U.S. men qualify for Olympics

On a day when David Beckham was recalled to the England national team, Freddy Adu stole the headlines -- at least on this side of the Atlantic -- by scoring twice as the U.S. defeated Canada, 3-0, to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and make up for the disappointment of four years ago.

Adu, still only 18, scored both his goals off free kicks, each time following a foul on striker Jozy Altidore. Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan scored the third U.S. goal with a little less than 15 minutes left in the second half of a regional qualifying semifinal doubleheader in Nashville.

Joining the U.S. in China will be Honduras, which earned its spot by overcoming Guatemala, 6-5 on penalty kicks, after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime found the teams still tied, 0-0.

Goalkeeper Kevin Hernandez was the star for Honduras, saving Manuel Leon’s shot on Guatemala’s second attempt and then watching as Rafael Morales, with his team’s seventh kick, sent his effort sailing over the crossbar.

“There’s an immense happiness that comes up from your soul, because it was well deserved for everything they gave on the field,” Honduras Coach Alexis Mendoza said.

Adu provided some happiness too.

He gave the Americans the lead in the 27th minute with a well-struck free kick from just outside the penalty area.

Canadian goalkeeper Joshua Wagenaar got his fingertips on the ball but could not prevent it from going in at the far post. A run across the flight of the ball by Kljestan might have distracted Wagenaar enough to prevent him from making the save.

Three minutes into the second half, the Canadians made the same mistake, fouling Altidore within shooting range for Adu, who again found the back of the net with a shot that curved into the upper right corner.

The U.S. failed to qualify for Athens in 2004 when it lost to Mexico in the qualifying tournament semifinals in Mexico. This time around, Mexico failed to advance, falling in the first round.

U.S. Coach Peter Nowak has some interesting roster choices to make between now and August. Olympic teams are limited to players under 23 years of age but each is allowed a trio of older players to make the tournament more appealing.

On Thursday, the Galaxy’s Landon Donovan said he would be more than willing to go to China in August as one of the American veterans.

“If I’m chosen, I’d love to go,” Donovan said. “It’s the Olympics. You can’t say no to the Olympics. I would want to go.”

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grahame.jones@latimes.com