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Pressure packed U.S., Cameroon men tie; Kuwait upsets Czech Republic
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Pete Vagenas, who scored the tying U.S. goal in Saturday's 1-1 tie against Cameroon, says he took the high-pressure penalty kick because he couldn't bear it if anyone else missed. "I just wanted to get the ball into the net really quickly," said Vagenas, who admitted he was frustrated the team missed so many chances to score. "I raced in, said I'd take the penalty and just put my head down and went for it," he said of the 65th-minute kick. "I wanted the pressure to be on me, nobody else. I was feeling confident." Vagenas' successful strike ensured the United States still has a chance of qualifying for the second round of the Olympic tournament for the first time. With the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals, the U.S. must defeat Kuwait in Melbourne on Tuesday to qualify. Cameroon plays the Czech Republic in the other game. "I think we can create our own destiny," said Ben Olsen, whose incisive run in the second half set up one of the United States' best scoring chances. "I'm not sure of the math." U.S. coach Clive Charles said he resisted the temptation to substitute his forwards because he felt the momentum was swinging toward the Americans after Vagenas tied it.
"Once we tied it up, I felt we were going to score another one, so I left things alone," he said. "I'm proud of the way we fought back. We played against some world class players, we went a goal down and the team showed a lot of character to come back." Charles said it was just a matter of time before strikers Wolff and Conor Casey started converting chances into goals. "Yes, we had a lot of chances, but you don't need to tell a striker when he's missed a goal -- he knows," Charles said. "The important thing is we are still creating chances, and as long as we keep creating opportunities, we're going to score a bunch." Charles said Kuwait's win against the Czech Republic suited his plans. "It's a good result for us, because it's in our hands now," he said. "The fact Kuwait won, I have no problem with that. We felt we'd have to win our last game regardless ... we're in very good shape." Cameroon held a 1-0 lead at halftime on Patrick Mboma's penalty kick at 16 minutes. Referee Mario Fernando Sanchez ruled that U.S. defender Jeff Agoos had fouled Lauren Etame Mayer in the box. Mayer got around Olsen and had made a strong charge for the goal before he was brought down by Agoos. Mboma, a 28-year-old striker who plays for Parma in Italy, sent a curling left-footer into the right corner of the net. Vagenas tied it after Cameroon goalkeeper Daniel Bekono dragged down Wolff in the penalty area, giving the United States its second successive tie. Vagenas had no difficulty with the shot, firing a right-footed kick into the left corner of the net as Bekono dived the opposite direction.
The Americans should have taken the lead 10 minutes later, but Casey botched a routine chance against Bekono, kicking directly at the advancing goalie when he had two unmarked teammates in front of the net. Chris Albright and Wolff also had chances to win it, but Bekono blocked a shot from Wolff and then a header from Albright before the Cameroon defense cleared the ball off the line. Yellow cards Cameroon: Mimpo 41, Wome Nlend 69 USA: Friedel, McCarty, Agoos, O'Brien, Hejduk, Califf, Olsen, Vagenas, Albright, Wolff, Casey Cameroon: Bekono Ndene, Wome Nlend, Mimpo, Abanda Etong, Alnoudji, Njitap Fotso, Eto'o Fils, Mboma Dem (Mbami 77), Etame Mayer, Nguimbat, Epalle (Ngome Kome 65) Referee: Mario Fernando Sanchez Yanten (CHI) Att: 22,379 Kuwait 3, Czech Republic 2BRISBANE, Australia -- Faraj Saied scored twice within nine minutes in the second half Saturday to lead Kuwait to an upset 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic in the Olympic soccer tournament. The Kuwaitis recovered from an early goal by Marek Heinz only one minute into the match. Khalaf Almutairi netted the equalizer in the 65th minute, and Saied added goals in the 64th and 73rd. Roman Lengyel cut the gap in the 90th minute. --- Lineups: Kuwait-Shehab Kankone, Jamal Abdulrahman, Sadoun Slaman, Esam Alkandari, Abdullah Saihan, Hamad Altayyar, Salem Alburaiki, Naser Althman, Bashar Abdulaziz, Faraj Saied y Khalaf Almutairi (Adel Al-Anezi-88). Czech Republic-Jaroslav Drobny, Adam Petrous, Radoslav Kovac (Jan Simak-67), Roman Lengyel, Roman Tyce, Libor Sionko, Tomas Ujfalusi, Marek Jankulovski, Tomas Kucera, Milan Baros y Marek Heinz. Referee-Mourad Daami, Tunicia.
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