Football: US men 'devastated' at failure to qualify for Olympics

Sebastian Soto of the US dejected after the match in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 28, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

GUADALAJARA (REUTERS) - The United States are "absolutely devastated" at missing out on qualification for the Olympic men's football tournament following Sunday's (March 28) 2-1 defeat to Honduras, said coach Jason Kreis.

Defeat in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Olympic qualifying tournament means the United States will miss a third successive Games, with their last appearance coming in Beijing.

Juan Carlos Obregon and Luis Palma scored for Honduras with US captain Jackson Yueill replying for his side.

"Absolutely devastated," Kreis said after the match. "In our locker room, the guys are, it's like a tragedy.

"I think we all wanted this so bad ... and I think it could be that when you want it too bad, you put yourself in a position where you can't perform to the level needed.

"We weren't good enough to get it done, because I do believe we had enough quality in our team, we had enough ability in our team.

"But just at the end of it... tonight I didn't think it was quite enough."

Mexico will play Honduras in Tuesday's final after beating Canada 2-0 to secure the second berth to the July 23-Aug 8 Tokyo Olympics from the North and Central America and Caribbean region.

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