U.S. Ties Cuba in Qualifying Match

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Freddy Adu scored in the 14th minute, but the United States was unable to hold the lead and settled for a 1-1 draw on Tuesday in a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying match. Roberto Linares leveled the contest for Cuba in the 42nd minute, blasting a shot from inside the penalty box. Although the Americans owned a decisive 9-4 edge in shots on goal, they were unable to record the go-ahead tally.

With a screen provided by midfielder Charlie Davies, Adu opened the scoring by blasting a shot past goalkeeper Jose Manuel Miranda. "We had enough chances to win the game," American coach Peter Nowak said. "We have to capitalize on our chances we had in the first half, and also in the second half. As I said, it's the first game and we had a difficult game. We're going to be ready for the next game." "It's the first game and we just need to bounce back," United States captain Maurice Edu said. "There are still two more games in our group and now we're looking to pick up three points in each one. We need to keep our heads up and just put our focus on Thursday's game (against Panama)."

In the first game of the doubleheader, Honduras topped Panama, 1-0, behind a goal from Hendry Thomas in the final minute of play. Honduras currently sits atop Group A with three points, while the United States and Cuba are tied for second with one point each.