U.S. U23 MNT Prepares for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament - STM Staff

The U.S. Under-23 MNT are set to enter their final training camp in preparation for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament this February in Mexico. The road to the Olympics began in November, with a sound defeat of the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis in the second round of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying by an aggregate score of 10-0 in a home-and-home series after receiving a bye in the first round.

The opponents will be much tougher in Mexico.

The USA will play all three Group A matches at Estadio Tres de Marzo. First up is Panama on Tuesday, Feb. 3, followed by Canada on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Honduras on Sunday, Feb. 7. Kickoff times have yet to be determined for any of the final round matches. The U.S. games can be checked out live at ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

The USA are certainly the favorites to go through in from their group, but sound defense will be the key. The USA should go through to the knock-out stages undefeated. The tournament proper opens on Feb. 2 with Group B action featuring Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the host nation at Estadio Jalisco. The top two teams from each group will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Estadio Jalisco, with the winner of Group A meeting the second-place team from Group B, and the winner of Group B meeting the second-place team from Group A. The two semi-final winners will earn automatic berths to Athens 2004 and meet in the final on Feb. 12.

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament Schedule
GROUP A (All matches at Estadio Tres de Marzo)
Date Match-up Kickoff (local)
Feb. 3 Canada vs. Honduras TBD Panama vs. USA TBD
Feb. 5 Honduras vs. Panama TBD Canada vs. USA TBD
Feb. 7 Canada vs. Panama TBD Honduras vs. USA TBD GROUP B (All matches at Estadio Jalisco) Date Match-up Kickoff (local)
Feb. 2 Costa Rica vs. Jamaica TBD T&T vs. Mexico TBD
Feb. 4 Costa Rica vs. T&T TBD Jamaica vs. Mexico TBD
Feb. 6 T&T vs. Jamaica TBD Costa Rica vs. Mexico TBD
SINGLE ELIMINATION (All matches at Estadio Jalisco)

Semifinals
Date Match-up Kickoff (local)
Feb. 10 Semi #1 (A1 vs. B2) TBD
Semi #2 (A2 vs. B1) TBD
Final / Third Place Date Match-up Kickoff (local)
Feb. 12 Semi Losers TBD Semi Winners TBD

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