2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | USA |
| City | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dates | 11 March – 23 March |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Honduras U-23 |
| Runners-up |
 United States U-23 |
| Third place |
 Canada U-23 |
| Fourth place |
 Guatemala U-23 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 36 (2.25 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Freddy Adu |
The 2008 CONCACAF Men Pre-Olympic Tournament was an association football tournament that took place in three venues in the United States from March 11 to March 23, 2008.
Honduras became new under-23 champion of CONCACAF by beating the United States in the final of the eight-team tournament. Canada and Guatemala took third and fourth places, respectively. The finalists, Honduras and United States, qualified for the Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament in Beijing, China.[1]
The final round of the 2008 competition had two groups of four in the first round competing on a round-robin basis from March 11 to March 16, 2008, followed by the semi-final round and the finals held on March 20 and March 23, 2008. Group A matches were held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, while Group B matches were held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California with each venue staging three doubleheaders in group play. The knockout stage matches were held at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee.
Qualifying teams
| North American Zone | |
|---|---|
| Central American Zone | |
| Caribbean Zone |
Squads
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Honduras |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
 Panama |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
 Cuba |
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 |
All times EDT
2008-03-15 16:30 |
| Cuba |
1 – 4 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
Duarte  64' |
(Report) | Aguilar 18' 65' Barahona 26'Urgelles 31' (o.g.) |
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| Canada |
4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
 Mexico |
4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 |
 Haiti |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
All times PDT
2008-03-16 19:00 |
| Mexico |
5 – 1 | Haiti |
|---|---|---|
| Villaluz 18' Andrade 61'Fernández 70'Esqueda 83'Landín 89' |
(Report) | Aveska  29'Saint-Preux 62'Jean Paulin  84' |
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
2008-03-20 17:00 |
| Guatemala |
0 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Noriega 102' |
(Report) | |
| Penalties | ||
Contreras  Leon  Ávila Brown Marquez Lalin Morales |
5 – 6 | Morales Thomas Reyna Guity Sánchez Padilla Norales |
Third place match
2008-03-23 13:00 |
| Guatemala |
0 - 0 (a.e.t.) | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Contreras Arreola Ávila Brown |
3 – 5 | Sánchez Ledgerwood Ayre Hemming Hall |
Final
Honduras and the United States qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. This match decided the CONCACAF U-23 men's championship.
Top scorers (group and knockout stages)
Cuban defectionsFollowing the Cuban draw against the United States, seven Cuban players defected, leaving the team with only 11 players which was reduced to 10 against Honduras. Cuba played its final game against Panama with no players available as substitutes because Roberto Linares was sent off from Cuba's match against the United States causing him to be automatically suspended for the team's next match.[3] References
External links
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