BY SCOTT FRENCH in Canberra, Australia Chris Albright and Josh Wolff scored on first-half tap-ins and the U.S. men’s Olympic team dominated much of its Sydney Games opener against the Czech Republic on Wednesday night before settling for a 2-2 draw before a sellout crowd of 24,800 at Bruce Stadium in the Australian capital. Albright, playing on the right wing, knocked home a feed from Wolff to give the Americans a 21st-minute lead, and Wolff put away a Conor Casey pass in the 44th to restore the Yanks’ advantage in the Group C opener. The Czechs battled back twice, with an impressive goal by Marek Jankulovski in the 28th minute and a Lukas Dosek penalty kick seven minutes into the second half. The United States’ speed and ball movement bothered the Czechs much of a tense, sometimes thrilling and often ugly clash, and their defenders struggled to handle Wolff and, particularly, Casey. “Part of me is disappointed,” said U.S. coach Clive Charles, who’d said before the match that he’d gladly accept a point against the highly regarded Czech side. “The players were very disappointed, and that makes me feel good. They felt we were the better team and should have won.” The might have had they had better luck with a pair of chances about 20 minutes into the second half. The first, in the 64th minute, came off a long throw from goalkeeper Brad Friedel that cleared the Czech defense and left Wolff racing into the box one-on-one with Czech keeper Jaroslav Drobny. Wolff wasn’t able to get full control of the bouncing ball, and Dosek slipped in to knock it away just as the Chicago Fire striker was about to shoot. A minute later, defender Jeff Agoos nearly beat Drobny with a vicious volley from 28 yards “They were a wonderful team,” praised Czech coach Karel Bruckner. “I must say that tonight we were defending with all our might.” John O’Brien also performed strongly for the Americans, who found the going tough on the wings but were able to do almost as they pleased in the middle of the park. They grabbed their first lead after Wolff rounded Dosek on the left, brought the ball up the byline and snaked it through the goalmouth. It eluded Casey at the near post and got by two defenders, and Albright finished it at the far post. Jankulovski — who played for the Czechs at the European Championship earlier this summer — evened things eight minutes later. He took a pass from the right a few yards outside the U.S. box, fought off Frankie Hejduk’s challenge, cut back and fired between Hejduk and Chad McCarty from 19 yards. Friedel slipped as he leapt for the ball, and it grazed his fingers en route to the net. Wolff put the Americans ahead again just before halftime. Agoos, about 10 yards inside U.S. territory, headed a long clearance back toward the Czech goal. It cleared an advancing defense and found Casey alone on the left. The 19-year-old University of Portland sophomore took the ball to the box, then threaded it beautifully past three defenders to Wolff, who first-timed it into an open net. “The Americans managed to get through our defense no matter what we tried,” Bruckner said. “Finally, we had to play for an even score.” The Czechs got it after McCarty — wearing the captain’s armband in Brian Dunseth’s absence to a groin injury — chopped down Marek Heinz with a late challenge just inside the box. Dosek’s penalty kick found the lower-right corner, with Friedel diving the other way. The draw leaves both teams two points behind group favorite Cameroon, who earned a surprisingly difficult 3-2 win over Kuwait in Brisbane. The Yanks take on the Indomitable Lions on Saturday in Canberra, and the Czechs meet Kuwait in Brisbane. “It was a very hard-fought game, a very ugly game, and, I think, a very entertaining game,” Charles said. “I think we earned some respect tonight.” In Brisbane, Cameroon got goals from Nicolas Alnoudji and Patrick Mboma to take a pair of one-goal leads, and an own goal by Kuwait’s Jamal Abdulrahman provided insurance in the 86th minute. Abdulrahman made up for his error two minutes later, but the Kuwaitis couldn’t get a third goal. Honduras, which beat the United States in the CONCACAF qualifying final, stunned defending champion Nigeria with a 3-3 tie in a Group A opener at Adelaide. David Suazo scored twice, the second a 76th-minute penalty kick that gave the Hondurans a 3-1 edge. Victor Agali halved the deficit two minutes later, and Yakubu Ayegbeni netted the equalizer one minute into stoppage time. European champion Italy won the other Group A clash, with Andrea Pirlo’s 81st-minute tally topping Australia, 1-0, in Melbourne. In the women’s competition, Group E favorites Brazil and Germany romped to easy victories. Pretinha and Katia scored in the Samba Queens’ 2-0 victory over Sweden in Melbourne, and Inka Grings, Bettina Wiegmann and Renate Lingor tallied in Germany’s 3-0 win over Australia in Canberra. The U.S. women’s take on Norway in a Group F opener Thursday evening at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the group’s other match — China vs. Nigeria — slated for Canberra. The Americans have won three of four major women’s soccer championships — the 1991 and ’99 Women’s World Cups and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold — and Norway has won the other, at the 1995 WWC. A Group B men’s match, pairing Morocco and Chile, will follow the Americans’ clash. The other Group B opener Thursday has South Korea facing Spain in Adelaide. In Group D, Brazil will meet Slovakia in Brisbane and Japan plays against South Africa in Canberra. The Sydney Games begins officially with Friday’s opening ceremonies at Sydney’s new Olympic Stadium. U.S. Game Summary — Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Canberra USA 2 Czech Republic 2. Goals: Albright 21, Wolff 44; Jankulovski 29, Lukas Dosek 52 (pen). USA — Friedel; Hejduk, McCarty, Califf, Agoos; O’Brien, Olsen, Albright (Corrales, 85), Vagenas; Casey, Wolff. Czech Republic — Drobny; Lengyel, Petrous, Kovac; Lukas Dosek, Ujfalusi (Simak, 59), Tyce, Jankulovski, Sionko (Kucera, 83); Baros (Libor Dosek, 68), Heinz. Yellow cards — Cautions: Tyce 19, Ujfalusi 47, McCarty 51, Casey 55, Heinz 81. Referee — Carlos Eugenio Simon (Brazil). Att. — 24,800. Other scores Men Group C Cameroon 3 Kuwait 2. Goals: Alnoudji 37, Mboma 76, own goal Abdulrahman 86; Almutairi 63, Abdulrahman 88. Group A Italy 1 Australia 0. Goal: Pirlo 81. Nigeria 3 Honduras 3. Goals: Igbinadolor 50, Agali 78, Ayegbeni 91; D. Suazo 35, 76 (pen), Leon 60. Women Group E Brazil 2 Sweden 0. Goals: Pretinha 21, Katia 70. Germany 3 Australia 0. Goals: Grings 35, Wiegmann 70, Lingor 91.