For those who are not aware, CONCACAF Olympic qualifying is two groups four. The top two in each group move on. Winner Group 1 plays Runner Up Group 2 and Winner Group 2 plays Runner Up Group 1 in the semi-finals. Two teams that make the finals qualify. My questions are: If both teams in the finals qualify and both losers in the semi-finals don't, why are they having a finals and 3rd place game??? Even more baffling, is why not have the four teams that make it out of group play, play another round robin group and the top two teams advance? This is the most commonly used form of qualifying in the world, and yet for some reason it is not being used. Group play is by far the most equitable way to determine the best teams. Does anyone know why this ridiculous format is used instead of group play? Is this format used anyplace else for any kind of qualification?
The ususal 'logic' behind any CONCACAF qualifying tournament is to find a way to favor Jack Warner's home country, but since T&T didn't make it this far, they had no guiding principle to go by when devising a struxture for the tournamant.
Better yet, just have the winners of Group A and Group B qualify for the olympics and dispense with the whole semifinals and finals thing.
I thought they had a 3rd place game for 2 reasons: 1. If there is a money prize for 3rd then it decides it and 2. Doesn't the 3rd place concacaf play the 5th Conmebal for another spot?
1. Its also called the U-23 Championship, so I think there is some type of compensation. 2. Ok. Thanks
But it's stupid. Of course, it's basically unchanged from the last time where Mexico lost to someone in its own group and only took the 2nd place and had to play the US as a 1 vs. 2 (the US won its group) in the semis. Subsequently, Mexico demolished the US 4:0 and the US was out. But Mexico didn't do much in the Olympics anyway.
We didnt loose we tied to Costa Rica and placed second cuz of goal differential. But yeah we didnt do much in the Olyimpics.
I was furious when I found out about this system four years ago. I can't believe they haven't changed it. I know I might be the odd man out on this, but I think CONCACAF's World Cup qualifying is a really good system. What they need to do is drop the "CONCACAF U-23 Championship" title and call it like it is: Olympic Qualifying. Does anyone really care if they came in 2nd as long as they qualified? If they did that, they could change it to a final round-robin format, as drace768 suggested.
It may be a moot point This may be the last Olympic qualifying tournament. The IOC doesn't see the value in having fútbol as an official sport in the Olympiad, since the best players aren't participating. The Games will be in London in '12 and there will be no host team in the tournament, and with no seeming interest, the sport may be scrapped for those Games. This is likely the last FIFA U-23 tournament.
Re: It may be a moot point This seems a little far fetched. Maybe the English might not like it but everyone else seems to take it seriously.
Re: It may be a moot point Stadiums are always full during the games and in always seems like its one of the most important events during the WC. I doubt soccer will be droped.
CAF would fight the elimination of Olympics football bitterly. The reputations of Cameroon and Nigeria as footballing nations are largely built on Olympics gold metals.
And, of course, the fact that Mexico had finished second in their group was already known to the USA when we started that match. All we had to do was put two balls in the back of our own net in the last five minutes and we would have come in second and played in the Olympics. I think that was Hackworth's team-- dumb coach, dumb decision to play for the group win.
People like to blame Hackworth for everything around here. Is he also responsible for Global Warming The coach was Mooch Myernick, so please, no pissing on his grave. The team played to win, as they should. The system was broken, not the team or the coach.
For the record, it was NOT John Hackworth who coached the US in the 2004 Olympic qualifiers. That was the late Glenn "Mooch" Myernick who completely dropped the ball with qualifying. Of course, since Mooch died tragically last year, we aren't supposed to mention this major failure on his part, so ssshhhh.....