Let's be honest, the path to the 2012 Olympics in London is pretty easy for the U.S. men's team.
It was announced yesterday, the U.S. men's under-23 team (aka the Olympic squad) will face Canada, Cuba and El Salvador next spring in Nashville, TN for regional qualifying. They are coached by Caleb Porter, also the head coach at the highly successful University of Akron.
I'm not predicting 5-0 wins in each game but come on, the U.S. should roll over each of those garbage teams. Sorry, this isn't hockey (Canada) or baseball (Cuba). El Salvador isn't known for anything else, they just blow.
These games should serve as a sort of a warmup for the Olympics not to mention the World Cup qualifiers that some of the more talented team members will also participate in.
Striker Juan Agudelo is on the U-23 team and other guys eligible include goalkeeper Bill Hamid, defender Timothy Chandler, defender Alfredo Morales, midfielder Danny Williams, midfielder Freddy Adu, midfielder Brek Shea and striker Jozy Altidore. They have all been invited to the senior national team's camps and in some cases, they are already some of their top players.
The team can also call in three overage players for the Olympics, something to keep in mind as next summer approaches. As I said last week with the Euro 2012 draw, next summer is going to rule. Between Euro 2012, London Olympics, Champions League and World Cup qualifying, there is going to be plenty of world-class soccer around every corner.
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