Closing Up a Successful Shop

Well, it wasn't the happiest way to end the tournament, but in the end it was mission accomplished for the OLYMPIC Team in Nashville. It's been 23 days of training, matches, traveling and bonding for the 20 players plus the staff.

From Bradenton to Tampa to Nashville, the players and coaches have gone their separate ways - Some to Krakow, Poland with the MNT, others back to their clubs. But they now all have the Olympic rings in their sights. We'll be checking in with the Olympic Team periodically leading up to Beijing in August, but in the mean time, enjoy a busy spring with both the MNT Blog as they gear up for major friendlies and World Cup qualifying, and of course the award-winning WNT Blog as it heads to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for their Olympic Qualifying campaign.

Scoreless at the Half

The U.S. and Honduras are deadlocked, 0-0 at halftime at LP Field. The U.S. seemed to have the better of the chances, but couldn't put one away. Cervi hasn't recorded an official save, but has been called upon to punch away a few crosses.

The U.S. has nine shots in the match, with two on target.

More PKs at LP

Once again, the first game of the double header between Canada and Guatemala here at LP Field has gone into a penalty kick shootout. This time there was no overtime - after a 0-0 regulation, Canada converted in the shootout to take a very respectable third place in the CONCACAF tournament.

That means, if either the U.S. or Honduras can't participate in the Olympics this summer for whatever reason, Canada will be next in line to take their place.

Tournament's Best XI

The CONCACAF Technical Study Group has announced its "Best XI" for the Qualifying tournament, along with seven players who earned Honorable Mention. The U.S. leads the way with five players being honored.

Midfielders Dax McCarty and Mo Edu, defender Michael Orozco and forward Freddy Adu were named to the Best XI (or "All-Tournament Team), and Sacha Kljestan earned honorable mention for his work in the midfield.

It's hard to argue putting the U.S. defenders and defensive midfielders in there, considering the U.S. has given up just one goal in the tournament. And, as you probably know, Freddy leads all scorers with four goals, even though he sat out the team's final group game.

Southern Hospitality

It's hard to describe the experience the team just had attending the Nashville Predators game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Sommett (pronounced "so-MAY") Center, just a few blocks from the hotel. We can't thank the Predators' family and fans enough for how well we were treated throughout our time in their "home". For a lot of our players, especially those from So Cal, this was their first live hockey game and after the Predators won in a shootout, they are hooked on the sport. Robbie Findley couldn't believe how fast the game was, and Mo Edu was ready to buy season tickets to the Maple Leafs.

Below is a slide show and a little description of what the afternoon was like... though we don't think the photos will do it justice!

The Predators hooked us up with a suite, complete with snacks, and Lora, our friendly waitress.

As we mentioned, this was the first live hockey game for many of our players. Here are Dax and Seitz helping their teammates figure out the rules.

Stu was trying everything to get on the Jumbo Tron – unfortunately he couldn’t top the Predator Dancing Super Fan during “Cotton-Eyed Joe”, but that didn’t stop him from trying…

Jozy was interviewed by Fox Sports Network during a break in the game



David Freeman, part of the Predators’ ownership group, also owns a piece of Derby County. He and his daughters are HUGE soccer fans, and they were a key part of the hospitality our team received. Here is David handing Coach Nowak a signed jersey and visiting with the players.

The staff also brought down t-shirts for all of the players, which they wore proudly, as you can see.

The team was introduced on the Jumbo-Tron during the second period, receiving a standing ovation from the nearly 20,000 fans in attendance. They showed highlights of Thursday’s game against Canada:

….and Stu finally got to be on the Jumbo-Tron.

Once they were on the Jumbo-Tron, the boys spent quite a bit of time signing autographs. Yes, that is a new MNT jersey that someone was wearing at the game. The players took the time to sign programs, tickets, tshirts and even shoes that were coming at them from every direction.

But of course, the highlight of the afternoon for most of the guys was a visit from the Predator cheerleaders, some of whom will be in attendance at our game on Sunday afternoon.

Seriously, we can't thank the Predators enough - especially David Freeman, Senior V.P. Gerry Helper and Director of Community Relations Rebbecca Ward for everything. It was a great way to spend an afternoon in Nashville. Our 13,000+ fans on Thursday night were great, and we hope tomorrow the people at LP Field will be as supportive of the team as the fans at the Sommett Center.

No Ball This Time

Sadly, the pool in the hotel doesn't look too kindly upon bringing balls into their pool. Don't worry though, the guys made due with the available kick boards as they switched back and forth between the pool and the hot tub. Some onlookers just couldn't turn away from a group of 16 pro athletes having kick board fights.

The players have the afternoon off, recovering from last night's game and celebrating with those whose friends and families were able to come out to last night's game. There were wives, fiances, parents and even some nieces and nephews who ventured to the Music City to see their loved ones earn a trip to Beijing. Lots of shopping and steak dinners are in store in celebration of last night's victory.

Same Team - New Name

Well, one of the perks of being officially qualified for Beijing is that the team will no longer be called "the Under-23 Men's National Team." Now they can be known simply as: The Men's Olympic Team.

They had to earn that title before they could start calling themselves the "Olympic Team," but now it's official.

Missing a Few

Well, the goodbyes have started. Some of the European-based players - Freddy, Charlie, Jonathan and Sal - said their goodbyes at breakfast and took off this morning to return to their clubs for weekend action.

The U.S. roster will be at 16 for Sunday's Final game. It should be an interesting rematch of Honduras eight days after the U.S. won, 1-0, in the group phase. That was only eight days ago? It feels like an eternity!

Beijing Bound

Well.... the dust has settled, the final whistle has blown. And the U.S. is heading to Beijing!!

The players and staff will start working on their Chinese, while removing the "if we qualify" disclaimer from everyone's mind. It's not longer "IF" we qualify.... the U.S. is heading to the Olympics this summer. Now what's left is the task of winning the CONCACAF tournament, but the team's biggest mission has been accomplished.

We will, of course, be back tomorrow - tonight we just wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy the 3-0 victory over Canada!

SACHA HAMMERS ONE HOME!!! 3-0 USA !!

Stu Holden with the ball in the corner. Turns in and lays it back for an onrushing Sacha Kljestan, who takes one touch with his left, and then buries it inside the near post with his right foot to make it 3-0 in the 78th minute.

FREDDY...YEEESSSSSSSS!!! 2-0 USA!!!

We couldn't have said it better than Max Bretos. From 23 yards out, slightly to the right, Freddy curls a free kick over the wall and it soars virtually uncontested into the back of the net. USA leads 2-0 in the 48th

HON Wins In Sudden Death PKs

120 minutes of scoreless action in tonight's first match have led to Guatemala and Honduras getting ready for PKs.

Here is how the shootout went down:

HON GUA
+ +
+ X
+ +
X +
+ +
+ +
+ X

That's right - sudden death shooters. And Honduras has clinched one of the two berths in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The USA-CAN kickoff is just moments away so stay tuned!