Olympic Qualifying Tournament
U.S. Under-23s to Face Canada, Panama, and Cuba
Andrea Herzog’s U.S. under-23 men’s national team will face some familar opponents—Canada, Panama, and Cuba—as it seeks to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
August 18, 2015
5:20 PM
THE U.S. UNDER-23 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM received a big piece of news today: It will face Canada, Panama, and Cuba in the group phase of Olympic qualification.
Andi Herzog’s squad will kick off Group A play against Canada on October 1 at Sporting Park in Kansas City and remain in town to face Cuba on October 3. Group play will then shift to Colorado where the Americans will take on Panama on October 6 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park—home of the Colorado Rapids. Panama eliminated the United States during last month’s Gold Cup.
The U.S. men will be looking to erase the memory of its 2012 U-23 meltdown, during which the Caleb Porter-led squad failed to advance out of the group stages of Olympic qualifying.
The tournament’s Group B features Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, and the winner of a playoff between Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinal round, with the winner of the semifinal games (Oct. 10; Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah) qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The winner of the third-place game (Oct. 13; Rio Tinto Stadium) will go to a playoff against Colombia with a chance to book a trip to Brazil.
