Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – After the city of Guadalajara was approved as the venue for the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying, the Confederation of North America, Central America and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF) announced the full schedule that the eight Under-23 men’s teams looking for a ticket to Tokyo will play from March 18 to 30, 2021.
The Qualifiers were initially scheduled for March 2020, but were rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
The Jalisco and Akron Stadiums in Guadalajara will be used for this 15th edition of the competition, with CONCACAF saying in a statement it had worked with world governing body FIFA, the Mexican Football Federation and other stakeholders to develop health protocols to ensure that the games take place in a safe environment for all participants.
Group Stage play will take place at both Jalisco and Akron Stadiums, between March 18th and 25th. After round-robin play, the first and second place finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals.
Both semifinal matches will be played on March 28, at the Jalisco Stadium. The semifinal winners will qualify for the final, and each earn a spot at the Men’s Olympic Soccer Tournament at the Tokyo Summer Games. The final is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30 at the Akron Stadium.
The eight competitors have been drawn into two groups of four:
Group A: Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic
Group B: Honduras, Canada, El Salvador and Haiti
2020 Men’s Olympic Qualifying Full Schedule (listed in EDT/local time):
Group Stage
Thursday, March 18 – Jalisco Stadium
USA vs Costa Rica (5 pm)
Mexico vs Dominican Republic (7:30 pm)
Friday, March 19 – Jalisco Stadium
Honduras vs Haiti (3:30 pm)
Canada vs El Salvador (6 pm)
Sunday, March 21 – Akron Stadium
Dominican Republic vs USA (7 pm)
Costa Rica vs Mexico (9:30 pm)
Monday, March 22 – Akron Stadium
Haiti vs Canada (6 pm)
El Salvador vs Honduras (8:30 pm)
Wednesday, March 24 – Jalisco Stadium
Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic (7 pm)
Mexico vs USA (9:30 pm)
Thursday, March 25 – Jalisco Stadium
El Salvador vs Haiti (7 pm)
Honduras vs Canada (9:30 pm)
Semifinals
Sunday, March 28 – Jalisco Stadium
1B vs 2A (6 pm)
1A vs 2B (9 pm)
Final
Tuesday, March 30 – Akron Stadium
Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2 (9 pm)
Fans will be able to follow all the matches on Concacaf’s 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) 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 iTunes and Google Play stores.
Sources: concacaf.com • MLS Soccer
