D.C. United announced today that midfielder Andy Najar has been named to the Honduras U-23 National Team to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Najar will join the Honduran Federation on Monday, July 2.
Honduras qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games after finishing second in the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament hosted by the United States. Honduras will compete in Group D alongside Morocco, Spain, and Japan. The Honduran National Team will play in the very first match of the Football Competition of the 2012 London Olympic Games on July 26th against Morocco. The top-two finishers from Group D will advance to the knockout stage of the 2012 Olympic Men’s Football Tournament to be played on August 4, 2012.
Najar is off to a fine third season with D.C. United, starting 9 of 11 MLS matches, with two assists. The first assist came in a 3-5 loss on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes on May 2nd, while the latter came on a 73rd minute goal to Hamdi Salihi to secure D.C. United’s 3-1 victory over Toronto FC on May 19th at RFK Stadium.
Najar was selected to be part of the Honduras U-23 Olympic Qualifying roster on March 14th, 2012. After winning Group 2 of the Central American Zone, Honduras was placed in Group B of the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, along with Panama, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. The U-23 Honduran side defeated Panama (W 3-1) and Trinidad and Tobago (W 2-0), and suffered a loss to Mexico (L 0-3) to finish in second place in Group B with six points and a 2-1-0 record. Najar and his Honduran teammates advanced to the knockout portion of the tournament where they defeated El Salvador (W 3-2) in added extra time, with Gerson Rodas delivering goals in the 101st and 114th minute to propel Honduras to the finals. Honduras fell to Mexico (L 1-2) in added extra time, at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City in front of a crowd of 10,501. As the second-place finisher in CONCACAF qualifying, Honduras secured themselves a spot in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Andy Najar, born in Choluteca, Honduras, made four appearances in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Honduran side.
The outside midfielder is a product of D.C. United’s Youth Academy, and was the second homegrown player to sign with the first team on March 22, 2010. That year he went on to win the 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year award, as well as being named the 2010 D.C. United Volkswagen MVP. In his young, yet illustrious D.C. United career, Andy Najar has tallied ten goals and seven assists in the 57 matches he has appeared in.
