U.S., Cuba play to a 1-1 tie in Olympic qualifying opener

The United States got off to an inauspicious start in its quest to qualify for the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday night when it was held to a 1-1 tie by Cuba in Tampa, Fla.

An early goal by FreddyAdu, who was a driving force for the U.S. throughout the 90 minutes, appeared to put the Americans in control, but they took their foot off the pedal and that allowed Cuba to score the tying goal just before halftime.

It came from RobertoLinares, who directed the ball past goalkeeper ChrisSeitz from close range in the 42nd minute after a good attacking play in which YordanisAlvarez provided the telling final pass.

Coach PeterNowak replaced JozyAltidore with Chivas USA midfielder SachaKljestan for the second 45 minutes, during which the U.S. applied almost nonstop pressure but to no avail.

Linares was unfortunate to be sent off after picking up a second yellow card in the 83rd minute when he kicked the ball into the U.S. net after an offside call had been made. It was a harsh decision by Guatemalan referee WalterLopez and means Linares will be suspended for the next game.

Adu, who had hit the left post with a shot in the second minute before scoring 12:59 into the match, saw several other opportunities go begging. He had a couple of shots go narrowly wide and another well saved by goalkeeper JoseManuelMiranda, who also denied DaxMcCarty and RobbieFindlay with fine saves.

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In the opening match of the qualifying series, Honduras managed to eke out a 1-0 victory over Panama on a 90th-minute goal by HendryThomas. The Panamanians came within inches of earning a tie in stoppage time, but a 25-yard free kick by NelsonBarahona saw the ball crash off the crossbar.

GabrielTorres latched onto the rebound, but his shot was tipped over the bar by Honduran goalkeeper KevinHernandez to preserve the victory.

Honduras, which leads the group with three points, will play Cuba on Thursday and the U.S. will play Panama.

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Olympic qualifying continues Wednesday with Haiti playing Guatemala at 5:30 p.m. and Canada playing Mexico at 8 p.m. at the Home Depot Center.

It could be a curious tournament for both teams. While the U.S. team features a player, defender MichaelOrozco, who plays for San Luis in the Mexican league, Canada has gone a step further and its roster features a Mexican-born player – forward IsidroSanchez-Macip, who plays for Puebla de Zaragoza but is eligible for Canada because his mother is Canadian.

Mexico should not consider Canada a pushover. Ten of the Canadian players play for clubs in Europe and two others are with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.

One of Mexico’s leading sports newspapers, Esto, has gone so far as to suggest – tongue in cheek – that Mexico might not make it to Beijing. While Coach HugoSanchez’s team was training at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista recently, members of its delegation were said to be snapping up China ‘08 souvenirs from the gift store.

“The shopping … was done as if they were not going to China,” Esto reported. “This seems to be a bad omen.”

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The New York Red Bulls’ trip to Austria proved to be a costly one, with the team losing Jamaican international midfielder Dane Richards for up to three months because of a torn ligament in his right knee.

The injury was sustained when Richards was on the receiving end of a brutal tackle from Harald Pichler of Red Bull Salzburg’s reserve team in an unfriendly friendly. Initially thought to be less serious, the injury will not require surgery but will keep Richards, 24, on the sideline until June.

A second-round draft pick out of Clemson, Richards was a candidate for MLS rookie of the year in 2007 and his name had been mentioned earlier this year as being someone New York might give up in order to land defender Wilman Conde of the Chicago Fire.

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The New England Revolution, the league runner-up in each of the last two seasons, Tuesday added some firepower by signing youth international ArgenisFernandez from Santos de Guapiles of the Costa Rican league.

Fernandez, 20, played for Costa Rica at last year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada and was described by MikeBurns, a former U.S. international who now is the Revolution’s director of soccer, as “a dynamic young forward who has the potential to add a new dimension to our team.”

But at only 5 feet 6 and a mere 125 pounds, it remains to be seen if Fernandez can withstand the rigors of MLS.

grahame.jones@latimes.com