Preview: US U-23 v. Cuba U-23 Olympic Qualifying 2012
Caleb Porter and the US U-23 Men’s National Team are set to open their Olympic qualifying bid for London 2012 tonight at LP Field in Nashville, TN; the game is set to start at 9:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on Universal/NBC Sports networks.
The US U-23s come into the match with a convincing preseason which included wins against MLS and NASL sides. The highlight of the training camps building up to tonight was a clinical performance against fellow CONCACAF rivals Mexico posting a 2–0 win in Frisco, TX.
Cuba U-23s are coming off a preseason which saw wins against Anuba, Guyana and Suriname U-23s and draws against Trinidad & Tabago and Saint Kitts & Nevis U-23s most recerntly.
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“They’re a very organized team. They have some attacking guys that are dangerous. We expect it to be a tight game. They’re going to be organized and disciplined and I don’t think they’re going to open up and run with us.” Said Caleb Porter, “I think they’re a team that’s probably going to sit and counter and in soccer, that makes things difficult but we’re prepared for that.”
Freddy Adu will be looking for revenge as he scored the lone goal in the 2008 Olympic qualifying final round which saw the US tie Cuba 1–1 on their way to Beijing. Adu captains the 2012 Olympic squad, this time around, and looks to feature as the centerpiece in a preferred 4–3–3 system. Adu, who has played at nearly every tier for the US National teams, has been vocal about his preference for the possession based system and can feature as either an inverted winger or a straight up №10.
“Wherever he puts me, a lot is asked of me in playing different roles. It’s not different in the sense that if I am out wide, I’m more pinched in anyway to be a second playmaker. It’s something in the back of my head,” said Adu.
Some other roster notes include, thirteen players previously playing in at least one World Cup at the youth level, and four players — Adu, Jared Jeffrey, Shea and Sheanon Williams — have appeared in both the U-17 and U-20 tournaments. The U-17 Residency Program developed 11 players who will represent the U.S. in Olympic qualifying: Adu and Michael Stephens from the 2003 cycle; Jeffrey, Amobi Okugo, Kofi Sarkodie, Shea and Williams from the 2007 cycle; and Agudelo, Joe Gyau and Kitchen from the 2009 cycle.
I’m excited to see the US exclusively use the 4–3–3 system in a legitimate competition at any level, for the first time. However the US line up, I expect that Cuba will look to frustrate the US and limit their creative chances by inviting mistakes in play and capitalizing on them. I have seen in recent training camps that teams who sat back and absorbed waves of offensive attacks from this squad, eventually buckled under the pressure and toward the end of a match looked overwhelmed. This is wholly the aim of a possession based system, to apply constant pressure throughout the match and dominate. I am curious to see at which point in the game the US will break down the Cuban defense and begin to exert their game plan as they have been successful in doing in the previous 5 matches.
