USMNT Qualifies for Olympics

USA 3, CANADA 0-----------------------------

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Freddy Adu scored a pair of goals and sent the United States back to the Olympics in the process. Adu staked the U.S. to an early lead and sparked a 3-0 victory over Canada on Thursday in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.

The Group A-winning Americans (3-0-1) earned an automatic berth in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing with the victory. "I was really proud and pleased to see everything that we had discussed before this kind of tournament come to fruition," U.S. coach Peter Nowak said. "I think that from the beginning to the end there was only one team that was going to win this game, and it was us."

The United States is now 4-2-1 against Canada in Olympic qualifying matches. Canada (1-2-1), the second-place finisher in Group B, last qualified for the Olympics in 1984, when the Games were held in Los Angeles. Adu put the U.S. ahead, 2-0, with goals in the 27th and 48th minutes. Sacha Kljestan capped the scoring in the 78th minute. "Jozy (Altidore) made two great runs that resulted in two free kicks," Adu said. "Jozy made a great run and the build up was great. We had a little bit of possession and the ball ended up at Jozy's feet. He turned around ran at the guy and got the foul."

Joining the United States in Beijing will be Honduras, which won Thursday's first semifinal against Guatemala, 6-5, on penalty kicks. Honduras will play the U.S. on Sunday in the final. The Americans won the first meeting, 1-0.

USA Advances in Qualifying

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Although the United States advanced to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament before it even stepped on the pitch Saturday, it still had plenty to prove against Honduras.

Eddie Gaven scored the lone goal on a penalty kick in the 95th minute as the U.S. secured a first-place finish in Group A with a 1-0 victory over Honduras at Raymond James Stadium. The United States (2-0-1), which already had punched its ticket to the next round when Panama defeated Cuba earlier in the day, awaits the Group B second-place finisher on Thursday.

The Americans will face either Haiti, Canada (0-1-1) or Mexico (0-1-1), while Honduras (2-1-0) will face Group B first-place finisher Guatemala (2-0-0). Group B completes first-round action Sunday, when Guatemala faces Canada and Mexico squares off against Haiti.

USA Edges Panama

USA 1, PANAMA 0------------------

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Freddy Adu scored in the 42nd minute as the United States held on for a 1-0 victory over Panama on Thursday in a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying match at Raymond James Stadium.

The goal was Adu's second in this Group A round-robin event, with his first coming in the 14th minute in a 1-1 tie against Cuba on Tuesday. Just minutes before the end of the first half, Adu blasted a penalty kick past goalkeeper Jose Calderon into the upper right side of the net. No red cards were issued, but Marvell Wynne was handed the lone yellow card for the Americans in the 18th minute. Panama's Manuel Bonilla and Alberto Quintero received yellow cards in the 19th and 59th minute, respectively.

In the first game of the Group A doubleheader, Honduras defeated Cuba, 2-0, behind goals from Marvin Sanchez and Hendry Thomas. Honduras leads the group with six points, followed by the United States with four. The teams return to action on Saturday when the Americans (1-0-1) face Honduras (2-0-0), while Panama (0-2-0) squares off with Cuba (0-1-1).

In Group B action in Carson, California, Canada (0-0-1), will meet Haiti (0-1-0) on Friday while Guatemala (1-0-0) meets Mexico (0-0-1) as well. The top two teams from Group A and B will move on to the semifinals in Nashville, Tennessee, where the winners will earn berths to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

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.

USA Draws With Mexico

HOUSTON (US Soccer) — The U.S. Men’s National Team continued their dominating undefeated streak at home against Mexico with an exciting 2-2 draw in front of 70,103 fans at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The match was a high-paced affair, with the U.S. jumping out to a 2-1 lead at halftime, only to surrender the tying goal just two minutes into the second half to Mexico’s Jonny Magallón, who had both goals for the Tri-Colores. The U.S. goals came from defender Oguchi Onyewu and 18-year-old Jozy Altidore, making his first start for the United States.

“There were some good things that you need to see in a tough environment and in a tough game,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, whose U.S. record now stands at 13-5-2, “and there were some things that you see that you still need to improve on. These kind of games are what the players look forward to and as coaches, we understand that we need this kind of games in order to look hard at our players and our team to find things that we need to improve.”

USA to Face Mexico on Wednesday in Houston

HOUSTON — The U.S. Men’s National Team’s match against rival Mexico is set for on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m. PT at Houston's Reliant Stadium. The game will be on ESPN and will feature the most in-depth media coverage ever.

The coverage will begin on Tuesday afternoon on ussoccer.com and finish with a live post-match show, which will be streamed simultaneously on ussoccer.com and ESPN360.com. Along with the extended coverage of the match against Mexico, usssoccer.com will continue to provide photos, videos, written features and a behind-the-scenes look at the team on the official MNT blog.

On Tuesday, ussoccer.com’s MatchACCESS will provide live streaming of the USA’s pre-match press conference with head coach Bob Bradley and goalkeeper Tim Howard. The press conference will be the final media availability for Bradley and Howard before Wednesday’s match, and will begin at approximately 2 p.m. PT.

On Wednesday, the coverage jumps to television as ESPN Classic will replay the U.S. Men’s 2-0 victory over Mexico in last year’s friendly at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT). In the match, played in front of a sold-out crowd of 62,462 on Feb. 7, 2007, the U.S. got two second half goals from Jimmy Conrad and Landon Donovan to continue their undefeated streak against Mexico.

USA to Face Mexico on Wednesday in Houston

HOUSTON — The U.S. Men’s National Team’s match against rival Mexico is set for on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m. PT at Houston's Reliant Stadium. The game will be on ESPN and will feature the most in-depth media coverage ever.

Thecoverage will begin on Tuesday afternoon on ussoccer.com and finish with a live post-match show, which will be streamed simultaneously on ussoccer.com and ESPN360.com. Along with the extended coverage of the match against Mexico, usssoccer.com will continue to provide photos, videos, written features and a behind-the-scenes look at the team on the official MNT blog.

On Tuesday, ussoccer.com’s MatchACCESS will provide live streaming of the USA’s pre-match press conference with head coach Bob Bradley and goalkeeper Tim Howard. The press conference will be the final media availability for Bradley and Howard before Wednesday’s match, and will begin at approximately 2 p.m. PT.

On Wednesday, the coverage jumps to television as ESPN Classic will replay the U.S. Men’s 2-0 victory over Mexico in last year’s friendly at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT). In the match, played in front of a sold-out crowd of 62,462 on Feb. 7, 2007, the U.S. got two second half goals from Jimmy Conrad and Landon Donovan to continue their undefeated streak against Mexico.