KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The United States romped to a 6-1 victory over a depleted Cuba squad on Saturday to guarantee itself a semifinal spot in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Matt Miazga and Jerome Kieswetter scored in the first half for the U.S., which beat Canada on Thursday night to open the eight-team tournament. Kieswetter added his second goal early in the second half, and Emerson Hyndman and Alonso Hernandez also scored.
Daniel Luis scored in second-half stoppage time for Cuba.
The Americans play their final group stage match against Panama, which lost 3-1 to Canada, on Tuesday night in Colorado. Cuba faces Canada in the other doubleheader match.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, and the two finalists qualify for the Rio Games, something that the U.S. failed to do for the London Olympics four years ago. The winner of the third-place match faces Colombia in a one-game playoff for another berth.
Cuba played the U.S. with just four bench players, two of them goalkeepers, after a wave of players presumably defected. CONCACAF confirmed Wednesday that three were missing, and a fourth did not show up for Thursday"s game. Another player, defender Brian Rosales, was absent Saturday.
Details of how or when the players left were not available.
Cuba also lost four players from its senior national team during the Gold Cup earlier this year. Those games were played in Chicago; Glendale, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Baltimore.
The Cubans put up a challenge much of the first half Saturday. They trailed just 1-0 and nearly scored the equalizer on a hard shot by Maykel Reyes in the 28th minute that forced American goalkeeper Zack Steffen to make a diving save.
But things unraveled for the Cubans just before halftime. Miazga"s header found the back of the net in the 35th minute, and Kieswetter capped a two-on-one breakaway a few minutes later.
Kieswetter, who plays for Stuttgart in Germany, scored again in the 48th minute. Hyndman and Hernandez tacked on goals later in the second half.
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Source: businessinsider.com
US romps to 6-1 win over Cuba in Olympic qualifying match
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