.

Overall, this is a great group, however there seems to be some weakness in the back. Look for Spector to play a big roll. I'll be watching Orozco as I haven't really followed him much in the Mexican league. He might just be the surprise of the group.

As far as which teams have the most players on the list, Real Salt Lake have the most with three while Houston, New York and Toronto each have two.

The US gets things started on Tuesday against Cuba at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN Deportes will air all the matches live. ESPN360.com will also stream the matches on the internet.

Here is the full Concacaf Olympic qualifying schedule.

2008 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Schedule

Concacaf has two tickets to Beijing for the Olympics this August and eight nations want them. To get there, teams will need to take one of the top two spots in their group and then make it past the semifinals. Both teams in the final on March 20th will represent the region in China.

The Concacaf tournament is taking place in America this time around with games in Tampa, LA and Nashville (Tickets Tampa, LA, Nashville).

Here is the full schedule:

Group A

Team	W	L	T	Pts	GD
USA	2	0	1	7	+2
Honduras	2	1	0	6	+2
Panama	1	2	0	3	+1
Cuba	0	2	1	1	-5

Group B

Team	W	L	T	Pts	GD
Guatemala	2	1	0	6	-3
Canada	1	1	1	4	+4
Mexico	1	1	1	4	+3
Haiti	1	2	0	3	-4

Date	Matches	Venues	Kickoff Times
March 11	Panama 0-1 Honduras	Tampa, Fl	5:30 ET
March 11	USA 1-1 Cuba	Tampa, Fl	8:00 ET
March 12	Haiti 0-1 Guatemala	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 12	Canada 1-1 Mexico	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 13	Honduras 2-0 Cuba	Tampa, Fl	5:30pm ET
March 13	USA 1-0 Panama	Tampa, Fl	8:00pm ET
March 14	Canada 1-2 Haiti	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 14	Mexico 1-2 Guatemala	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 15	Cuba 1-4 Panama	Tampa, Fl	5:30pm ET
March 15	USA 1-0 Honduras	Tampa, Fl	8:00pm ET
March 16	Guatemala 0-5 Canada	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 16	Mexico 5-1 Haiti	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 20	Guatemala 0(5)-(6)0 Honduras	Nashville, Tn	5pm CT
March 20	USA 3-0 Canada	Nashville, Tn	8pm CT
March 23	Guatemala 0(3)-(5)0 Canada	Nashville, Tn	1pm CT
March 23	USA 0-1 Honduras	Nashville, Tn	4pm CT

Fox Soccer Channel (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish) will air matches live in the US while ESPN360.com will steam them on the internet.

US players called in for Mexico/Olympic Qualification matches

Forty-four US players got called into camp yesterday as the US MNT gets ready for their 'friendly' against Mexico on 6 Feb and the U-23s get ready for Olympic Qualification. Both camps are stocked full with MLS players (35 in total).

Here is Bob Bradley's list for the Mexico match:

GK (4) – Steve Cronin (LA Galaxy), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Zach Wells (D.C. United)

D (8) –Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Todd Dunivant (Toronto FC), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo)

M (5) –Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pat Noonan (Aalesund FK)

F (4) – Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus)

Every one of these players were also in camp ahead of the Sweden match, so none are that great of a surprise. The only difference between this list and the Sweden list is four players as Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan and Marvell Wynne were not called to this camp. Instead, they got a trip to Florida to train with the U-23s.

Here is Peter Nowak's roster:
GK (3): Dominic Cervi (Chicago Fire), Tally Hall (Esbjerg fB), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

D : Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Chance Myers (Kansas City Wizards), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Mike Randolph (LA Galaxy), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

M :Arturo Alvarez (FC Dallas), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas)

F: Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Adam Cristman (New England Revolution), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Of these 23 players, 17 have already been in a US training camp this year. The name on this list that pops out at me is Michael Orozco, who plays in Mexico. I haven't really kept up much with his progress so it will be interesting to see how he does.

I'm sure there are a few, such as myself, who would love to see Altidore and Edu on the Mexico roster, but the way this has panned out makes sense for a couple reason. First, the U-23s are getting ready for matches that actually matter and second, just because a player is not on the training camp roster doesn't mean he won't make the game roster. Just as Bradley is sure to call on a number of European players not in camp, so could he call on younger players there are in a different camp.

One last thing, the Houston Dynamo have five players in the two camps, more then any other team. The Chicago Fire, FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake tie for second with four players while LA, Toronto and New England each give three.

US women lose their captain

Congratulations to US women's national team captain Kristine Lilly who is pregnant with her first child. Now the down side of this news, she will miss the Olympics and all of 2008.

Lilly is an excellent player and has been the key to so much of what the US women have done, but at age 36, chances are she has played her final competitive match for the red, white and blue. Now the torch has truly been passed.