U.S. Men's Olympic Soccer Team Ready to Take on the Netherlands on Sunday in Olympic Group Play

U.S. Men's Olympic Team
2008 Olympic Games
August 8, 2008

OFF IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: The U.S. Men's Olympic Team is ready to continue its journey at the 2008 Olympic Games, taking on the Netherlands in the second game of Group B play on Sunday, August 10 at 7:45 p.m. in Tianjin. The Americans head into the game holding on to the top place in one of the most difficult groups in the tournament after picking up the full three points from a 1-0 victory against Japan on August 7. If the U.S. earns three points for win vs. the Netherlands, they will book a place in the knockout round. Sunday's match will be broadcast live on the USA Network and on the NBC Soccer Channel at 7:45 a.m. ET. Fans can also follow the action live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker.

Group B Standings
Team   W   L   T  Pts  GF  GA  GD
USA      1    0   0    3     1     0    +1
NED      0   0   1    1     0     0      0
NGA      0    0   1    1    0     0      0
JPN       0    1    0    0   1     2     -1

Aug. 7
Japan 0, USA 1
Netherlands 0, Nigeria 0

Aug. 10
Nigeria vs. Japan, 5 a.m. ET
USA vs. Netherlands, 7:45 a.m. ET

Aug. 13
Netherlands vs. Japan, 7:45 a.m. ET
Nigeria vs. USA, 7:45 a.m. ET

ONCE IN A LIFETIME: The U.S. Men took a break from training on Friday to attend the Opening Ceremonies. The team took a bus about 70 miles to Beijing, went through their post-game regeneration and lined up at the Bird's Nest with the more than 500 other athletes representing the United States of America at the 2008 Olympic Games.

2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (4): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

QUICK HITS:

• The 47th minute goal scored by Stuart Holden was the first scored by the U.S. Men's Olympic Team since September 26, 2000 when Peter Vagenas scored in the team's 1-3 semifinal loss to Spain in Sydney.
• The USA and the Netherlands have never met in the Men's Olympic Football Tournament.
• Americans Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley and Brad Guzan received yellow cards against Japan. If they receive another yellow card before the semifinals, they will be forced to sit one game. For this competition, yellow cards will reset after the quarterfinals, so that any player with one yellow card at that time will have a clean slate going into the semifinals.
• The Beijing Games are the 13th Olympic tournament for the U.S. Men, more than any nation except Italy (15).
• Midfielder Dax McCarty was a late addition to the U.S. roster, joining the team on July 24 after defender Nathan Sturgis suffered a hamstring injury. Kansas City Wizards defender Michael Harrington was added to the team's list of alternates.
• McCarty, who is one of 12 players who helped the team qualify for the Olympics in March, joined midfielder Freddy Adu, and defenders Maurice Edu and Michael Orozco on the Qualifying Tournament Best XI. Midfielder Sacha Kljestan earned an Honorable Mention.
• Of the four players named as alternates to the U.S. team, only goalkeeper Dominic Cervi will travel with the team throughout their stay in China.
• Seven players were part of the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Jozy Altidore was among the leaders of that tournament with four goals, Adu had three and Michael Bradley scored the overtime winner in the Round of 16 match against Uruguay.
• Six players participated in the 2005 edition of the U-20 World Cup, including Adu and Danny Szetela, the only players to have appeared for the U.S. more than once. Other members of the 2005 team included Benny Feilhaber, Patrick Ianni, Sacha Kljestan and Marvell Wynne.
• The U.S. team ranges in age from 18 (Altidore) to 36 (Brian McBride). The other two overage players – Brad Guzan and Michael Parkhurst - were both born in 1984, making them less than a year too old to be considered Under-23.
• Parkhurst was named Major League Soccer's Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 at just 23 years old, while Guzan was last year's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year at the same age. Edu was also an award winner last year, as he was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: U.S. captain McBride is not only the oldest footballer at the 2008 Games, but also the oldest player since the current format (Under-23 +3) was adopted for the 1992 Games. At 36 years and two months, the American forward is the eighth oldest to ever compete in the Men's Olympic Soccer Tournament. The oldest was Guatemala's Ricardo Piccinini who played in the 1988 Games in Seoul at 39.

FRIENDS AND FOES: U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley has spent the better part of two years playing for Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie, where he has learned Dutch and studied their national team. Read what Bradley had to say about the upcoming clash with the Netherlands squad that includes three of his Heerenveen teammates at ussoccer.com.

GLIPMSE AT THE NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands are participating in their first Olympic Games in 56 years, but qualified for the Beijing Games in style. They won the 2007 European Under-21 Championship on their home turf, scoring 10 goals in five games. Head coach Foppe de Haan has called in strikers Roy Makaay and Gerald Sibon and defender Kew Jaliens as an overage players to bolster his squad. Of the 18 players on the roster, 13 play domestically in the Netherlands and the remainder are spread between England (Ryan Babel, Gianni Zuiverloon), Spain (Hedwiges Maduro, Roy Drenthe) and Scotland (Evander Sno). The Dutch will be looking to move up in the Group B standings after a scoreless draw in their opening game against Nigeria. They will have to do so without the service of forward Sno, who was issued a red card in the team's opener and will serve a one-game suspension.
Netherlands Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Piet Velthuizen (Vitesse Arnhem), 18-Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax)
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Gianni Zuiverloon (West Bromwich Albion), 3-Dirk Marcellis (PSV Eindhoven), 4-Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), 5-Erik Pieters (PSV Eindhoven), 6-Kees Luijckx (AZ Alkmaar), 13-Calvin Jong-a-Pin (Heerenveen)
MIDFIELDERS (4): 7-Jonathan de Guzman (Feyenoord), 8-Urby Emanuelson (Ajax), 12-Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), 15-Roy Drenthe (Real Madrid), 17-Otman Bakkal (PSV Eindhoven)
FORWARDS (4): 9-Roy Makaay (Feyenoord), 10-Gerald Sibon (Heerenveen), 11-Ryan Babel (Liverpool), 14-Evander Sno (Celtic), 16-Roy Beerens (Heerenveen)

Last Time Out:
USA
August 7, 2008 - Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin - Olympic Games, Group B
USA       1      Holden, 47
Japan      0

USA: Guzan; Wynne, Edu, Parkhurst, Orozco; Holden (Feilhaber, 83), Bradley, Kljestan, Rogers (Szetela, 87); Adu, McBride, (Altidore, 74)
JPN: Nishikawa; Mizumoto, Nagatomo, Morishige, Uchida; K. Honda, Kajiyama (Lee, 64), Taniguchi, Kagawa (Okazaki, 84), T. Honda; Morimoto (Toyoda, 73)

Netherlands
August 7, 2008 - Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin - Olympic Games, Group B
Netherlands     0
Nigeria              0

NED: Vermeer; Zuiverloon, Marcellis, Jaliens, Jong-A-Pin; Maduro (Sno, 46), Emanuelson (Bakkal, 81), De Guzman, Drenthe; Babel, Makaay (Sibon, 46)
NGA: Vanzekin; Okonkwo, Apam, Adeleye, Adefemi; Kaita, Isaac (Ekpo. 88), Ajilore, Obinna; Okoronkwo (Ogbuke, 70), Odemwingie (Amichibe, 80)

LOOKING BACK AT JAPAN: Though the players have shifted their focus to Sunday's contest, you can still check out behind-the-scenes footage from Thursday night's affair. For exclusive audio and video content following the first Olympic win for the U.S. Men in eight years, check out ussoccer.com.

NBC TO PROVIDE CHANNEL EXCLUSIVELY FOR OLYMPIC SOCCER COVERAGE: NBC Universal has launched a channel exclusively dedicated to full coverage of Men's and Women's Soccer at the 2008 Olympic Games. A total of 32 Men's and 26 Women's Soccer Games will be shown in their entirety on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel, in addition to coverage on USA Network, MSNBC and live streaming on NBCOlympics.com. The seven NBC Networks — NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD — will provide an unprecedented 3,600 hours of coverage, all in high definition. NBCOlympics.com will also provide over 3,000 hours of on-demand access to full event replays and extensive highlights. The NBC Olympic Soccer Channel is available on most major cable, satellite and telephone companies and distributors.

STUDIO 90 IN FULL EFFECT: The Studio 90 crew is splitting time between Tianjin, Qinhuandao and the home offices in Chicago, and you can come along on the journey. Watch Carli Lloyd and Angela Hucles talk about the need to bounce back from their opening day loss, while Michael Bradley gives a scouting report on a Netherlands squad that boasts four players from his club team, SC Heerenveen, as well as leading Dutch marskman Roy Makaay. Don't forget to check back on ussoccer.com all weekend long where U.S. Soccer's all_access video will have post-match reaction and all the news and updates from China.

JOIN U.S. FANS TO WATCH THE OLYMPICS AT A LOCAL WATERING HOLE: What's better than being surrounded by jersey-clad fans that live and die with every breath-taking goal, nerve-racking foul and brilliant save? If that's the tradition that you're looking for - and some great food to boot - head to the Official U.S. Soccer Bars to take in the USA's matches as they search for Olympic Gold. Summer's Grill and Sports Bar in Arlington, Va. is showing the game live at 7:45 a.m. ET with replays at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET. Nevada Smith's will be the place to watch the game in New York City, with a live viewing at 7:45 a.m. ET and repeats all day. The Globe in Chicago will be the place to catch the action in the Midwest, starting at 6:45 a.m. with the live kickoff.

BUSY BLOGGING: The Olympic Team is back in blog action since making the journey to the Far East. You can read all about the trip and keep up on the latest happenings and behind-the-scenes news on the YNT Blog. Click on http://ynt-ussoccer.blogspot.com/ to keep up with the action.

- www.ussoccer.com -

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