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Official: Soccer crowd will grow with importance

By Brandon Wright, Times Correspondent
Published March 13, 2008

TAMPA - The United States and Cuba under-23 men's teams met for the first time in history Tuesday night at the Olympic qualifying tournament. The match featured 19 shots by the Americans, a number of near misses and a nifty Cuban goal near halftime that led to a 1-1 draw.

But few were there to see it.

The announced crowd of 4,359 made the 65,000-plus-seat Raymond James Stadium appear practically empty. By comparison, the full men's national team drew 31,547 in a 3-1 win against Ecuador in May and the Blake-Middleton high school football game in the fall attracted an estimated 8,000.

U.S. Soccer Federation communications coordinator Neil Buethe said the crowd was not a disappointment.

"As in any city we go to, we try to get the word out and sell the most possible tickets," he said. "We were happy with the crowd and the level of enthusiasm they brought to the game inside the stadium."

Buethe said he expects a better crowd for Saturday's doubleheader featuring the United States against Honduras and Panama facing Cuba.

"I can definitely say that there will be a larger crowd this weekend than Tuesday," he said. "Either Saturday game will be important in terms of advancing."

The two top finishers from the Group A qualifier in Tampa advance to the semifinals in Nashville. The winners of those matches move on to the Olympic Games this summer Beijing.

LOOKING BACK: It would be hard to discern that the Americans played to a draw from their body language. When the final whistle blew, Cuban players congratulated and hugged each other while nearly all the Americans headed to the locker room with their heads hung.

"For me it was a disappointment," attacker Charlie Davies said. "I think if we kept pressing them we could have got the goal we needed to end the game."

After a furious American attack to start the match, Freddy Adu connected in the 14th minute before the Cubans tied it in the 42nd. The United States outshot Cuba 19-6, 11-1 in the second half, but Cuba converted its only legitimate chance.

"As soon as we scored we sat back and let them play and get comfortable," Davies said. "If we kept pressuring them, the game would have had a different outcome."

ALTIDORE UPDATE: U.S. officials confirmed that striker Jozy Altidore will be available for tonight's match. Altidore was substituted at halftime Tuesday after a number of collisions with Cuban defenders.

[Last modified March 13, 2008, 00:29:31]