Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
The men's football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 August to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's under-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from which 15 teams, plus the host nation, reached the final tournament. Men's teams were allowed to augment their squads with up to three players over the age of 23.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | China |
| Dates | 7–23 August |
| Teams | 16 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Argentina (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Nigeria |
| Third place |  Brazil |
| Fourth place | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 75 (2.34 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,404,254 (43,883 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Giuseppe Rossi(4 goals) |
| Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| men | women | |
| Tournament | ||
| men | women | |
| Squads | ||
| men | women | |
For these Games, the men competed in a 16-team tournament. Preliminary matches commenced on 7 August, the day before the Games' opening ceremony. The teams were grouped into four pools of four teams each for a round-robin preliminary round. The top two teams in each pool advanced to an eight-team single-elimination bracket.
The tournament was won by Argentina, who beat Nigeria 1–0 in the final, as part of a record streak of 12 consecutive wins in football competitions at the Summer Olympics (six wins in 2004, six wins in 2008).
Qualification
Countries of men's tournament
A National Olympic Committee may enter one men's team in football competitions.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | 1 |  China PR | ||
| AFC Preliminary Competition | February – November 2007 | – | 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia South Korea Japan |
| CAF Preliminary Competition | September 2006 – March 2008 | – | 3 |  Cameroon Ivory Coast Nigeria |
| CONCACAF Preliminary Competition | August 2007 – March 2008 |  United States | 2 |  Honduras United States |
| 2007 South American Youth Championship | 7–28 January 2007 |  Paraguay | 2 | Brazil Argentina |
| OFC Preliminary Competition | 1–9 March 2008 |  Fiji | 1 |  New Zealand |
| 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship | 10–23 June 2007 |  Netherlands | 4 | Netherlands.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Serbia Belgium Italy |
| Total | 16 | |||
Squads
For the men's tournament, each nation submitted a squad of 18 players, 15 of whom had to be born on or after 1 January 1985, and three of whom could be overage players, by 23 July 2008.[1] A minimum of two goalkeepers (plus one optional alternate goalkeeper) had to be included in the squad.[1]
Match officials
On 22 April 2008, FIFA released the list of match referees that will officiate at the Olympics.[2]
| Confederation | Referee | Assistants |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia) | Mohammed Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia) Hamdi Al Kadrie (Syria) |
| Abdullah Al Hilali (Oman) | Khaled Al Allan (Bahrain) Saleh Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates) | |
| Masoud Moradi (Iran) | Hassan Kamranifar (Iran) Luay Subhi Adib (Iraq) | |
| CAF | Jerome Damon (South Africa) | Enock Molefe (South Africa) Célestin Ntagungira (Rwanda) |
| Badara Diatta (Senegal) | Bechir Hassani (Tunisia) Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) | |
| CONCACAF | Roberto Moreno (Panama) | Daniel Williamson (Panama) Hairo Fuentes (Panama) |
| Jair Marrufo (United States) | Kermit Quisenberry (United States) Ricardo Morgan (Jamaica) | |
| CONMEBOL | Héctor Baldassi (Argentina) | Ricardo Casas (Argentina) Hernán Maidana (Argentina) |
| Pablo Pozo (Chile) | Patricio Basualto (Chile) Julio Díaz (Chile) | |
| Martín Vázquez (Uruguay) | Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay) Miguel Nievas (Uruguay) | |
| OFC | Michael Hester (New Zealand) | Tevita Makasini (Tonga) Michael Joseph (Vanuatu) |
| UEFA | Thomas Einwaller (Austria) | Roland Heim (Austria) Norbert Schwab (Austria) |
| Viktor Kassai (Hungary) | Gábor Erős (Hungary) Tibor Vámos (Hungary) | |
| Stéphane Lannoy (France) | Eric Dansault (France) Frédéric Cano (France) | |
| Damir Skomina (Slovenia) | Primož Arhar (Slovenia) Marco Stancin (Slovenia) | |
| Wolfgang Stark (Germany) | Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Volker Wezel (Germany) |
All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).
Group stage
Group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Ivory Coast |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Australia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
| 4 | Serbia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
Source: [3]
| Serbia | 2–4 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
Mrdaković  16'Rakić 90' |
Report | Cissé 3' Rajković 24' (o.g.)Kalou 70'Gervinho 90+3' |
| Ivory Coast | 1–0 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Kalou 81' |
Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Netherlands |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | United States |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Japan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
Source:
| Japan | 0–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Holden 47' |
| Netherlands | 0–0 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| United States | 2–2 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Kljestan 64' Altidore 72' |
Report | Babel 16' Sibon 90+3' |
| Netherlands | 1–0 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Sibon 73' (pen.) |
Report |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 9 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Belgium |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | China PR |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | |
| 4 | New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
Source:
| China PR | 1–1 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Dong Fangzhuo 88' |
Report | Brockie 53' |
| New Zealand | 0–5 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Anderson 3' Pato 33'Ronaldinho 55', 61' (pen.)Sóbis 90+3' |
| China PR | 0–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Diego 18' Thiago Neves 69', 73' |
Attendance: 38,790
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
| New Zealand | 0–1 | Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Haroun 35' |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 7 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Cameroon |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | South Korea |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Honduras |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Source:
| Honduras | 0–3 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Giovinco 41' Rossi 45' (pen.)Acquafresca 52' (pen.) |
Attendance: 21,680
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
| South Korea | 1–1 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Park Chu-young 68' |
Report | Mandjeck 81' |
Attendance: 21,943
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
| Italy | 3–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Rossi 15' Rocchi 32'Montolivo 90' |
Report |
Attendance: 29,455
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)
| South Korea | 1–0 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Dong-jin 23' |
Report |
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Gold medal match | |||||||||||
| B1 | Nigeria |
2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Ivory Coast |
0 | |||||||||||
| B1 | Nigeria |
4 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Belgium |
1 | |||||||||||
| D1 | Italy |
2 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Belgium |
3 | |||||||||||
| B1 | Nigeria |
0 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Argentina |
1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Argentina (aet) |
2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | Netherlands |
1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Argentina |
3 | Bronze medal match | ||||||||||
| C1 | Brazil |
0 | |||||||||||
| C1 | Brazil (aet) |
2 | C2 | Belgium |
0 | ||||||||
| D2 | Cameroon |
0 | C1 | Brazil |
3 | ||||||||
Quarter-finals
| Nigeria | 2–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Odemwingie 44' Obinna 82' (pen.) |
Report |
Attendance: 28,944
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)
Gold medal match
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Final ranking
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina (ARG) |
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 18 |
| 2 | Nigeria (NGR) |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 13 |
| 3 | Brazil (BRA) |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 15 |
| 4 | Belgium (BEL) |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 9 |
| 5 | Italy (ITA) |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 |
| 6 | Ivory Coast (CIV) |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Netherlands (NED) |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Cameroon (CMR) |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 5 |
| 9 | United States (USA) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Korea (KOR) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| 11 |  Australia (AUS) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| 12 | Serbia (SRB) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
| 13 | China (CHN) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |
| 14 | New Zealand (NZL) |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
| 15 | Japan (JPN) |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| 16 | Honduras (HON) |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Source:
Statistics
Goalscorers
With four goals, Giuseppe Rossi of Italy was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 75 goals were scored by 53 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Lautaro Acosta
- Diego Buonanotte
- Juan Román Riquelme
- Ruben Zadkovich
- Laurent Ciman
- Faris Haroun
- Anderson
- Hernanes
- Marcelo
- Alexandre Pato
- Georges Mandjeck
- Stéphane Mbia
- Dong Fangzhuo
- Robert Acquafresca
- Sebastian Giovinco
- Riccardo Montolivo
- Tommaso Rocchi
- Gervinho
- Yohei Toyoda
- Kim Dong-jin
- Park Chu-young
- Ryan Babel
- Otman Bakkal
- Jeremy Brockie
- Olubayo Adefemi
- Victor Anichebe
- Peter Odemwingie
- Chibuzor Okonkwo
- Isaac Promise
- Miljan Mrdaković
- Slobodan Rajković
- Đorđe Rakić
- Jozy Altidore
- Stuart Holden
- Own goals
- Slobodan Rajković (playing against Ivory Coast)
References
- Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine
- "List of Referees & Assistant Referees appointed for the Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008 – (Men's tournament)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- "2008 Summer Olympics Soccer Results - Beijing, China - ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Sports Competition Schedule". BOCOG. 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
- "Football". International Olympic Committee. 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
- "Programme of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2006.
External links
| Tournaments |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifications |
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| Squads |
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