U.S. men's soccer team has issues

Just a few days away from its opening game at the Beijing Olympics, the U.S. men’s soccer team heard some unsettling words it didn’t want to hear on Saturday.

“Maybe we’re still a little naïve about international football,” Coach Peter Nowak said after the U.S. had been beaten, 1-0, by Cameroon in Hong Kong in its final warm-up match before the Games.

The loss was the second shutout in a row for the Americans, who were held to a 0-0 tie by the Ivory Coast in another warmup game last Wednesday.

Nowak, a former World Cup midfielder for Poland with extensive international experience as a player, said his team appeared hesitant.

“Going into games like this we have to expect that they’ll be physical, with a lot of contact,” he said, “so we have to prevail.”

After being shoved around in the first 45 minutes, during which Cameroon, the 2000 Olympic gold-medal winner, scored on a 24th-minute penalty kick by Aurelian Chedjou Fongang after a foul by Michael Bradley, the U.S. did better in the second half.

But whereas Cameroon also hit the post and had a shot cleared off the line in the first half, the U.S. again failed to score, stretching its streak without a goal in competitive play to 312 minutes, including a 1-0 overtime loss to Honduras in its final Olympic qualifying game in March.

Cameroon outshot the Americans, 8-7, including 5-1 in shots on target. The U.S. squad will travel to Tianjin on Sunday for games against Japan on Thursday (4:30 a.m., MSNBC) and against the Netherlands on Aug. 10. It then goes to Beijing for its final first-round game, against Nigeria on Aug. 13.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Photo: Freddy Adu, center, of the U.S. dribbles past Cameroon's Stephane Bikey Amougou (4), Stephane Mbia Etoundi (6), and Albert Legrand Baning in a warmup match Saturday in Hong Kong ahead of the Olympics. Credit: Jerome Favre/Associated Press

Comments

[ABE]

RE: Photo caption...NO, I don't believe Freddy Adu dribbled past the three Cameroon defenders. As usual, lil' "do-nothing" Freddy was dispossessed
of the ball, and Cameroon went on a speedy offensive attack, eh?

[Drsmoo]

Actually Abe, Adu did dribble past three Camerron defenders, it was quite beautiful actually, he did it several times as well. Just as he did against Spain and Argentina, and the Brazillian team of his pears. And just has he has been doing consistantly for a year or so.

Actually you can watch the full game on youtube if you want.

[James]

Adu has really deveoped nicely, not up to the hype, but he is still solid.