Posted on February 8, 2012
The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team will host its Mexican counterparts at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Feb. 29 at 10 p.m. ET, in an important match before the CONCACAF Men’s Olympic qualifying tournament begins.
The U.S. U-23 team will convene in Frisco on Feb. 19 to train in preparation for the match. U.S. coach Caleb Porter will name his roster in the near future.
The Americans and El Tri are in different qualifying groups. The earliest they could meet would be in the semifinals, as the winners of those encounters would determine CONCACAF’s two qualifying games for the London Olympics.
“This game is very important for our players and comes at a critical time for us before the start of Olympic qualifying,” Porter said. “In this camp we expect to have the majority of the players who are in contention for final roster spots for qualifying. A match against Mexico will serve as a great measuring stick both individually and collectively as we put the finishing touches on our roster selection.”
CONCACAF Olympic qualifying begins on March 22, with Group A games being played at LP Field in Nashville and Group B games at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Americans were drawn into Group A with Canada, Cuba and El Salvador. Group B is composed of Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago.
The U.S. and Mexico U-23s could face each other in the elimination rounds of qualifying if one team finishes first in its group with the other team in second place in its group. Should the USA advance out of Group A, it will play in the second semifinal match at 8 p.m. on March 31. The teams could also meet in the final if they advance to separate semifinals and win.
The semifinals and final will be played at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., on March 31 and April 2, respectively.
The U.S. U-23s last met Mexico during qualification for the 2004 Olympic Games, with Mexico emerging with a 4-0 victory. Current U.S. National Team players DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman and Landon Donovan were part of the U.S. team.
Photo: Juan Agudelo and the U.S. U-23 team will play their Mexican counterparts in an international friendly on Feb. 29, prior to Olympic qualifying. Scott Bales/YCJ
Categories: Mexico, North America, Olympic Qualifying, U.S.A.
Tags: 2012 London Olympics, Caleb Porter, FC Dallas Stadium, Liverstrong Sporting Park, Olympic qualifying tournament
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