- Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifiers run from 18 to 30 March
- Two tickets to Tokyo 2020 up for grabs
- FIFA.com previews the eight-team tournament
The 15th edition of the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying tournament is guaranteed to be ultra competitive. Eight nations will compete for the two remaining qualification spots at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020.
The qualifiers will take place from 18 to 30 March 2021 at a centralised location in Guadalajara, Mexico at the Jalisco and Akron Stadiums. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semi-finals on 28 March, with the two winners guaranteeing their place at Tokyo 2020. The top team in Group A will face the runners-up in Group B and vice versa in the semis. The final of the qualifying competition is scheduled for 30 March.
The groups
History
Mexico and Honduras have been Concacaf’s representatives in the last two editions of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Famously, Mexico went all the way to winning the gold medal at the former. Head coach Jaime Lozano’s El Tri will be heavy favourites to lift the trophy in Guadalajara as the hosts of the competition and the most successful team in its history with seven titles.
Honduras have recent success at this level to build on, finishing at the quarter-final phase at London 2012 followed by a semi-final appearance at Rio 2016.
What they said
“The opponents that we will face in the group are difficult. Haiti, El Salvador and Canada are federations that have been working very well in distinct ways. Haiti have a lot of young players playing abroad and then they bring them into their Under-23 team to play from the second or first division in France. They play in good teams that have a good level and then they try to bring them together in the national team. That is our first opponent. They are a tough team. Just like Honduras they have tough and fast players, so it is going to be very even.”
Miguel Falero, Honduras U-23 coach
Did you know?
Dominican Republic will be competing in the Olympic qualifier finals competition for the first time in their history. It will be a tall order for coach Jacques Passy’s side in a group including USA, Mexico and Costa Rica, but he says they will relish the challenge. “Qualifying for the Olympics would be the most important achievement in the history of Dominican Republic football. Our FIFA ranking is around 160th, so just imagine if we were one of two teams from Concacaf to go to the Olympics. It can be something that changes the way that football is written in this area.”
How to watch/follow
From Concacaf: All matches will be widely available for fans across the region to follow and enjoy live through the Confederation’s TV partner networks, including Fox Sports (USA), TUDN (Mexico and USA), One Soccer (Canada), Flow Sports (Caribbean), Teletica and Repretel (Costa Rica), TCS (El Salvador), Televicentro (Honduras), Medcom (Panama), RTVG (Guatemala) and other local partners.
Matches will also be available on the Concacaf Official App (subject to territory restrictions). The free mobile app is available in the Apple and Google Play stores.