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| Event type

Football, Men

Date7 – 23 August 2008
StatusOlympic
LocationBeijing Guojia Tiyuchang, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing / Qinghuangdao Shi Ao Ti Zhongxin Tiyuchang, Qinhuangdao / Shanghai Tiyuchang, Shanghai / Shenyang Aolinpike Tiyu Zhongxin Tiyuchang, Shenyang / Tianjin Aolinpike Zhongxin Tiyuchang, Tianjin / Gongren Tiyuchang, Beijing
Participants274 from 16 countries
FormatRound-robin pools advance teams to single-elimination tournament of eight teams.

As in previous Olympics the men’s competition was organized for “U23” players, footballers at most 23 years old, but three older players were allowed on each team. Prior to the Olympics, major discussion ensued when several European clubs would not release their players to compete in the Olympics. After a short summer holiday because of the European Championships, several teams had to compete in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League or UEFA Cup, and required their players to be present. The clubs argued the Olympic tournament was not on the official international calendar, and thus they were not required to release their players, as is common for international tournaments. The International Football Federation (FIFA) meanwhile announced that the tournament had been “informally” on the calendar for years, and clubs would have to oblige. Eventually, the case was taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which decided in favour of the clubs. Eventually, most players did play in Beijing, although a few were forced to fly back to Europe before completion of the competition.

Two of the affected footballers were the star players of the South American favourites, Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Ronaldinho (Brazil). Both played for Spanish side FC Barcelona, which wanted the players to withdraw. However, Messi was eventually allowed to compete, while Ronaldinho completed a transfer to Italy just before the Olympics. Ronaldinho’s Brazil was looking to finally win the Olympic gold medal that had eluded Brazil for decades, while Argentina was defending its 2004 title, and had won the 2005 and 2007 editions of the U20 World Cup. Other contenders were assumed to be the African sides of Cameroon (the 2000 Champions), Nigeria (gold in 1996) and Italy and the Netherlands from Europe.

Brazil and Argentina were the only teams to qualify for the quarter-finals undefeated. Both needed extra time to win their matches against Cameroon and the Netherlands, respectively, before clashing in the semi-finals. The match was highly anticipated, but turned out to be a fairly one-sided affair, with Argentina beating their neighbours 3-0. Two goals were scored by Sergio Agüero, with his father-in-law (former star player Maradona) watching from the stands. In the other semi-final, Nigeria had little trouble with Belgium, the tournament’s biggest surprise.

In the final, a replay of the 1996 Olympic final in Atlanta, Nigeria and Argentina were evenly matched in the first 45 minutes. In the 58th minute, a quick break from Argentina resulted in the match’s only goal, as Ángel di Maria chipped the ball over the goalkeeper. Nigeria pressed hard in the final half hour, but were unable to pull of the same stunt as in 1996. Argentina thus became the first repeat winners of the Olympic title in 40 years, after Hungary won the title in 1964 and 1968.

PosNumberTeamNOC
1ArgentinaARGGold
13Lautaro Acosta
16Sergio Agüero
8Éver Banega
17Diego Buonanotte
11Ángel Di María
6Federico Fazio
5Fernando Gago
2Ezequiel Garay
9Ezequiel Lavezzi
14Javier Mascherano
15Lionel Messi
3Fabián Monzón
12Nicolás Pareja
10Juan Riquelme
18Sergio Romero
7José Sosa
1Óscar Ustari
4Pablo Zabaleta
22Nicolás Navarro DNS
CoachSergio Batista
2NigeriaNGRSilver
13Olubayo Adefemi
5Dele Adeleye
12Femi Ajilore
15Efe Ambrose
16Victor Anichebe
3Onyekachi Apam
17Emmanuel Ekpo
10Promise Isaac
6Monday James
8Sani Kaita
9Victor Obinna
14Peter Odemwingie
7Chinedu Ogbuke
2Chibuzor Okonkwo
11Solomon Okoronkwo
1Ambruse Vanzekin
18Ikechukwu Ezenwa DNS
19Oladapo Olufemi DNS
CoachSamson Siasia
3BrazilBRABronze
3Alex Silva
9 Alexandre Pato
7 Anderson
14 Breno
15 Diego
5 Hernanes
13 Ilsinho
18
8Lucas Leiva
6 Marcelo
17Rafael Sóbis
2 Rafinha
11 Ramires
12 Renan
10 Ronaldinho Gaúcho
16Thiago Neves
4Thiago Silva
1Diego Alves DNS
Coach Dunga
4BelgiumBEL
1Logan Bailly
13Laurent Ciman
7Tom De Mul
2Sepp De Roover
17Stijn De Smet
18Moussa Dembélé
6Marouane Fellaini
8Faris Haroun
3Vincent Kompany
12Yves Makabu-Makalambay
11Maarten Martens
9Kevin Mirallas
14Landry Mulemo
19Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe
5Sébastien Pocognoli
15Jeroen Simaeys
16Anthony Vanden Borre
4Thomas Vermaelen
10Jan Vertonghen
22Yves De Winter DNS
CoachJean-François De Sart
5ItalyITA
17Ignazio Abate
14Robert Acquafresca
15Salvatore Bocchetti
20Antonio Candreva
5Luca Cigarini
13Andrea Coda
18Andrea Consigli
6Domenico Criscito
3Paolo De Ceglie
16Lorenzo De Silvestri
12Daniele Dessena
10Sebastian Giovinco
8Claudio Marchisio
7Riccardo Montolivo
2Marco Motta
4Antonio Nocerino
9Tommaso Rocchi
11Giuseppe Rossi
1Emiliano Viviano
21Andrea Russotto DNS
CoachPierluigi Casiraghi
6Côte d'IvoireCIV
1Vincent Angban
5Brou Angoua
12Mamadou Bagayoko
4Souleymane Bamba
18Sekou Cissé
7Kafoumba Coulibaly
3Ousman Diarrassouba
9Franck Dja Djedje
14Gervais Kouassi
13Abraham Guie-Gneki
8Salomon Kalou
6Hervé Kambou
10Emmanuel Koné
11Anthony Moura-Komenan
17Antoine N'Gossan
2Serges Wawa
16Christian Okoua DNS
15Mekeme Ladji Tamla DNS
CoachGérard Gili
7NetherlandsNED
11Ryan Babel
17Otman Bakkal
16Roy Beerens
7Jonathan de Guzmán
15Royston Drenthe
8Urby Emanuelson
4Kew Jaliens
13Calvin Jong-a-Pin
12Hedwiges Maduro
9Roy Makaay
3Dirk Marcellis
5Erik Pieters
10Gerald Sibon
14Evander Sno
18Kenneth Vermeer
2Gianni Zuiverloon
6Kees Luijckx DNS
1Piet Velthuizen DNS
CoachFoppe de Haan
8CameroonCMR
2Albert Baning
11Gustave Bebbe
12Paul Bebey
10Christian Bekamenga
4André Bikey
14Aurélien Chedjou
18Alexis Enam
3Antonio Ghomsi
8Georges Mandjeck
6Stéphane Mbia
7Marc Mboua
15Serge N'Gal
13Nicolas N'Koulou
17Alain Ollé
5Alex Song
9Franck Songo'o
1Amour Tignyemb
22Guy Bondoa DNS
16Joslain Mayebi DNS
CoachMarton N'dtoungou
9United StatesUSA
11Freddy Adu
12Jozy Altidore
4Michael Bradley
9Charlie Davies
6Mo Edu
10Benny Feilhaber
18Brad Guzan
7Stuart Holden
16Sacha Kljestan
17Brian McBride
5Dax McCarty
3Michael Orozco Fiscal
15Michael Parkhurst
14Robbie Rogers
8Danny Szetela
2Marvell Wynne
13Patrick Ianni DNS
1Chris Seitz DNS
CoachPiotr Nowak
10Republic of KoreaKOR
14Baek Ji-Hun
16Jo Yeong-Cheol
1Jeong Seong-Ryong
4Gang Min-Su
12Gi Seong-Yong
15Kim Geun-Hwan
6Kim Jin-Gyu
8Kim Jeong-U
3Kim Dong-Jin
13Kim Seung-Yong
11Lee Cheong-Yong
17Lee Geun-Ho
7Oh Jang-Eun
10Park Ju-Yeong
9Sin Yeong-Rok
2Sin Gwang-Hun
5Kim Chang-Su DNS
18Song Yu-Geol DNS
CoachPark Sung-Wha
11AustraliaAUS
9Mark Bridge
11David Carney
16Billy Celeski
1Adam Federici
7Neil Kilkenny
12Trent McClenahan
4Mark Milligan
8Stuart Musialik
2Jade North
17Nikita Rukavytsya
15Kristian Sarkies
21Matt Simon
5Matt Spiranovic
10Archie Thompson
6Nikolai Topor-Stanley
14James Troisi
13Ruben Zadkovich
3Adrian Leijer DNS
18Tando Velaphi DNS
CoachGraham Arnold
12SerbiaSRB
13Ljubomir Fejsa
8Nikola Gulan
2Marko Jovanović
4Gojko Kačar
3Aleksandar Kolarov
14Miljan Mrdaković
5Slobodan Rajković
9Đorđe Rakić
7Milan Smiljanić
1Vladimir Stojković
12Dušan Tadić
16Nenad Tomović
17Zoran Tošić
11Duško Tošić
15Aleksandar Živković
19Andrija Kaluđerović DNS
6Predrag Pavlović DNS
18Saša Stamenković DNS
CoachMiroslav Ðukić
13People's Republic of ChinaCHN
11Chen Tao
12Cui Peng
17Dong Fangzhuo
3Feng Xiaoting
9Gao Lin
10Han Peng
7Hao Junmin
15Jiang Ning
5Li Weifeng
18Liu Zhenli
1Qiu Shengjiong
13Shen Longyuan
2Tan Wangsong
14Wan Houliang
4Yuan Wenwei
16Zhao Xuri
8Zheng Zhi
6Zhou Haibin
20Zhu Ting
CoachRatomir Dujković
14New ZealandNZL
6Michael Boxall
11Jeremy Brockie
15Greg Draper
9Daniel Ellensohn
7Simon Elliott
8Craig Henderson
3Ian Hogg
16Sam Jenkins
10Chris Killen
17Sam Messam
5Ryan Nelsen
12Steven Old
4Cole Peverley
2Aaron Scott
1Jacob Spoonley
14Cole Tinkler
13Shaun Van Rooyen
18Liam Little DNS
CoachStu Jacobs
15JapanJPN
16Takuya Honda
8Keisuke Honda
2Hajime Hosogai
14Shinji Kagawa
10Yohei Kajiyama
18Tadanari Ri
4Hiroki Mizumoto
15Takayuki Morimoto
6Masato Morishige
5Yuto Nagatomo
1Shusaku Nishikawa
11Shinji Okazaki
12Hiroyuki Taniguchi
9Yohei Toyoda
7Atsuto Uchida
13Michihiro Yasuda
3Maya Yoshida
18Kaito Yamamoto DNS
CoachYasuharu Sorimachi
16HondurasHON
17David Álvarez
2Quiarol Arzú
14Jefferson Bernárdez
4Samuel Caballero
12Jorge Claros
18Obed Enamorado
21José Güity
1Kevin Hernández
15Luis López
7Emil Martínez
3David Molina
6Óscar Morales
5Erick Norales
10Ramón Núñez
8Rigoberto Padilla
9Carlos Pavón
11Luis Rodas
16Marvin Sánchez
13Hendry Thomas
20Edder Delgado DNS
CoachGilberto Yearwood

Preliminary Round

Date7 – 13 August 2008

Group A

PosTeamNOCWinsTiesLossesPointsGoals
1ArgentinaARG30095-1Q
2Côte d'IvoireCIV20166-4Q
3AustraliaAUS01211-3
4SerbiaSRB01213-7
MatchDate/TimeTeamNOCResultTeamNOC
Match #107 Aug 17:00AustraliaAUS1 – 1SerbiaSRB
Match #207 Aug 19:45ArgentinaARG2 – 1Côte d'IvoireCIV
Match #310 Aug 17:00ArgentinaARG1 – 0AustraliaAUS
Match #410 Aug 19:45Côte d'IvoireCIV4 – 2SerbiaSRB
Match #513 Aug 19:45Côte d'IvoireCIV1 – 0AustraliaAUS
Match #613 Aug 19:45ArgentinaARG2 – 0SerbiaSRB

Group B

PosTeamNOCWinsTiesLossesPointsGoals
1NigeriaNGR21074-2Q
2NetherlandsNED12053-2Q
3United StatesUSA11144-4
4JapanJPN00301-4
MatchDate/TimeTeamNOCResultTeamNOC
Match #107 Aug 17:00United StatesUSA1 – 0JapanJPN
Match #207 Aug 19:45NetherlandsNED0 – 0NigeriaNGR
Match #310 Aug 17:00NigeriaNGR2 – 1JapanJPN
Match #410 Aug 19:45NetherlandsNED2 – 2United StatesUSA
Match #513 Aug 17:00NetherlandsNED1 – 0JapanJPN
Match #613 Aug 17:00NigeriaNGR2 – 1United StatesUSA

Group C

PosTeamNOCWinsTiesLossesPointsGoals
1BrazilBRA30099-0Q
2BelgiumBEL20163-1Q
3People's Republic of ChinaCHN01211-6
4New ZealandNZL01211-7
MatchDate/TimeTeamNOCResultTeamNOC
Match #107 Aug 17:00BrazilBRA1 – 0BelgiumBEL
Match #207 Aug 19:45People's Republic of ChinaCHN1 – 1New ZealandNZL
Match #310 Aug 17:00BrazilBRA5 – 0New ZealandNZL
Match #410 Aug 19:45BelgiumBEL2 – 0People's Republic of ChinaCHN
Match #513 Aug 19:45BrazilBRA3 – 0People's Republic of ChinaCHN
Match #613 Aug 19:45BelgiumBEL1 – 0New ZealandNZL

Group D

PosTeamNOCWinsTiesLossesPointsGoals
1ItalyITA21076-0Q
2CameroonCMR12052-1Q
3Republic of KoreaKOR11142-4
4HondurasHON00300-5
MatchDate/TimeTeamNOCResultTeamNOC
Match #107 Aug 17:00ItalyITA3 – 0HondurasHON
Match #207 Aug 19:45CameroonCMR1 – 1Republic of KoreaKOR
Match #310 Aug 17:00CameroonCMR1 – 0HondurasHON
Match #410 Aug 19:45ItalyITA3 – 0Republic of KoreaKOR
Match #513 Aug 17:00Republic of KoreaKOR1 – 0HondurasHON
Match #613 Aug 17:00CameroonCMR0 – 0ItalyITA

Quarter-Finals

Date16 August 2008
FormatWinners of each match advanced to semi-finals.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorsNOCResultCompetitorsNOC
Match #116 Aug 18:00BrazilBRA2 – 0CameroonCMRAET
Match #216 Aug 18:00BelgiumBEL3 – 2ItalyITA
Match #316 Aug 21:00ArgentinaARG2 – 1NetherlandsNEDAET
Match #416 Aug 21:00NigeriaNGR2 – 0Côte d'IvoireCIV

Semi-Finals

Date19 August 2008
FormatWinners of each match advanced to final round.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorsNOCResultCompetitorsNOC
Match #119 Aug 18:00NigeriaNGR4 – 1BelgiumBEL
Match #219 Aug 21:00ArgentinaARG3 – 0BrazilBRA

Final Round

Date22 – 23 August 2008
FormatMedal round.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorsNOCResultCompetitorsNOC
Match 1/223 Aug 12:00ArgentinaARG1 – 0NigeriaNGR
Match 3/422 Aug 19:00BrazilBRA3 – 0BelgiumBEL