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U.S. Knocked Out of OlympicsCostly Cards, Mental Errors Eliminate United States in ChinaThe United States were bounced from the Men's Olympic Soccer Tournament not for a lack of talent or courage, but rather poor fouls and bad decisions.
In fact, Peter Nowak's team showed it could trade punches with a talented Dutch side and displayed true grit against a speedy Nigeria team that was a man up practically the whole game. In the end, the inability to put foes away and senseless yellow and red cards conspired against them. Red Card Costs U.S. in 2-1 Loss to NigeriaAny hopes of making the medal round were undone by the elbow of Michael Orozco, whose garnering of a red card in the third minute was harsh, but nonetheless, costly. Whether there was some overdramatizing or not by Solomon Okoronkwo, Orozco's actions forced head coach Peter Nowak to put midfielder Robbie Rogers at left back and forward Jozy Altidore in the midfield where Rogers had just vacated. The Super Eagles' penchant for constantly committing players forward left Samson Siasia's squad vulnerable at the back--a move that gave the U.S. hope that a goal could be had, especially after a Promise Isaac tap-in in the 39th lead gave the Nigerians the lead. Unfortunately, the humidity and the speed of their African opponents led to Victor Obinna tally with eleven minutes left, which relegated Sasha Kljestan's penalty conversion in the 86th minute into a mere footnote. Dutch Taken to the BrinkThe 2-2 tie versus the Netherlands in the second game of the group stage was bittersweet to say the least, with the Dutch tying the game on a Gerald Sibon free kick in the dying seconds of injury time. Not only could it have been one of the great upsets in U.S. history, but it would have capped off a game that witnessed the underdog Americans dictating play to the almighty Orange, who had been outplaying their counterparts in the early moments. The combination of passes that led to the game-tying goal by Kljestan was a sight to behold and the back four led by Michael Parkhurst and converted midfielder Maurice Edu showed its resolve after looking shaky for the first 15 or so minutes. The Netherlands tried to utilize the speed of striker Royston Drenthe, but the Real Madrid striker was repeatedly stuffed by defender Marvell Wynne. Adu & Bradley Miss Deciding GameThe quest for the quarterfinals actually started to unravel in the early stages of the second half, when the much-hyped Freddy Adu took yellow card for the second time in two games, thus making the Monaco-bound playmaker ineligible for the Nigeria match. This proved costly since Adu's ability to retain possession and go at opponents was sorely lacking versus the Super Eagles. Michael Bradley's second yellow card for time wasting was a gamble that did not pay off after Sibon's goal nullified the chance to clinch a quarterfinal berth with a game left. Instead, Bradley watched from the sidelines as the Nigerians dealt the critical blow. Maybe the Heerenveen midfielder thought he was being slick by taking the card, which would give him a clean slate for the quarterfinal match, but you have to win the game first. Edu Heads to ScotlandNot all was lost in China. Edu's continued progress at Toronto FC and solid defending at the Olympics resulted in a transfer to Scottish powerhouse Glasgow Rangers. The top pick in the 2007 MLS Draft has been a pleasure to watch as a defensive midlfielder in MLS and has started to become a regular call-up for the U.S. National Team.
The copyright of the article U.S. Knocked Out of Olympics in International Soccer is owned by Christopher O'Donnell. Permission to republish U.S. Knocked Out of Olympics in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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