The Olympic field , in general , is not stacked like a World Cup would be . No con�nental confedera�on gets more than three berths . Two of the three European teams that qualified via UEFA ’ s U-21 championship were Israel and Ukraine . Among the other na�ons involved are Iraq , Uzbekistan , Mali , Egypt and the Dominican Republic .
For all of these reasons , men ’ s Olympic soccer can be something of a crapshoot . Modern-era men ’ s champions include Mexco , Camroon and Nigeria ; medalists include South Korea , Paraguay and Chile .
The women ’ s compe��on is simply a watered-down World Cup , with all stars eligible .
The 2008 U . S . Men ' s Olympic Team had an early exit a�er ge�ng so close needing only a goal to advance to the Knockout Round at the Beijing Summer Games . As it stood , the Americans finished with a 1-1-1 record in Group B .
They started on an op�mis�c note , defea�ng Japan 1x0 on Stuart Holden ' s 47th-minute goal in Tianjin on Aug . 7 . Goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned the clean sheet .
Three days later in the same city , the Olympic MNT squandered saw their lead against The Netherlands snatched away in the third minute of stoppage �me , as Gerald Sibon scored off a free kick to secure a 2x2 draw . Sacha Kljestan ( 64th minute ) and Jozy Al�dore ( 72nd minute ) wrote their names on the scoresheet for the U . S .
In the final group stage match in Beijing , Nigeria bested the U . S . 2x1 via goals from Isaac Promise and Victor Obinna . Sacha Kljestan pulled one back late with an 88th-minute penalty kick .
At this U . S . Men ’ s last Olympic appearance in 2008 , future senior team stalwarts like Jozy Al�dore , Michael Bradley and Sacha Kljestan represented the Red , White and Blue on the Olympic stage , narrowly missing out on advancement to the knockout round .
The USA best performance was a fourth-place at the Sydney 2000 Olympics . In that tournament , the U . S . bested Japan in penal�es , 5x4 , a�er a 2x2 draw in over- �me before falling to Spain in the semifinals and Chile in the third-place match .
Eighteen-year-old Landon Donovan starred Down Under and earned his senior team debut the following fall . At that compe��on in Australia , he was joined by future USMNT stars like Jeff Agoos , Josh Wolff and Tim Howard , who served as the overage Brad Friedel ’ s backup during the tournament .
Only once in the modern era have the US men go�en this far at the Olympics : at Sydney 2000 , where departed icon Clive Charles led the team to first place in their group , then edged Japan in a quarterfinal decided by penalty shootout before falling to Spain in the semifinals and eventually finishing fourth .
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