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Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Soccer-U.S. men's team 'devastated' at failing to qualify for Olympics: coach

Soccer Football - Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers - Semi final - Honduras v United States - Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico - March 28, 2021 Jackson Yueill and Aaron Herrera of the U.S. looks dejected after Honduras' Juan Carlos Obregon scored their first goal REUTERS/Henry Romero

The United States are "absolutely devastated" at missing out on qualification for the Olympic men's soccer tournament following Sunday's 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 U.S. captain Jackson Yueill replying for his side.

Soccer Football - Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers - Semi final - Honduras v United States - Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico - March 28, 2021 Honduras' Jose Reyes celebrates after the match as Jackson Yueill of the U.S. looks dejected REUTERS/Henry Romero

"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.

Soccer Football - Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers - Semi final - Honduras v United States - Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico - March 28, 2021 Sebastian Soto of the U.S. looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Henry Romero

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

Honduras will play Mexico in Tuesday's final, with both teams advancing to the July 23-Aug. 8 Tokyo Olympics from the North and Central America and the Caribbean zone.

Soccer Football - Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers - Semi final - Honduras v United States - Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico - March 28, 2021 Sebastian Soto of the U.S. looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Henry Romero

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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