USA drawn into Group A of CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S .Under-23 Men’s National Team was drawn into Group A with Canada, Cuba and Panama for the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will be played from Oct. 1-13 in the United States.
The USA opens with a pair of games at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, against Canada on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. CT and Cuba on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. CT. The U.S. will conclude group play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, on Oct. 6 against Panama at 7:30 p.m. MT.
“Now we know what’s ahead of us,” head coach Andi Herzog said. “It’s an interesting group and strong group and we want to win and advance. Canada we’ve looked at and we know they have some strong players in MLS. Panama is also strong and Cuba, we saw this summer in the Gold Cup, has some young players we expect to face in this tournament. In the end it’s an interesting group and we’re excited.”
Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, and the winner of the UNCAF playoff between Costa Rica and Guatemala, will make up Group B. The top two finishers from Group A and Group B will advance to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, for the all-important semifinals on Oct. 10.
Winners of the semifinal match-ups will advance to the Oct. 13 final and qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, while the losers will meet in a third place match, also on Oct. 13. The third-place winner will qualify for the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff, where it will face Colombia in a final opportunity to qualify for the Summer Olympics.
USA Group A Schedule
Oct. 1 – USA vs. Canada, 8 p.m. CT, Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.
Oct. 3 – USA vs. Cuba, 4 p.m. CT, Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.
Oct. 6 – USA vs. Panama, 7:30 p.m. MT, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
Oct. 10 Semi-Finals, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. MT, Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Oct. 13 Third Place Game, 5 p.m. MT, Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Oct. 13 Final, 5 p.m. MT, Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Groups
Group A: United States, Panama, Cuba, Canada
Group B: Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, Costa Rica/Guatemala winner
