InsideSoccer Gamesheet
This report helps track the game to game player changes made by coach Nick Dasovic.

The U23 Olympic team used the Canadian factor in taking third place at the Olympic Qualifying in Nashville. When it comes to coin tosses and kicks from the penalty mark no one can beat Canada.

After a 90 minute 0-0 draw with Guatemala, the match went straight to a shootout. Isidro Sanchez Macip, Nikolas Ledgerwood, Keegan Ayre, Tyler Hemming and Kyle Hall scored for Canada. All five Canadian kickers scored, while Guatemala only managed 3 goals.

In a meaningless lacklustre game Guatemala was unable to avenge their 5-0 loss to Canada in the preliminary round.

Will Johnson was selected to the tournament’s Best XI team despite missing two games because of suspension. Johnson was red carded in the first game and sat out the final game because of yellow card accumulation.

Canada may have fared better if some of their top players in Europe were released by their clubs. Keeper Asmir Begovic showed up at the tournament but he had to sit out the first game, he was suspended because of a red card in his final game at the U20 world Cup. His club Portsmouth then recalled him before he had the opportunity to play for Canada.

Jaime Peters, Marcel De Jong, David Edgar, Mike D’Agostino and Johnathan Bourgault were other players missing from action.

Coach Nick Dasovic joked at the press conference after the USA game “well if I still have a job on Monday”. Possibly refering to comments he made about the CSA as much as about the results.

Highlights
This wasn’t Canada’s night. Nick Dasovic’s boys were up against a well prepared and discplined USA team. The Canadian defence had to with stand wave after wave of American attackers in the first half.

The Americans seemed to find the weakness in the Canadian team as they constantly pressured the attack down the right wing. Despite being badly outplayed in the first half, Canada was only down 1-0 on a Freddy Adu goal.

Adu seemed to be open all night and where Adu was, there was the ball. Peter Nowak the USA Olympic team coach, also coached Adu at the club level when both were with DC United.

Verbatim
Commenting on Adu after the game Nowak said “When Adu was younger he didn’t always understand the bigger picture, now he has started to believe in his ability to change a game.”

When asked about Adu’s free kick abilities, Dasovic said “I hate it”.

Dasovic also said that keeper Wagenaar “wasn’t happy with his performance.”

1ST HALF GAME BREAKDOWN
Minutes 1-10
Adu got away the first shot of the game, high and wide. Canada looked disorganized on defence, a bad clearance by Jakovic resulted in a corner for the USA. The Americans continued to pressure Canada. Adu had some nice touches, he also benefited from sloppy defence to gain a scoring opportunity.

» Advantage … USA
» Score … 0-0

Minutes 11-20
Adu was prominent again, having a lot of space to work. A bad pass by Rosenlund broke up Canada’s first foray into the USA’s end. The USA continued to pressure down the right wing. A dangerous Adu pass to Altidore failed to connect. Canada started to show better possession towards the end.

» Advantage … USA
» Score … 0-0

Minutes 21-30
More Adu, he was body-checked out of the play at one point, created space to get a shot on net at another. Graham Ramalho showed good control on the ball and played it out of danger. Canada unable to string together enough passes in order to be effective.

Adu finally opened the scoring with a free kick that eluded keeper Wagenaar.

On the goal, Adu said “I played the ball in hard to the far post, Kljestan made a hard run towards the ball, which froze the keeper, and the ball tucked into the corner.”

» Goal USA … Freddy Adu 27′
» Sub CAN … Kyle Hall for Keegan Ayre 30′

» Advantage … USA
» Score … USA 1-0

Minutes 31-40
Canada had their first shot on net, a curving shot from Will Johnson went just over the net. Dax McCarty didn’t connect on square pass into the box.

» Play … Even
» Score … USA 1-0

Minutes 41-45 +1
Johnson had another opportunity but couldn’t connect on a through pass. Canada lacked the final touch in the midfield. Tosaint Ricketts puts a shot over the net.

» Play … Even
» Score … USA 1-0

2ND HALF
Minutes 46-55
An early free kick from the USA was headed over the net. Adu gets another free kick opportunity, and his curving shot beats the wall and finds the top corner. Adu’s fourth goal of the tournament. Andrazes Ornoch creates some offence and earns a corner with an open run down the right side.

» Caution CAN … Andrew Hainault
» Goal USA … Freddy Adu 48′
» Sub CAN … Andrea Lombardo for Graham Ramalho 54′

» Advantage … USA
» Score … USA 2-0

Minutes 56-65
Canada started to play their best soccer of the game. Space opened up in the midfield and Canada was able to maintain some possession. Kyle Hall earned a corner kick.

» Advantage … CAN
» Score … USA 2-0

Minutes 66-75
Adu misses just wide on a volley. Ornoch’s header, on a pass from Johnson misses the USA seems to be sitting on their lead.

» Caution USA … Jozy Altidore 66′
» Sub USA … Charlie Davies for Jozy Altidore 75′

» Advantage … CAN
» Score … USA 2-0

Minutes 76-85
Teams start to tire or lose interest (so do I), sloppy play on both sides. Lombardo puts a shot over the net. Sacha Kljestan scores after receiving a great pass from Stuart Holden.

» Sub CAN … Marcus Haber for Tyler Rosenlund 76′
» Goal USA … Sacha Kljestan (Stuart Holden) 78′
» Sub USA … Eddie Gaven for Freddy Adu 82′

» Advantage … USA
» Score … USA 3-0

Minutes 86-90 +3
Yes there were two teams out there, Canada earns a corner.

» Sub USA … Robbie Findley for Sacha Kljestan 88′
» Caution CAN … Will Johnson 89′

» Advantage … USA
» Score … USA 3-0

InsideSoccer Gamesheet
This report helps track the game to game player changes made by coach Nick Dasovic.

USA Under-23 MNT Earns Berth to 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Winning Semifinal Match Against Canada, 3-0
- USA Advances to Final of 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament
- Freddy Adu Scores Two Free-kick Strikes, Leads Tournament With Four Goals in as Many Games
- USA Picks Up Third-Consecutive Shut Out in Victory Without Letting Up a Shot on Goal

NASHVILLE, TN – The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team clinched a berth to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this evening after defeating Canada, 3-0, at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., in the semifinals of CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying.

Freddy Adu led the way for the U.S., scoring the first two goals on free kicks in the 27th and 48th minutes, while Sacha Kljestan finished off the Canadians with a close-range strike in the 78th minute.

The victory marks the 13th time the U.S. will get the chance to compete for a medal at the Olympic Games on the men’s side. The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be played from Aug. 8-24 in five venues, and will mark the USA’s first trip to the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament since 2000.

“I was really proud and pleased to see everything that we had discussed before this kind of tournament come to fruition,” said U.S. head coach Peter Nowak. “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 U.S. moves on to the championship match on Sunday, March 23 against Honduras, who also qualified for the Olympics this evening by defeating Guatemala in penalty kicks, 6-5, after a scoreless 120 minutes in regulation and overtime. The final will kick off at 4 p.m. CT at LP Field and will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN Deportes.

The U.S. had little time to warm up on the field before the game due to the first match of the doubleheader going long, but that fact didn’t slow down the U.S. attack led by Jozy Altidore and Adu. Altidore set up both of Adu’s free kicks with determined runs that forced Canadian defenders to bring him down just outside the penalty area. Adu’s brace made him the tournament leader with four goals in as many games.

Altidore set up Adu’s first free kick goal of the night when he was tripped up by Nikolas Ledgerwood near the right corner of the penalty area. Adu whipped an in-swinger towards the goalmouth that skipped in front of goalkeeper Joshua Wagenaar, who may have been frozen by Kljestan’s attempt to get a foot on the service. Kljestan ended up not getting to it in time, and Wagenaar’s late reaction allowed the ball to get past him and land in the far-left netting.

Learning from their first match of the tournament against Cuba, the U.S. didn’t take their foot off the pedal and pressured Canada’s backline during the rest of first half. Their continued pressure was evident just two minutes after Adu’s goal when Altidore hustled after a bobbled shot by Wagenaar and clashed with the ‘keeper and two defenders.

The game started to get a bit chippy, but the U.S. defense was able to overpower most challenges that came their way. Canada only got two shots off in the first half – and nine in the entire game – and none of them on goal, meaning U.S. goalkeeper Chris Seitz didn’t have to make single save while earning his second shutout of the tournament. Through four matches in the qualifying tournament, the U.S. held their opponents scoreless three times.

The U.S. didn’t give Canada a chance to catch their breath in the second half, coming after them right from the second half whistle in an attempt to double their lead. Adu was given an early chance two minutes in when Altidore was taken down near the top of the box after beating Canada defender Andrew Hainault, resulting in a yellow card for the captain and a 20-yard free kick for the Benfica-based midfielder. Adu curled his shot over the wall and into the upper-right corner, giving Wagenaar no chance to make the save.

“Jozy made two great runs that resulted in two free kicks,” said Adu. “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.”

With the Canadians against the ropes and struggling to mount a comeback, the USA took advantage of a break to score its third goal of the game. Adu played a ball out wide left to Stuart Holden, who held the ball while waiting for help before feeding a square ball to Kljestan who darted into the box. Kljestan did the rest, taking a perfect first touch past his defender and firing a low shot to the near left post.

Kljestan leads the team in minutes played with 315 throughout the tournament. The midfielder came on at halftime of the USA’s first match against Cuba, and has played every minute since.

Nowak used his fourth different lineup in as many games, inserting Jonathan Spector into the central defense along with Michael Orozco. A veteran of two World Youth Championships, Spector made his first-ever appearance with the U-23s tonight after joining up with the team in Nashville.

“It’s exciting. Everyone is really happy right now, we’re all really confident that we’re going to Beijing now,” said Kljestan. “We’re happy to finally celebrate with Coach Nowak and we’re all just excited. The whole tournament our team unity was good.”

The U.S. and Honduras join 13 other teams who have already entered the 16-team tournament, with one spot still up for grabs for a team from Africa. The draw for the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament will take place on April 20 in Beijing.

USA UNDER-23 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT

Match-up: USA vs Canada
Competition: 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying
Venue: LP Field – Nashville, Tenn.
Date: March 20, 2008
Attendance: 13,201
Weather: 60 degrees, clear

Scoring Summary
USA 1-2 (3)
CAN 0-0 (0)

USA … Freddy Adu (unassisted) 27′
USA … Freddy Adu (unassisted) 48′
USA … Sacha Kljestan (Stuart Holden) 78′

Lineups
USA 1-Chris Seitz; 2-Marvell Wynne, 3-Michael Orozco, 17-Jonathan Spector, 5-Nathan Sturgis; 16-Sacha Kljestan (14-Robbie Findley, 88) , 6-Maurice Edu (capt.), 10-Dax McCarty, 7-Stuart Holden; 11-Freddy Adu (20-Eddie Gaven, 82) 12-Jozy Altidore (9-Charlie Davies, 75) Subs not used: 4-Patrick Ianni, 8-Sal Zizzo. 13-Hunter Freeman, 18-Dominic Cervi
Head Coach Peter Nowak

CAN 18-Joshua Wagenaar; 2-Graham Ramalho (9-Andrea Lombardo, 54), 4-Dejan Jakovic, 5-Andrew Hainault (capt.), 6-Nikolas Ledgerwood, 7-Andrazes Ornoch, 10-Will Johnson, 11-Tosaint Ricketts, 14-Tyler Hemming, 15-Tyler Roselund (17-Marcus Haber, 76), 16-Keegan Ayre (13-Kyle Hall, 30)
Subs not used: 3-Jacob Lensky, 8-Ryan Gyaki, 12-Diaz Kambere, 22-David Monsalve
Head Coach Nick Dasovic

Statistical Summary USA-CAN
Shots: 13-9
Shots on Goal: 7-0
Saves: 0-4
Corner Kicks: 10-7
Fouls: 4-3
Offside: 3-0

Misconduct Summary
CAN … Andrew Hainault (caution) 47′
USA … Jozy Altidore (caution) 66′
CAN … Will Johnson (caution) 89′

Officials
Referee: Walter Quesada (CRC)
1st Asst.: Leonel Leal (CRC)
2nd Asst.: Dion Innis (GUY)
4th Official: Erico Wijngaarde (SUR)

InsideSoccer Gamesheet
This report helps track the game to game player changes made by coach Nick Dasovic. So far only four players have played every minute of the tournament.

For the Haiti game, Dasovic made two changes, one tactical and one forced by the red card picked up by Will Johnson in the Mexico game.

Tyler Rosenlund benefited from the absence of Johnson. He started the game and scored Canada’s only goal in the 2-1 loss.

The tactical change saw Kyle Hall start in the place of Tosaint Ricketts. Ricketts made his return to action replacing Jacob Lensky at the half.

In the Guatamela game Will Johnson return to action and Rosenlund’s quality play in the Haiti game saw coach Dasovic move Jacob Lensky and Kyle Hall to the Bench.

Tosaint Ricketts returned to the starting line-up to replace Kyle Hall. The other tactical change was defensive as Graham Ramalho repalced Vancouver Whitecaps defender Diaz Kambere

Knight: Buddy, can you spare a corporate partnership?
I am writing this before the Canada-Guatemala men’s Olympic qualifying game. I do not know the result, or any details of the match.

If Canada wins, and gets a favourable outcome from the Mexico-Haiti match, our lads will be on to the semifinals. A win there, and they are off to Beijing regardless of what happens in the final. A loss, a draw or an unhappy break out of town, and they will have been eliminated.

I’m writing this before the game, because I have a question that may get different answers, depending on how today turns out. It shouldn’t. The following point matters, and should not be ignored if Canada qualifies, or negatively over-reacted to, should we lose: Is there enough money in Canadian international soccer?

If Canada’s medal chase ends today, the fact that the Canadian Soccer Association only has about $13 million dollars to pay for all its teams – and settle its lawsuits – will cause great anguish. Why wasn’t more spent on the Olympic team? Why did our lads have to play warm-up games against college squads, instead of their under-23 international peers?

If we win, this won’t seem as big a problem. It is, though. New methods of fund-raising have to be created. When the CSA finally gets around to releasing its alleged and pre-maligned new strategic vision, how will the issue of funding be handled?

» Full Story

“We had a good start to the game itself,” says coach Nick Dasovic. “I thought we were on our way to a minimum one point. Our legs went away in the second half again, though. We ran out of gas; it wasn’t a matter of the tactical, it was a matter of the physical.”

This match was much more open than the previous match two nights earlier against México. Canada started much of the same lineup, except Kyle Hall was in place for Tosaint Ricketts and Tyler Rosenlund was in place for Will Johnson (serving a one-match suspension). Canada was still very much getting into game shape, especially the players from European-based teams that had to fly overseas just a few days earlier.

Both goalkepers, Canada’s Joshua Wagenaar and Haiti’s Johnny Placide, traded good saves early in the first half, the latter on which was made on Hall. The teams settled down after that, but in the 17th minute Rosenlund found the back of the net for a 1-0 Canadian lead.

In the second half, the goalkeepers were at it again. Placide made a terrific save to push Andrzej Ornoch’s shot off the crossbar. Three minutes later, Wagenaar made a good save for Canada.

Canada continued to hold the lead until the 72nd minute after Alain Gustave tied the game. The Canucks were caught off guard after their own Nik Ledgerwood went down with an injury and they kicked the ball out of play. Instead of returning the ball with the throw in, Haiti took advantage of the situation and created its own sequence of passes that led to the Gustave goal via a one-time shot from the top of the box.

“We had an injured man down, so I think we were a bit naive on the play,” says Dasovic of Haiti’s tactics.

A few minutes after Haiti’s goal, Ornoch nearly put the Canucks back on top, but this time he was pulled down by Lescinel Jean-Francois inside the box. Less than a minute later, Canada got another strike on net.

In the 84th minute, though, Haiti’s Leonel Saint-Preux beat Wagenaar on a long shot from 30-35 yards out. Canada then failed to score an equaliser in the final ten minutes (including four minutes of injury time).

March 14, 2008
CANADA – HAITI 1:2 (1:0)
Attendance: 19,638

Scoring
CAN … Tyler ROSENLUND 17’
HAI … Alain GUSTAVE 72’
HAI … Leonel SAINT-PREUX 84’

Lineups
CAN: 18-Joshua Wagenaar – 3-Jacob Lensky (46: 11-Tosaint Ricketts), 4-Dejan Jakovic, 5-Andrew Hainault, 6-Nikolas Ledgerwood, 7-Andrazes Ornoch, 12-Diaz Kambere, 13-Kyle Hall, 14-Tyler Hemming (57: 8-Ryan Gyaki), 15-Tyler Rosenlund (86: 9-Andrea Lombardo), 16-Keegan Ayre. Booked: Ornoch 66’
Coach Nick DASOVIC

HAI: 1-Johnny Placide – 3-Parnel Guerrier, 4-Alain Vubert, 6-Lescinel Jean-Francois, 9-Leonel Saint-Preux, 10-Sony Norde (78: 8-Fritzon Jean-Baptiste), 11-Fabrice Noel, 12-James Marcelin (53: 14-Jacqueson Jean), 15-Ednerson Raymond, 19-Bidrece Azor (33: 13-Alain Gustave), 20-Judelin Aveska. Booked: Saint-Preux 82’
Coach Wilner ETIENNE

Statistics CAN–HAI
Goal Attempts: 11–18
Shots on Target: 3–7
Saves: 4–1
Fouls: 13–11
Corners: 3–3
Offsides: 4–4

Canada earned a 1:1 draw against México in the team’s first match at the 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament. Canada scored early, but México evened it up less than 20 minutes later and kept the pressure on through to the dying minutes of the game. Both teams were down to 10 players by game’s end.

In the first half, the Canucks got on the scoreboard early as Andrzej Ornoch slipped the ball through to Will Johnson who put the ball past Méxican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the third minute.

Canada kepts its lead for nearly 20 minutes before André Hainault was called for a yellow card and penalty. México’s Luis Ángel Landín stepped up and fired the shot past Canadian goalkeeper Joshua Wagenaar. Both sides then played out the first half with chances – Wagenaar made a big save in the 35th minute and Canada had a chance on a free kick in the 40th minute.

In the second half, México returned with pressure, but in the 67th minute Landín got his second yellow card and the Méxicans were down to 10 men. Canada quickly turned the play in their favour, but less than 10 minutes later the Canucks were also down to 10. Will Johnson was sent off with a direct red card.

In the last 20 minutes – with both teams playing 10 aside – the Méxicans kept the play on the Canadian side. Wagenaar and his defence, however, were up to the task. México was especially close late in the game with a great chance in the 89th minute, a free kick in the 90th minute, and another close chance in the 92nd minute.

Scoring
CAN … Will Johnson (3 min)
MEX … Luis Angel Landin (22 min PK)

murder in three acts download free

It was an chippy but even game in the first half. Canada opened the scoring in the 19th minute as Dejan Jakovic converted after a Tyler Rosenlund free kick.

In the second half, Canada made it 2-0 after substitutes Andrea Lombardo and Kyle Hall combined to beat UC Santa Barbara. Lombardo got the ball in the box and then Hall made a nifty play to score the goal.

UC Santa Barbara got one back in the 76th minute as Chris Pontius scored his first of two late in the game. Pontius scored from about 25 yards out. Four minutes later, though, Canada made it 3-1 as Ryan Gyaki kicked in a cross from substitute Tosaint Ricketts. UC Santa Barbara then scored the fifth and final goal of the game in the 86th minute as Pontius chipped the ball in the net.

Canada has one final weekend of preparations before next Wednesday’s CONCACAF opener against México. Canada still has a few players coming in from European teams. The final 20-player roster must be submitted to CONCACAF on 10 March.

Canada’s round-robin competition at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualification Tournament features México (12 March), Haiti (14 March) and Guatemala (16 March). Should they finish amongst the top-two teams in their group, they will advance to the semi-final on 20 March in Nashville, TN (to be played against a team from the other round-robin group). The semi-final winner will advance to the 26 March final and book their ticket for the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

With three weeks remaining before Canada embarks on its qualification campaign for the Beijing Olympics next August, the former Vancouver Whitecaps defender has identified 30 players ahead of the team’s training camp in Oxnard, California, on March 1.

Included in the provisional squad is Whitecaps defender Diaz Kambere. The Ugandan-born youngster made 16 appearances in his second season with the club in 2007, with 10 of those appearances coming as a starter. Kambere’s progress into the Whitecaps first team has been impressive, with the 22-year-old first joining the club’s reserve team in 2005. Prior to becoming a professional, the Surrey, BC, native was a standout player with both the Trinity Western University Spartans and the Langara College Falcons.

Kambere will hope to impress during the team’s California training camp, with Dasovic needing to select a final 20-man squad for the qualification tournament by March 10.

“I am looking forward to getting the team together, so we can finally start our preparations,” Dasovic said. “The CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament is a difficult one, but I feel confident in the players that we have selected to represent our country. I can’t wait to get the tournament started.”

Canada face a difficult qualification campaign for Beijing 2008. Dasovic’s squad will play Mexico (March 12), Haiti (March 14) and Guatemala (March 16) in Group B of the CONCACAF U-23 Championship in Carson, California. The top two nations from Group B will then advance to crossover semifinal games with the top two sides from Group A – which will consist of the United States, Cuba, Honduras and Panama – in Nashville, Tennessee on March 20. The two semifinal winners will not only advance to the March 23 final in Nashville, but also claim the two CONCACAF places in the men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. Canada last appeared in the men’s Olympic Football Tournament in 1984 in Los Angeles.

Canadian U-23 Olympic team provisional squad

Equipment manager/Goalkeeper coach Kevin Muldoon (Oakville, ON)
Doctor Dr Michael Campbell (Abbotsford, BC)
National teams administrator Dave Nutt (Ottawa, ON)

The 2008 CONCACAF U-23 Championship has two groups of four in the first round competing on a round-robin basis from 11-16 March.

Group A, which will stage games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, have Cuba, Honduras, Panama, along with the hosts, USA. Meanwhile, Group B, that will have encounters at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, consists of the defending CONCACAF Champion, Mexico, along with Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. Each first round venue will be hosting three doubleheaders in group play.

The semifinals and finals of the CONCACAF U-23 Championship will be held at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee on 20 and 23 March, respectively.

The eight-team tournament will not only crown the CONCACAF U-23 champion but also qualify two nations to the 2008 Olympic Games.

2008 CONCACAF UNDER-23 CHAMPIONSHIP

CONCACAF All-Time Men’s Qualifiers to Olympic Games

NOTES
No national teams from the North, Central American & Caribbean region participated in the Olympic Games from 1908-1920. From 1924-1956, CONCACAF teams either received an invitation or progressed directly to the Olympic Games. In 1960, the first Olympic Qualifying tournament was held that combined countries from both North and South America. From 1964 until the present, CONCACAF have staged qualifiers for only the teams within its region and since 1992 the age limit was sanctioned by FIFA to be only Under-23.