U.S. in group with Cuba, Canada and Panama for Olympic soccer qualifying

The U.S. will play Canada, Cuba and Panama in pool play of October’s Olympic qualifying soccer tournament and will need to finish in the top two of its group to advance to the semifinals and a shot at a berth in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In Group B, Mexico will play Honduras, Haiti and the winner of a playoff between Costa Rica and Guatemala.

The two teams in each group advance to the Oct. 10 semifinals of the CONCACAF men’s qualifying tournament, with the semifinal winners automatically advancing to the Olympic tournament. The winner of the third-place game will face Colombia in a playoff for the final spot in the Rio field.

The U.S. did not qualify for the London Games three years ago and has missed two of the past three Olympic tournaments. Of the four Olympics in which the U.S. U-23 team has played, it advanced out of group play just once, finishing fourth.

“We know what’s ahead of us,” U.S. Coach Andi Herzog said after Tuesday’s qualifying draw. “It’s an interesting group, and we want to win and advance.”

Group A will open play at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on Oct. 1 with Panama meeting Cuba and the U.S. taking on Canada. The U.S. will play Cuba two days later in the same venue before closing the first round Oct. 6 against Panama at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver.

The first four games of Group B will be played at the StubHub Center in Carson, where Honduras will open with Haiti while Mexico will play the Costa Rica-Guatemala winner, both on Oct. 2.

Haiti will play Mexico two days later before group play concludes on Oct. 7 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The semifinals will be played Oct. 10 at Rio Tinto Stadium outside Salt Lake City. That will also be the site of the third-place game and the final, both scheduled for Oct. 13.

Tickets for the qualifying games will go on sale later this month. For information, click here.