Olympic Qualifying

Jason Kries’ announces the team that will try and qualify for the Games for the first since 2008, starting March 20th.

https://sports.yahoo.com/kreis-names-usynt-2020-olympic-133130356.html

 

One can only hope that the other teams in CONCACAF have the same issues in securing players for the qualification tournament.

 

I'm not sure I care about Olympic soccer. Who won the gold medal last time?

 

I remember Mexico winning in London, and that was a huge deal here. I understand for the Men it’s a U23 tourney. Maybe a reason for your apathy James is the fact the US hasn’t played in over a decade. It’s vital that the incoming players to stop the failures, it doesn’t compare to not qualifying for the WC, but this is a habit that must be broken.

As far as the Women, it’s the full senior sides, and the 2nd most important tournament the ladies play. The US didn’t medal, and will be extremely motivated.

 

It’s deja vu all over again!, A year later and here’s Kries’ squad;

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2021/03/us-u23-mnt-head-coach-jason-kreis-names-roster-for--concacaf-mens-olympic-qualifying-championship

Vital game out of the gate with Costa Rica on Thursday. We’re in same group as El Tri and the Dominican Republic. Top two advance, then win the semifinal and it’s off to Tokyo.

 

Need points (plural) from the first match to keep the blood pressure low.
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/0...-as-usmnts-u-23s-aim-to-qualify-for-olympics/

 

I expect the Costa Rica game to be tough.

 

1-0, massive 3 points!! Not the prettiest performance at times, but...^^

Ochoa w/a couple fine saves, Ferreira could’ve had a hattrick, the heat took its toll, but the team hung tough.

 

Hoping for a better second half.

 

4 goals in final 30 minutes helped.

 

It did at that!

 

Mexico takes out Costa Rica and now its 90 minutes away from qualifying. They do have a game w/El Tri to determine who wins the group, but a draw will not do because of goals scored (7 to 5 in favor of Mexico). Jason Kreis has to be careful w/Ferreira who picked up a stupid yellow on a retaliation, the Dominicans spent the rest of the time trying to dive and or goad him into another one.

The big issue so far? @HatterDon preaches this about the playing calendar, and because most all these guys are MLS players, and just like Concacaf Champions League, March games feature guys that aren’t close to peak match fitness and sharpness.

The player that has stood out? Sam Vines has been the best player for me and has been absolutely terrific thus far.

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...mprobable-adventuretold-by-those-who-lived-it

Interesting article on the 2000 team that finished 4th, many of whom were the cornerstone of the best ever USMNT team in 2002.

 

Lost 1-0 to El Tri on a 45th minute catastrophic back pass in our own half by Soto (why he was that deep is a mystery). The best takeaway is Ferreira came on and didn’t get a yellow, so he’ll be eligible for Sunday.

 

@HatterDon Give the youngsters another chance HD, let’s put that match in perspective. It was cagey on both sides because the match didn’t really matter because both squads were through to the semis and there isn’t a team El Tri and the US were trying to avoid. The US didn’t start their best player Jackson Yueill, their best player in the tourney Sam Vines, their best CB Justin Glad, and kept out Ferreira till late, and you could tell the last thing he was going to do was get himself in any situation where he could get a yellow that would hold him out for Sunday. What does a win over Honduras mean and how vital it is to the US going forward? It means that this group will experience success in the most pressure cooker of situations, and there is a handful of guys playing that will be on the senior team when we host in 2026. Throw in that Pulisic is on record that he wants to play in Tokyo, and surely there would be a couple more guys of this ‘Golden Generation’ that will want to go as well. This Sunday is flat out massive for the USMNT, a win would not only mean qualification for the Olympics, but also sets up a likely rematch w/El Tri with the tourney title on the line.

 

Starting 11

 

Can’t refute anything ^^^ 2 words for me:

EPIC FAIL

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/30/us-mens-soccer-team-olympic-qualifying-falure

Are the top levels of US Soccer really the dog and pony show that this article touches on? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...