2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship
The 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship[1] was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's under-23 national teams from the North, Central American and Caribbean region qualify for the Olympic football tournament. CONCACAF announced on 12 February 2015 that the United States would host the tournament between 1–13 October 2015.[1] A total of eight teams played in the tournament.
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Tournament details | |
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Host country | ![]() |
Dates | 1–13 October 2015 |
Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
Final positions | |
Champions | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
Third place | ![]() |
Fourth place | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 16 |
Goals scored | 46 (2.88 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() ![]() (4 goals each) |
Best player(s) | ![]() |
Best goalkeeper | ![]() |
Fair play award | ![]() |
The top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the CONCACAF representatives. The third-placed team advanced to the CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off where they played against the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship runner-up for the final berth in the Olympics.[2]
Mexico won the tournament with a 2–0 final win over Honduras. This sealed Olympic qualification both finalists, with Mexico aiming to defend their gold medal in 2012, and Honduras qualifying for their third straight Olympics.[3] Third-placed United States later lost to Colombia in the CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off and failed to qualify for the Olympics for the second consecutive time.[4]
Qualification
The eight berths were allocated to the three regional zones as follows:[1]
- Three teams from the North American Zone (NAFU), i.e., Canada, Mexico and the hosts United States, who all qualified automatically due to them being the only teams in the region
- Three teams from the Central American Zone (UNCAF)
- Two teams from the Caribbean Zone (CFU)
Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the five teams joining Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the final tournament
Qualified teams
The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament.
Team | Qualification | Appearance | Previous best performances | Previous men's Olympic appearances |
---|---|---|---|---|
North American Zone (NAFU) | ||||
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Automatic | 8th | Runner-up (1984, 1996) | 3 |
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Automatic | 11th | Winner (1964, 1972, 1976, 1996, 2004, 2012) | 10 |
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Automatic | 10th | Winner (1988, 1992) | 14 |
Central American Zone (UNCAF) qualified through Central American qualifying competition[5] | ||||
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Group A winner | 6th | Fourth place (1964) | 0 |
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Group B winner | 6th | Winner (2000, 2008) | 3 |
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Repechage playoff winner | 6th | Winner (1980, 1984) | 3 |
Caribbean Zone (CFU) qualified through Caribbean qualifying competition[6] | ||||
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Final round winner | 2nd | Group stage (2008) | 0 |
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Final round runner-up | 5th | Third place (1976, 1984) | 2 |
Venues
The four venues were announced by CONCACAF on 15 May 2015.[7]
Kansas City, Kansas | Carson, California | Commerce City, Colorado | Sandy, Utah |
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Sporting Park | StubHub Center | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Rio Tinto Stadium |
Capacity: 21,000 | Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 18,061 | Capacity: 20,213 |
![]() ![]() Sporting Park ![]() StubHub Center ![]() Dick's Sporting Goods Park ![]() Rio Tinto Stadium |
Draw
The draw for the tournament took place on 18 August 2015 at 09:00 PDT (UTC−7) at the Torrance Marriot Redondo Beach hotel in Torrance, California.[8] The draw was conducted by Eddie Lewis and Brad Friedel.[9]
The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Tournament host United States were seeded in Group A, while defending CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Mexico were seeded in Group B.[7][10]
The draw took place before the final UNCAF qualifier (Costa Rica) had been confirmed.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
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Match officials
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Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team could register a maximum of 20 players (two of whom must be goalkeepers).[11]
Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[11]
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches;
- Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
- Drawing of lots.
The final round of fixtures in the group stage and the knockout stage fell within the FIFA International Match Calendar period of 5–13 October 2015. As a result, teams were able to call on their first choice under-23 players worldwide.
All times were local.
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 9 | Knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
Cuba ![]() | 1–6 | ![]() |
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Sáez ![]() |
Report | Carter-Vickers ![]() Miazga ![]() Kiesewetter ![]() Hyndman ![]() Hernández ![]() |
United States ![]() | 4–0 | ![]() |
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Escobar ![]() Kiesewetter ![]() Morris ![]() Gil ![]() |
Report |
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | Knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
Mexico ![]() | 4–0 | ![]() |
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Bueno ![]() Fernández ![]() Torres ![]() |
Report |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.[11]
Bracket
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
10 October – Sandy | ||||||
![]() | 0 | |||||
13 October – Sandy | ||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||
![]() | 0 | |||||
10 October – Sandy | ||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||
![]() | 2 | |||||
![]() | 0 | |||||
Third place | ||||||
13 October – Sandy | ||||||
![]() | 2 | |||||
![]() | 0 |
Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.
United States ![]() | 0–2 | ![]() |
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Report | Elis ![]() |
Third place playoff
Winner advanced to CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off.
United States ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() |
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Pelosi ![]() Kiesewetter ![]() |
Report |
Final ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
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5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 15 | Champions |
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5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 9 | Runners-up |
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5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 12 | Third place |
4 | ![]() |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 | Fourth place |
5 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 | Eliminated in Group stage |
6 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
7 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 | |
8 | ![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
Qualified teams for Olympics
The following two teams from CONCACAF qualified for the Olympic football tournament.
Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
---|---|---|
![]() | 10 October 2015 | 10 (1928, 1948, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2012) |
![]() | 10 October 2015 | 3 (2000, 2008, 2012) |
- 1 Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year. Statistics include all Olympic format (current Olympic under-23 format started in 1992).
Goalscorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
William Fernández (playing against Mexico)
Bryan Acosta (playing against Mexico)
Fidel Escobar (playing against USA)
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[12]
- Best XI
- Goalkeeper:
Gibrán Lajud
- Right Defender:
Érick Aguirre
- Central Defender:
Jhonatan Paz
- Central Defender:
Jordan Silva
- Left Defender:
Rodolfo Pizarro
- Right Midfielder:
Alberth Elis
- Central Midfielder:
Víctor Guzmán
- Central Midfielder:
Óscar Salas
- Left Midfielder:
Hirving Lozano
- Forward:
Erick Torres
- Forward:
Jerome Kiesewetter
- Golden Ball
- Golden Boot
Jerome Kiesewetter (4 goals & 2 assists)
- Golden Glove
- Fair Play Award
Broadcasters
Cuban defections
Four Cuban players are confirmed to have defected to the United States during the tournament, they are; Emmanuel Labrada (CF Granma), Frank López García (FC Cienfuegos), Dairon Pérez (FC La Habana), and Yendry Torres (FC Cienfuegos).[14]
References
- "United States Named Host for CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship 2015". CONCACAF.com. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (PDF). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- "Honduras, Mexico book Rio 2016 tickets". FIFA.com. 10 October 2015.
- "Colombia edge USA to end drought". FIFA.com. 30 March 2016.
- "Se definieron las Eliminatorias Pre-Olimpicas de UNCAF Masculinas y Femenina" (in Spanish). UNCAF. 28 February 2015. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "CFU Men's Olympic Qualifying Groups". Caribbean Football Union. 27 April 2015.
- "Olympic Qualifying Championship host cities named". CONCACAF.com. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- "CONCACAF to Hold Olympic Qualifying Championship Draw in Los Angeles on August 18". CONCACAF.com. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- "Draw Determines Groups and Schedule for the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship". CONCACAF.com. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- "Official Draw: CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying United States 2015". CONCACAF.com. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- "Regulations for the Olympic Football Tournaments" (PDF). CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "TSG announces CMOQ Best XI, Awards". CONCACAF. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- "TELEMUNDO, NBC UNIVERSO AND NBC DEPORTES ANNOUNCE THE TELECAST SCHEDULE FOR THE UPCOMING CONCACAF MEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT | NBCUniversal Media Village". www.nbcumv.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- Associated Press (1 October 2015). "United States beat Canada in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying". ESPN FC. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
External links
- Olympic Qualifying – Men, CONCACAF.com