CONCACAF's giants sputtering in Olympic qualifying

So far, Yordany Álvarez (10) and Cuba have stolen the spotlight from Freddy Adu and the U.S. in CONCACAF '08 Olympics qualifying. AP

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A casual observer at CONCACAF's Olympic qualifying tournament may not be able to pick out the supposed regional powers after the competition's rocky start.

Is it the home team -- the U.S. -- which squandered away an early lead in an agonizingly frustrating draw against Cuba, only to bounce back with an equally distressing 1-0 win over Panama in the second game?

Or is it the unofficial home side, Mexico, whose below-average results in friendlies leading up to qualifying apparently were a positive indication of things to come?

Will the regional powers please stand up?

Olympic qualifying hasn't gone according to plan thus far. Through the early stages of the tournament, a relative lightweight (Honduras) has snared the best results while the U.S. and Mexico have shown little creativity and flair with their respective finishing.

In fact, the team that has garnered the most attention thus far is Cuba, which has seen a bulk of its roster already win gold in the defection category. Seven players abandoned the Cuban Under-23 side and walked away from their homeland in search of sanctuary in the U.S.

Their continued participation in the tournament seemed in jeopardy after players such as captain Yenier Bermúdez and goalkeeper José Manuel Miranda walked away from the team, but a 10-man Cuban squad showed heart if nothing else in a 2-0 loss to Honduras on Thursday.

Though seemingly unlikely, Cuba could still qualify for the semifinal round. With a win over Panama and a Honduras victory over the U.S. on Saturday, Cuba could advance out of the group stage at the Americans' expense.

It was against the U.S. that Cuba first made noise. The Cubans fell behind in the group-stage opener Tuesday but equalized before halftime and endured a late American barrage to walk away with a 1-1 draw. The result seemed to buoy Cuba until the defections took the steam out of its surge in momentum.

The U.S., though, was anything but enthused following the draw. And although the team recovered and beat Panama 1-0 in the second match Thursday night, the offense was hardly any better. The Americans' only goal came via the penalty spot as Freddy Adu converted late in the first half.

Touted as one of its most experienced and talented Under-23 squads ever assembled, the U.S. failed to live up to expectations at the start. Even after the Panama match, the team is still suffering from a lack of finishing and creativity in front of goal.

But while the goals are still tough to come by, players said what matters most is gaining points, not finding the back of the net.

"At this point in the tournament, we're going for results," U.S. midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "We're not going to be the team that plays the best style of football necessarily."

The U.S. isn't the only regional power lacking a finishing touch. Like the Americans, Mexico relied on a referee's whistle for a bulk of its own attack as Luis Ángel Landín's successful penalty kick was Mexico's only offense against a gritty Canadian squad in the Group B opener on Wednesday.

El Tri's punchless attack was no trend. In five preparation matches entering the tournament, Mexico scored a total of three goals -- one came from the run of play, one was a penalty kick and the other an opponent's own-goal.

Before Mexico's participation, coach Hugo Sánchez promised things would be different. But the only difference was his own level of griping. Following Wednesday's match, Sánchez criticized the playing surface at Home Depot Center, complaining that the grass was too long.

Actually, Sánchez's complaint about playing surfaces in the U.S. is nothing new; he objected to the playing surfaces in last year's CONCACAF Gold Cup. Now he apparently sought to take the pressure off his Under-23 players by pointing to field conditions -- in what was seemingly a pristine field to other players and coaches -- for his team's offensive woes.

Entering the tournament, Sánchez was supposed to have led his team to the Olympics in convincing manner. Given the wealth of talent at hand -- so much that the squad was supposed to waltz through the group stage even without talented youngsters Giovani dos Santos, Carlos Vela and Andrés Guardado -- Mexico's sluggish start forced federation officials to address Sánchez's coaching status.

"Plan A is Hugo, Plan B is Hugo and Plan C is Hugo," Mexican Soccer Federation President Justino Compeán said on Thursday. "Our plan is still to get into the Olympics with Hugo."

Like the U.S., Mexico could alleviate some tension with three points and eventually a semifinal berth. To FMF officials, it's a step that isn't just hoped for, but expected.

"I'm convinced that we will get through to the Olympics with Hugo and in the 2010 World Cup," Compeán said. "It's premature to think about [a coaching change]. I don't want to waste my time thinking about that."