Adu named USA Olympic skipper
Ghana-born midfielder Freddy Adu was named captain of the USA Under-23 side that will try to qualify for the London Olympics at the CONCACAF regional tournament on home soil this month.
Adu, who plays for Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, was on the 20-man USA roster announced on Tuesday by coach Caleb Porter.
"We
feel very confident about the team we've put together to help us
achieve our goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games," Porter said.
"This group is united and ready for the challenge."
Adu joined DC United of MLS at age 14 in 2004
as a highly touted prodigy, becoming the youngest US pro athlete in 115
years, but struggled the past four years with European clubs in France,
Portugal, Greece and Turkey.
The Americans
were drawn into qualifying Group A with Canada, Cuba and El Salvador and
open play against Cuba on Thursday at Nashville, Tennessee, with games
against Canada on Saturday and El Salvador on Monday.
Group B includes Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago and will play group matches in Los Angeles.
Two
teams from each group advance to the semi-finals and semi-final match
winners on 31 March will qualify for the Olympics with the tournament
final on 2 April.
The only change to the
roster from the prior training camp line-up was the addition of Sheanon
Williams to replace defender Josh Gatt, who was recalled by Norwegian
club side Molde. The US squad includes 14 MLS players.
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