Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2008 Men's Olympic Football Tournament
Olympic rings without rims.svg
Tournament details
Host countryChina
Dates7–23 August
Teams16 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Argentina (2nd title)
Runners-up Nigeria
Third place Brazil
Fourth place Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored75 (2.34 per match)
Attendance1,404,254 (43,883 per match)
Top scorer(s)Italy Giuseppe Rossi
(4 goals)
← 2004
2012 →
Football at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Football pictogram.svg
Qualification
menwomen
Tournament
menwomen
Squads
menwomen
  • v
  • t

The men's football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in the People's Republic of China from 7 to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their men's under-23 teams in regional qualifying competitions, from which 15 teams, plus the host nation, reached the final tournament. Men's teams were allowed to augment their squads with up to three players over the age of 23.

For these Games, the men competed in a 16-team tournament. Preliminary matches commenced on 7 August, the day before the Games' opening ceremony. The teams were grouped into four pools of four teams each for a round-robin preliminary round. The top two teams in each pool advanced to an eight-team single-elimination bracket.

The tournament was won by Argentina, who beat Nigeria 1–0 in the final, as part of a record streak of 12 consecutive wins in football competitions at the Summer Olympics (six wins in 2004, six wins in 2008).

Lionel Messi was selected as the best player of the tournament by the official FIFA website. Juan Román Riquelme and Javier Mascherano also received special mentions.

Qualification[]

Countries of men's tournament

A National Olympic Committee may enter one men's team in football competitions.

Main article: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification
Means of qualification Date Venue Berths Qualified
Host nation   1  China PR
AFC Preliminary Competition February – November 2007 – 3  Australia
 South Korea
 Japan
CAF Preliminary Competition September 2006 – March 2008 – 3  Cameroon
 Ivory Coast
 Nigeria
CONCACAF Preliminary Competition August 2007 – March 2008  United States 2  Honduras
 United States
2007 South American Youth Championship 7–28 January 2007  Paraguay 2  Brazil
 Argentina
OFC Preliminary Competition 1–9 March 2008  Fiji 1  New Zealand
2007 UEFA U-21 Championship 10–23 June 2007  Netherlands 4  Netherlands
 Serbia
 Belgium
 Italy
Total 16

Squads[]

Main article: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads

For the men's tournament, each nation submitted a squad of 18 players, 15 of whom had to be born on or after 1 January 1985, and three of whom could be overage players, by 23 July 2008.[1] A minimum of two goalkeepers (plus one optional alternate goalkeeper) had to be included in the squad.[1]

Match officials[]

On 22 April 2008, FIFA released the list of match referees that will officiate at the Olympics.[2]

Confederation Referee Assistants
AFC Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia) Mohammed Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
Hamdi Al Kadrie (Syria)
Abdullah Al Hilali (Oman) Khaled Al Allan (Bahrain)
Saleh Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates)
Masoud Moradi (Iran) Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)
Luay Subhi Adib (Iraq)
CAF Jerome Damon (South Africa) Enock Molefe (South Africa)
Célestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)
Badara Diatta (Senegal) Bechir Hassani (Tunisia)
Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon)
CONCACAF Roberto Moreno (Panama) Daniel Williamson (Panama)
Hairo Fuentes (Panama)
Jair Marrufo (United States) Kermit Quisenberry (United States)
Ricardo Morgan (Jamaica)
CONMEBOL Héctor Baldassi (Argentina) Ricardo Casas (Argentina)
Hernán Maidana (Argentina)
Pablo Pozo (Chile) Patricio Basualto (Chile)
Julio Díaz (Chile)
Martín Vázquez (Uruguay) Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay)
Miguel Nievas (Uruguay)
OFC Michael Hester (New Zealand) Tevita Makasini (Tonga)
Michael Joseph (Vanuatu)
UEFA Thomas Einwaller (Austria) Roland Heim (Austria)
Norbert Schwab (Austria)
Viktor Kassai (Hungary) Gábor Erős (Hungary)
Tibor Vámos (Hungary)
Stéphane Lannoy (France) Eric Dansault (France)
Frédéric Cano (France)
Damir Skomina (Slovenia) Primož Arhar (Slovenia)
Marco Stancin (Slovenia)
Wolfgang Stark (Germany) Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)
Volker Wezel (Germany)

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).

Group stage[]

Group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group A[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Argentina 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4 9 Qualified for the quarterfinals
2  Ivory Coast 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6
3  Australia 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
4  Serbia 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 1
Source: [3]
Australia 1–1 Serbia
Zadkovich Goal 69' Report Rajković Goal 78'
Attendance: 36,184
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
Ivory Coast 1–2 Argentina
Cissé Goal 53' Report Messi Goal 43'
Acosta Goal 86'
Attendance: 43,266
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
Argentina 1–0 Australia
Lavezzi Goal 76' Report
Attendance: 38,182
Serbia 2–4 Ivory Coast
Mrdaković Goal 16'
Rakić Goal 90'		 Report Cissé Goal 3'
Rajković Goal 24' (o.g.)
Kalou Goal 70'
Gervinho Goal 90+3'
Attendance: 38,320
Referee: Roberto Moreno (Panama)
Ivory Coast 1–0 Australia
Kalou Goal 81' Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 50,437
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Argentina 2–0 Serbia
Lavezzi Goal 13' (pen.)
Buonanotte Goal 84'		 Report
Attendance: 53,668

Group B[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Nigeria 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7 Qualified for the quarterfinals
2  Netherlands 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3  United States 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4  Japan 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
Source:[citation needed]
Japan 0–1 United States
Report Holden Goal 47'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 57,102
Referee: Badara Diatta (Senegal)
Netherlands 0–0 Nigeria
Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 52,390
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
Nigeria 2–1 Japan
Obinna Goal 58'
Anichebe Goal 74'		 Report Toyoda Goal 79'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 42,592
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)
United States 2–2 Netherlands
Kljestan Goal 64'
Altidore Goal 72'		 Report Babel Goal 16'
Sibon Goal 90+3'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 45,016
Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Netherlands 1–0 Japan
Sibon Goal 73' (pen.) Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 38,790
Nigeria 2–1 United States
Isaac Goal 39'
Obinna Goal 79'		 Report Kljestan Goal 88' (pen.)
Attendance: 48,096
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Group C[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Qualified for the quarterfinals
2  Belgium 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6
3  China PR 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1
4  New Zealand 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1
Source:[citation needed]
Brazil 1–0 Belgium
Hernanes Goal 79' Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 39,661
Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
China PR 1–1 New Zealand
Dong Fangzhuo Goal 88' Report Brockie Goal 53'
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 41,407
New Zealand 0–5 Brazil
Report Anderson Goal 3'
Pato Goal 33'
Ronaldinho Goal 55', 61' (pen.)
Sóbis Goal 90+3'
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 44,951
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)
Belgium 2–0 China PR
Dembélé Goal 8'
Mirallas Goal 80'		 Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 45,756
China PR 0–3 Brazil
Report Diego Goal 18'
Thiago Neves Goal 69', 73'
Attendance: 38,790
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
New Zealand 0–1 Belgium
Report Haroun Goal 35'
Attendance: 45,202
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

Group D[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7 Qualified for the quarterfinals
2  Cameroon 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
3  South Korea 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
4  Honduras 3 0 0 3 0 5 −5 0
Source:[citation needed]
Honduras 0–3 Italy
Report Giovinco Goal 41'
Rossi Goal 45' (pen.)
Acquafresca Goal 52' (pen.)
Attendance: 21,680
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
South Korea 1–1 Cameroon
Park Chu-young Goal 68' Report Mandjeck Goal 81'
Attendance: 21,943
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Cameroon 1–0 Honduras
Mbia Goal 74' Report
Attendance: 28,657
Italy 3–0 South Korea
Rossi Goal 15'
Rocchi Goal 32'
Montolivo Goal 90'		 Report
Attendance: 29,455
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)
South Korea 1–0 Honduras
Kim Dong-jin Goal 23' Report
Attendance: 34,160
Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Cameroon 0–0 Italy
Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 47,307

Knockout stage[]

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Gold medal match
                           
  B1  Nigeria 2  
A2  Ivory Coast 0  
  B1  Nigeria 4  
  C2  Belgium 1  
D1  Italy 2
  C2  Belgium 3  
    B1  Nigeria 0
  A1  Argentina 1
  A1  Argentina (aet) 2  
B2  Netherlands 1  
  A1  Argentina 3 Bronze medal match
  C1  Brazil 0  
C1  Brazil (aet) 2 C2  Belgium 0
  D2  Cameroon 0   C1  Brazil 3

Quarter-finals[]

Brazil 2–0 (a.e.t.) Cameroon
Sóbis Goal 101'
Marcelo Goal 105'		 Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 41,043
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Italy 2–3 Belgium
Rossi Goal 18' (pen.), 74' (pen.) Report Dembélé Goal 23', 79'
Mirallas Goal 45+2'
Attendance: 50,802
Argentina 2–1 (a.e.t.) Netherlands
Messi Goal 14'
Di María Goal 105'		 Report Bakkal Goal 36'
Attendance: 51,366
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Nigeria 2–0 Ivory Coast
Odemwingie Goal 44'
Obinna Goal 82' (pen.)		 Report
Attendance: 28,944
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Semi-finals[]

Nigeria 4–1 Belgium
Adefemi Goal 17'
Obasi Goal 59', 72'
Okonkwo Goal 78'		 Report Ciman Goal 88'
Attendance: 56,312
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
Argentina 3–0 Brazil
Agüero Goal 52', 58'
Riquelme Goal 76' (pen.)		 Report
Attendance: 52,968

Bronze medal match[]

Belgium 0–3 Brazil
Report Diego Goal 27'
Jô Goal 45', 90+2'
Attendance: 50,705
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Gold medal match[]

2008 Summer Olympics Football Final
Nigeria 0–1 Argentina
Report Di María Goal 58'
National Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 89,102
Team details

Final ranking[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Argentina (ARG) 6 6 0 0 11 2 +9 18
2  Nigeria (NGR) 6 4 1 1 10 4 +6 13
3  Brazil (BRA) 6 5 0 1 14 3 +11 15
4  Belgium (BEL) 6 3 0 3 7 10 −3 9
5  Italy (ITA) 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5 7
6  Ivory Coast (CIV) 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6
7  Netherlands (NED) 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 5
8  Cameroon (CMR) 4 1 2 1 2 3 −1 5
9  United States (USA) 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
10  South Korea (KOR) 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
11  Australia (AUS) 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
12  Serbia (SRB) 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 1
13  China (CHN) 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1
14  New Zealand (NZL) 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1
15  Japan (JPN) 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
16  Honduras (HON) 3 0 0 3 0 5 −5 0
Source:[citation needed]

Statistics[]

Goalscorers[]

With four goals, Giuseppe Rossi of Italy was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 75 goals were scored by 53 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.

4 goals
  • Italy Giuseppe Rossi
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "List of Referees & Assistant Referees appointed for the Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008 – (Men's tournament)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ^ "2008 Summer Olympics Soccer Results - Beijing, China - ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.

External links[]


Retrieved from ""