BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chicago Fire forward Chad Barrett and 2008 SuperDraft selection Dominic Cervi were named by U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Peter Nowak to the 20-player roster for 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying in advance of the team's first game against Cuba on March 11 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The match against Cuba will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The team arrived in Tampa yesterday after a nine-day training camp in Bradenton, Fla.
"We have seen many strong players over the past few months, and had some difficult decisions to make," said Nowak. "We feel that the group of players that will compete in the qualifying tournament represent the team that gives us the best chance of going through a difficult stretch of games to advance to the Olympic Games in Beijing."
After playing Cuba in their opening game on March 11, the U.S. will face Panama on March 13 at 8 p.m. ET and then finish Group A play against Honduras on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET. All three U.S. matches will be the second match of three doubleheaders played at Raymond James Stadium and will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN Deportes.
Group B features Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico facing off on March 12, 14 and 16 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. LP Field in Nashville will host the semifinals on Thursday, March 20. The top two teams from Group A and B will move on to the semifinals in Nashville, Tenn., where the winners will earn berths to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Fox Soccer Channel and ESPN Deportes will broadcast both semifinal games live on March 20 at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, and the championship match on March 23 at 5 p.m. ET. The third-place match on March 23 will be live on ESPN Deportes at 2 p.m. ET, but delayed at 3 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel.
Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Dominic Cervi, Chris Seitz
DEFENDERS (7): Hunter Freeman, Kamani Hill, Patrick Ianni, Michael Orozco, Jonathan Spector, Nathan Sturgis, Marvell Wynne
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu, Maurice Edu, Eddie Gaven, Stuart Holden, Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty, Sal Zizzo
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore, Chad Barrett, Charlie Davies, Robbie Findley
