Tianjin, China -- The unheralded U.S. men's Olympic soccer team certainly wasn't spectacular, but it definitely did enough to come away with a solid 1-0 win over Japan Thursday morning in their opening group match at the 2008 Olympic Games.
It was the Americans' first Olympic victory since a 3-1 win over Kuwait at the 2000 Sydney Games that clinched their group title. It also was the first time since 1984 -- five Olympics ago -- that they had won their opening match of the competition (only team captain Brian McBride and defender Michael Parkhurst were alive back then).
"My boys put up quite a fight tonight," U.S. coach Peter Nowak said. "You prepare yourselves for two weeks, play games, then you try to find the right recipe. It wasn't a perfect game for us but in this case it was important to present ourselves the way we did tonight and get the three points for our mentality, our confidence. As a coach, my first Olympic win -- there's nothing better than that."
Look at how the U.S. pulled it off: The Americans used a fortuitous goal by Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden, a defense led by Maurice Edu that stretched but never snapped, a goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, who caught or knocked away everything headed his way. McBride, the old man at 36 years of age didn't score, but he was fouled six times, several times near the penalty area to set up free kicks. Freddy Adu had nothing to do with the goal, but his overall play -- he cleared the ball out of the defensive zone a couple of times -- helped the U.S. cause.
"We played a smart game," McBride said.
Smart enough to be in a position to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals, thanks to the Netherlands' scoreless draw with Nigeria Wednesday night.
Here's the scenario:
If the U.S. defeats the highly favored Netherlands, the Americans (three points) are in because the Dutch (one point) wouldn't be able to catch them and only the Nigerians (one) or the Japanese (none) would be able to surpass them.
If the U.S. loses, the Americans still would be in the running for a spot, although next Wednesday's Beijing encounter with Nigeria would be a must-win situation.
And, if the Americans tie the Dutch, they obviously still would be alive with the Nigeria confrontation still being the deciding match.
"We want to go as far as we possibly can," Adu said.
Quite appropriately, the unlikely scoring hero of Thursday's match was someone who had experienced a worse scoring drought than that the Olympic team, which was at 378 minutes and counting entering the match at Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium.
Holden hasn't scored in an MLS match this season -- 1,151 minutes over 16 games -- although he did find the back of the net in a 3-1 SuperLiga win over D.C. United July 19.
The U.S. attacked down the right flank early in the second half as former Red Bulls and current Toronto FC fullback Marvell Wynne beat defender Yuto Nagatomo. He sent a low ball toward the middle of the goalmouth, but captain and defender Hiroki Mizumoto deflected the ball toward the top of the box right to Holden. Holden took a step and then fired a 16-yard shot that trickled under and then past goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa for a 1-0 lead.
The U.S. had not found the back of the net in 425 minutes, or since Sammy Ochoa's goal in the 3-2 loss to Turkey in the Toulon Tournament May 21. The scoreless streak included six games -- four consecutive shutouts and parts of two others.
"It's a good feeling, obviously, to get a goal," Holden said. "It's a great feeling not only for me personally but to help the team win. If we hadn't gotten the three points it wouldn't have been as exciting."
On the other end of the field, Toronto FC's Maurice Edu, a midfielder-turned-defender for the U.S. side, spearheaded a defense that broke up and survived several Japanese attacks and near misses.
U.S. coach Peter Nowak tried Edu in central defense during the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in March. He acquiesced himself well and Nowak decided to use him there in the Olympics after injuries to defenders Jonathan Spector and Nathan Sturgis.
"We knew from the beginning that we needed to find some options," Nowak said. "Mo is a very intelligent player and he did very well. The cooperation between him, Michael Parkhurst, . . . I'm very happy with how Maurice played tonight and I'm looking forward to having this kind of quality player not only for the Olympic team but also the senior team."
Edu has settled in, quite nicely. "They feel confident in me back there, and I feel confident playing there," he said.
Nowak solved a glaring first-half problem with a halftime adjustment. For a good portion of the opening 45 minutes, Japan right back Atusuto Uchida owned the right side, causing major headaches for midfielder Robbie Rogers and left back Michael Orozco with his overlapping runs.
"We knew that the Japanese team is very dangerous on the counterattack and they find good spots to get between our defenders and midfielders," Nowak said. "We did make a few adjustments in the locker room at halftime to correct these problems. There were some lapses.
"It wasn't a perfect game from us. We still have to be more focused and disciplined. From that perspective the players adjusted very well in the second half. We still kept playing our game."
The Americans will have an opportunity to improve with two more opening-round matches. Incidentally, they have never won two Olympic matches in the same tournament.
The competition doesn't get any easier with the Dutch looming Sunday here. And even though the U.S. posted a "W," you have to remember the Americans have scored but nine goals in their last nine games, not exactly gold-medal numbers.
But, a couple more wins and the scoring woes may be forgotten.
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