Concacaf's men's qualifying for this summer's Tokyo Olympics has started with the United States U-23 team in action. Originally scheduled for March 2020, eight Concacaf participants are drawn into two groups of four teams, which features USA and Mexico in the same group.
Below you'll find everything you need to know, including the TV/streaming schedule, format and tournament standings.
How qualifying works
Group A features USA, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Group B features Canada, Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, and the semifinal winners (the top two teams of the competition) will book a trip to the Olympics in Tokyo as well as the tournament final.
The group stage at the Tokyo Olympics is expected to begin on July 22, with the Gold Medal Game taking place on Aug. 7. The following nations from other confederations have already booked their tickets:
- Japan (host)
- France (UEFA)
- Germany (UEFA)
- Romania (UEFA)
- Spain (UEFA)
- New Zealand (OFC)
- Egypt (CAF)
- Ivory Coast (CAF)
- South Africa (CAF)
- Australia (AFC)
- Saudi Arabia (AFC)
- South Korea (AFC)
- Argentina (CONMEBOL)
- Brazil (CONMEBOL)
- Honduras (Concacaf)
- Mexico (Concacaf)
What are the age restrictions?
The Olympics have operated as a U-23 competition since 1992 to differentiate the competition from the FIFA World Cup. The qualifying tournament is open to all players born in 1997 or later. The age-eligibility rules have carried over from initial postponement, and some players are currently 24 years old.
Let's take a look at the two most notable rosters:
USA U-23 roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (6): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC), Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal), Andres Perea (Orlando City SC), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)
FORWARDS (4): Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids), Benji Michel (Orlando City SC), Sebastian Soto (Norwich City)
Mexico U-23 roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jurado Roca Sebastian (Cruz Azul), Malagon Velázquez Luis Angel (Necaxa), Moreno Luna Carlos Agustin (Pachuca)
DEFENDERS (6): Angulo Uriarte Jesús Alberto (Atlas), Lorona Aguilar Vladimir Eduardo (Tijuana), Mayorga Almaraz Manuel Alejandro (Guadalajara), Mozo Rodríguez Alan (Pumas), Sepulveda Lopez Gilberto (Guadalajara), Vasquez Ibarra Johan Felipe (Pumas)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Aguirre Tafolla Erick Germain (Pachuca), Alvarado Hernandez Roberto Carlos (Cruz Azul), Angulo Uriarte Jesus Ricardo (Guadalajara), Antuna Romero Carlos Uriel (Guadalajara), Cervantes Martin del Campo Alan Jhosue (Santos Laguna), Cordova Reyes Francisco Sebastian (América), Esquivel Martínez Jose Joaquin (FC Juárez), Rodriguez Gomez Carlos Alberto (Monterrey)
FORWARDS (3): Macias Guzman Jose Juan (Guadalajara), Munoz Robles Santiago Rene (Santos Laguna), Vega Rojas Ernesto Alexis (Guadalajara)
How to watch
Fox Sports 1 will carry every game the rest of the way, which you can stream via fuboTV (Try for free).
Group stage
Group A standings
| TEAM | GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mexico (host) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 9 |
United States | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Dominican Republic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -12 | 0 |
Group B standings
| TEAM | GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Honduras | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +3 | 5 |
Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 |
El Salvador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
Haiti | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 1 |
Complete schedule
Thursday, March 18 (at Estadio Jalisco)
United States 1, Costa Rica 0
Mexico 4, Costa Rica 1
Friday, March 19 (at Estadio Jalisco)
Honduras 3, Haiti 0
Canada 2, El Salvador 0
Sunday, March 21 (at Estadio Akron)
Dominican Republic 0, United States 4
Costa Rica 0, Mexico 3
Monday, March 22 (at Estadio Akron)
Haiti 0, Canada 0
El Salvador 1, Honduras 1
Wednesday, March 24 (at Estadio Jalisco)
Costa Rica 5, Dominican Republic 0
Mexico 1, United States 0
Thursday, March 25 (at Estadio Jalisco)
El Salvador 2, Haiti 1
Honduras 1, Canada 1
Semifinals
Sunday, March 28 (at Estadio Jalisco)
Honduras 2, United States 1
Mexico 2, Canada 0
Final
Tuesday, March 30 (at Estadio Akron)
Honduras 1, Mexico 1 (Penalties: Honduras 4, Mexico 5)
