The 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fourteenth edition of the
CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament organized by
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...
to determine which men's under-23 national teams from the North, Central America and Caribbean region qualify for the
Olympic football tournament
Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wo ...
. It was held in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, from 1 and 13 October 2015
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
successfully defended their title after a 2–0 win over
Honduras in the final. It was their seventh Pre-Olympic title and second in a row, after previous wins in
1964,
1972,
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
,
1996,
2004 and
2012. As the top two teams, Mexico and Honduras both qualified for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
as the CONCACAF representatives, just as the same sides had in the previous Olympics. Third-placed
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
later lost to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in the
CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off and failed to qualify for the Olympics for the second consecutive time.
Qualification
The eight berths were allocated to the three regional zones as follows:
*Three teams from the
North American Zone (NAFU), i.e.,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and the hosts
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, 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 tournament final.
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament final.
Venues
Four cities served as the venues for tournament.
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
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...
. The draw was conducted by
Eddie Lewis Edward Lewis may refer to:
Politicians
* Edward Lewis (Devizes MP) (1650–1674), British MP for Devizes, 1669–1674
* Edward Lewis (Radnor MP), British MP for Radnor, 1761–1768, 1769–1774 and 1775–1790
* Edward Parke Custis Lewis (1837–1 ...
and
Brad Friedel.
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.
The draw took place before the UNCAF final qualifier (Costa Rica) had been confirmed.
Match officials
;Referees
*
Adrian Skeete
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...
*
Christopher Reid
*
Mathieu Bourdeau
*
Drew Fischer
Drew Fischer (born July 10, 1980) is a Canadian football referee who regularly officiates Major League Soccer games, and was approved for international matches in 2015.
Background
Fischer was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. As a teen i ...
*
Hugo Cruz
*
Juan Guerra
*
Armando Castro
*
Karl Tyrell
*
Luis Santander
*
Jafeth Perea
*
Javier Santos
*
Armando Villarreal
Armando Villarreal (born 1985 or 1986) is an American soccer Referee (association football), referee. He has officiated in Major League Soccer since 2012 and was added to the FIFA International Referees List in 2015.
Biography
Villarreal began ref ...
;Assistant referees
* Ricardo Ake
* Joe Fletcher
* Carlos Fernandez
* Ronaldo De La Cruz
* Oscar Velazquez
* Israel Valenciano
* Ronald Bruna
* Jairo Morales
* Graeme Brown
* Ainsley Rochard
* Frank Anderson
* Corey Rockwell
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).
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:
#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
The FIFA International Match Calendar (sometimes abbreviated as the FIFA Calendar or FIFA Days) is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro, which sets out which ...
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
----
----
Group B
----
----
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage,
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
and a
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
were used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
Semi-finals
The semi-final winners qualified for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
----
Third place play-off
The winners advanced to the
CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off.
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
;4 goals
*
Alberth Elis
Alberth Josué Elis Martínez (born 12 February 1996), nicknamed La Panterita (The Little Panther), is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brest, on loan from Ligue 2 club Bordeaux, and the Honduras national t ...
*
Jerome Kiesewetter
Jerome Julien Kiesewetter (born February 9, 1993) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Championship side New Mexico United. Born in Germany, he represented the United States national team.
Club career
In May 2012, Ki ...
;3 goals
*
Michael Petrasso
*
Erick Torres
*
Jordan Morris
;2 goals
*
Anthony Lozano
Anthony Rubén Lozano Colón (born 25 April 1993), also known as Choco, is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Cádiz and the Honduras national team.
Club career
Born in Yoro, Lozano made his debut in th ...
*
Marco Bueno
*
Raúl López
*
Arichel Hernández
Arichel Hernández Mora (born 20 September 1993) is a Cuban professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, Liga Nacional club Deportivo Mixco, Mixco and the Cuba national footba ...
*
Luis Gil
;1 goal
*
Molham Babouli
Molham "Mo" Babouli ( ar, مُلهَم بَابُولِيّ; born January 2, 1993) is a professional footballer who plays for York United of the Canadian Premier League. Born in the United Arab Emirates, he represented Canada at youth level and ...
*
Ben Fisk
*
Skylar Thomas
Skylar Rutherford Thomas (born July 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional association football, soccer player who plays for Memphis 901 FC, Memphis 901 in the USL Championship.
Club career
Early career
Thomas began playing soccer at age six wit ...
*
Dylan Flores
*
Maikel Reyes
Maikel Alejandro Reyes Azcuy (sometimes spelt as Maykel Reyes) is a Cuban international football player who plays for his local team Pinar del Río and the Cuba national team.
Club career
In January 2016, he became the first Cuban footballer ( ...
*
Daniel Luis Sáez
*
Paulson Pierre
*
Víctor Guzmán
*
Hirving Lozano
Hirving Rodrigo Lozano Bahena (born 30 July 1995) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Napoli and the Mexico national team. He is popularly known by his nickname Chucky.
Lozano began his career with Pachuca, w ...
*
Édgar Joel Bárcenas
*
Josiel Núñez
Josiel Alberto Núñez Rivera (born 29 January 1993) is a Panamanian footballer who plays for CF Intercity in the Tercera División.
Club career
In December 2018, Núñez was loaned out to USL League One side Forward Madison FC ahead of thei ...
*
Cameron Carter-Vickers
*
Alonso Hernández
Joaquín Alonso Hernández García (born March 1, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward.
Club career
Hernandez began his youth career in the city of El Paso, Texas. His rising talent increased his chances of pr ...
*
Emerson Hyndman
Emerson Schellas Hyndman (born April 9, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder.
Club career Early career
Born in Dallas, Texas, Hyndman started his career in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy with the Dalla ...
*
Matt Miazga
Matthew Miazga (born July 19, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati and the United States national team. Having come through the academy system of the New York ...
*
Marc Pelosi
Marc Anthony Pelosi (born June 17, 1994) is an American retired professional
soccer player who played as a midfielder.
Career
Youth
Pelosi was born in Bad Säckingen, Germany, but moved to California during his youth and spent years with U.S. ...
;1 own goal
*
William Fernández (playing against Mexico)
*
Bryan Acosta (playing against Mexico)
*
Fidel Escobar
Fidel Escobar Mendieta (born 9 January 1995) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga FPD club Saprissa and the Panama national team.
Club career San Francisco
Born in Panama City, Escobar graduated from San ...
(playing against USA)
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.
Final ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by a penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
were counted as draws.
Qualified teams for Olympics
The following two teams from CONCACAF qualified for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
:
1 Bold indicates champion for that year. ''Italic'' indicates host for that year.
Broadcasters
Television
Cuban defections
Four Cuban players were confirmed to have
defected
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
during the tournament: they were
Emmanuel Labrada (
CF Granma),
Frank López García (
FC Cienfuegos
FC Cienfuegos is a Cuban football team playing in the Cuban National Football League and representing Cienfuegos Province
Cienfuegos () is one of the provinces of Cuba. The capital city of the province is also called Cienfuegos and was foun ...
),
Dairon Pérez (
FC La Habana
FC La Habana is a Cuban football team playing in the Cuban National Football League and representing La Habana Province. They play their home games at the Estadio La Polar in Havana or in the town of Guanajay
Guanajay is a town and municipa ...
), and
Yendry Torres (
FC Cienfuegos
FC Cienfuegos is a Cuban football team playing in the Cuban National Football League and representing Cienfuegos Province
Cienfuegos () is one of the provinces of Cuba. The capital city of the province is also called Cienfuegos and was foun ...
).
References
External links
Olympic Qualifying – Men CONCACAF.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship 2015
2015
Olympic Qualifying Championship, Men's
Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification
Olympic Qualifying Championship, Men's
2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship