The U.S. U-20s meet Haiti tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in Charleston, S.C., in their opening game of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2003 World Youth Championship.
The game is available live on pay-per-view through DirecTV and Time-Warner cable (New York City).
''Haiti is a very well-balanced and organized team with 2-3 special attacking players,'' says U.S. coach Thomas Rongen. ''This is a team that is accustomed to big games and has been tested in pre-qualifiers in front of large crowds and they know how to handle pressure. I really think they are one of the darkhorses in this tournament.''
Haiti coach Harold Edma says: ''We are looking forward to playing the United States, who we consider to be the favorite in this group.''
The Haitians have been training in South Carolina since Nov. 10 after spending a two-week camp in Argentina.
Haiti has never qualified for the U-20 World Youth Championship. To reach this year's final qualifying phase, Haiti played six matches in three different phases, winning four, tying two and outscoring opponents 18-4. Brunel Fucein scored seven goals. Haiti prevailed over the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts & Nevis, Bahamas and Jamaica.
The USA qualified automatically for the final phase four-team group, which also includes Canada and El Salvador. The top two finishers in the round-robin format qualify.
Panama and Mexico have already qualified by finishing atop CONCACAF's Group A.
U.S. U-20 Roster:
GOALKEEPERS
Steve Cronin (Santa Clara Univ.)
Ford Williams (Univ. of North Carolina)
DEFENDERS
C.J. Klaas (Univ. of Washington)
Frank Simek (Arsenal, England)
Chad Marshall (Stanford Univ.)
Ryan Cochrane (Santa Clara Univ.)
Jordan Harvey (UCLA)
Chris Lancos (Univ. of Maryland)
MIDFIELDERS
Ricardo Clark (Furman Univ.)
Bobby Convey (D.C. United)
Ned Grabavoy (Indiana Univ.)
David Johnson (Willem II, Neth.)
Justin Mapp (D.C. United)
Jordan Stone (Dallas Burn)
STRIKERS
Devin Barclay (San Jose Earthquakes)
Knox Cameron (Univ. of Michigan)
Eddie Johnson (Dallas Burn)
Santino Quaranta (D.C. United)