Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

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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
ChampionsFlag of Argentina.svg  Argentina (2nd title)
Runners-upFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Third placeFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Fourth placeFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored75 (2.34 per match)
Attendance1,404,254 (43,883 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Italy.svg Giuseppe Rossi
(4 goals)
← 2004
2012 →

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.

Contents

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).

Despite the absence of an official best player award, the FIFA website highlighted Lionel Messi's campaign by stating that he "posed defenders more problems than anyone else in the tournament". [1] Juan Román Riquelme and Javier Mascherano also received special mentions. [2]

Qualification

Countries of men's tournament Participating countries in men's football at the 2008 Olympics.PNG
Countries of men's tournament

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

Means of qualificationDateVenueBerthsQualified
Host nation 1Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
AFC Preliminary Competition February – November 2007–3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
CAF Preliminary Competition September 2006 – March 2008–3Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
CONCACAF Preliminary Competition August 2007 – March 2008Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 2Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2007 South American Youth Championship 7–28 January 2007Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 2Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
OFC Preliminary Competition 1–9 March 2008Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 1Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
2007 UEFA U-21 Championship 10–23 June 2007Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Total16

Venues

Six venues were used during the tournament, four of them outside of Beijing at cities around China. Beijing National Stadium hosted the final.

Beijing Shanghai
class=notpageimage|
Location of host cities of the tournament.
Chaoyang Xuhui
Beijing National Stadium Beijing Workers' Stadium Shanghai Stadium
Capacity: 91,000Capacity: 70,161Capacity: 80,000
Beijing China Beijing-National-Stadium-01.jpg Workers Stadium 2008.jpg Shanghai Stadium 2008.JPG
Shenyang Tianjin Qinhuangdao
Hunnan Nankai Haigang
Shenyang Olympic Stadium Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre Stadium
Capacity: 60,000Capacity: 60,000Capacity: 33,000
Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium drone view 2.jpg CFA Super League Match in Tianjin, China on August 2nd 2018 in Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium.jpg Qin Huang Dao Ao Ti Zhong Xin (Ni Ri Li Ya --Ke Te Di Wa ) - panoramio.jpg

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. [3] A minimum of two goalkeepers (plus one optional alternate goalkeeper) had to be included in the squad. [3]

Match officials

On 22 April 2008, FIFA released the list of match referees that will officiate at the Olympics. [4]

ConfederationRefereeAssistants
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).

Seeding

The draw for the tournament took place on 20 April 2008. Argentina, the Netherlands, China and Cameroon were seeded for the draw and placed into groups A–D, respectively. The remaining teams were drawn from four pots with teams from the same region kept apart.

Pot 1: AsiaPot 2: Africa and OceaniaPot 3: EuropePot 4: Americas

Group stage

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

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 330051+49Qualified for the quarterfinals
2Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 320164+26
3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 301213−21
4Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia 301237−41
Source: [5]
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg1–1Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia
Zadkovich Soccerball shade.svg69' Report Rajković Soccerball shade.svg78'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 36,184
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
Ivory Coast  Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg1–2Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Cissé Soccerball shade.svg53' Report Messi Soccerball shade.svg43'
Acosta Soccerball shade.svg86'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 43,266
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg1–0Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Lavezzi Soccerball shade.svg76' Report
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 38,182
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Serbia  Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg2–4Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast
Mrdaković Soccerball shade.svg16'
Rakić Soccerball shade.svg90'		 Report Cissé Soccerball shade.svg3'
Rajković Soccerball shade.svg24' (o.g.)
Kalou Soccerball shade.svg70'
Gervinho Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 38,320
Referee: Roberto Moreno (Panama)
Ivory Coast  Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg1–0Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Kalou Soccerball shade.svg81' Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 50,437
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg2–0Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia
Lavezzi Soccerball shade.svg13' (pen.)
Buonanotte Soccerball shade.svg84'		 Report
Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 53,668
Referee: Abdullah Al Hilali (Oman)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 321042+27Qualified for the quarterfinals
2Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 312032+15
3Flag of the United States.svg  United States 31114404
4Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 300314−30
Source: [ citation needed ]
Japan  Flag of Japan.svg0–1Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Report Holden Soccerball shade.svg47'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 57,102
Referee: Badara Diatta (Senegal)
Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg0–0Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 52,390
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg2–1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Obinna Soccerball shade.svg58'
Anichebe Soccerball shade.svg74'		 Report Toyoda Soccerball shade.svg79'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 42,592
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)
United States  Flag of the United States.svg2–2Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Kljestan Soccerball shade.svg64'
Altidore Soccerball shade.svg72'		 Report Babel Soccerball shade.svg16'
Sibon Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 45,016
Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg1–0Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Sibon Soccerball shade.svg73' (pen.) Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 38,790
Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg2–1Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Isaac Soccerball shade.svg39'
Obinna Soccerball shade.svg79'		 Report Kljestan Soccerball shade.svg88' (pen.)
Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 48,096
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 330090+99Qualified for the quarterfinals
2Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 320131+26
3Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China (H)301216−51
4Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 301217−61
Source: [ citation needed ]
(H) Hosts
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg1–0Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Hernanes Soccerball shade.svg79' Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 39,661
Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg1–1Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Dong Fangzhuo Soccerball shade.svg88' Report Brockie Soccerball shade.svg53'
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 41,407
Referee: Martín Vázquez (Uruguay)
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg0–5Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Report Anderson Soccerball shade.svg3'
Pato Soccerball shade.svg33'
Ronaldinho Soccerball shade.svg55', 61' (pen.)
Sóbis Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 44,951
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg2–0Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Dembélé Soccerball shade.svg8'
Mirallas Soccerball shade.svg80'		 Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 45,756
Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)
China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg0–3Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Report Diego Soccerball shade.svg18'
Thiago Neves Soccerball shade.svg69', 73'
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
Attendance: 38,790
Referee: Jerome Damon (South Africa)
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg0–1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report Haroun Soccerball shade.svg35'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 45,202
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 321060+67Qualified for the quarterfinals
2Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 312021+15
3Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 311124−24
4Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 300305−50
Source: [ citation needed ]
Honduras  Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg0–3Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report Giovinco Soccerball shade.svg41'
Rossi Soccerball shade.svg45' (pen.)
Acquafresca Soccerball shade.svg52' (pen.)
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
Attendance: 21,680
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg1–0Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
Mbia Soccerball shade.svg74' Report
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
Attendance: 28,657
Referee: Abdullah Al Hilali (Oman)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg3–0Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Rossi Soccerball shade.svg15'
Rocchi Soccerball shade.svg32'
Montolivo Soccerball shade.svg90'		 Report
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
Attendance: 29,455
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)
South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svg1–0Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
Kim Dong-jin Soccerball shade.svg23' Report
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 34,160
Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg0–0Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Report
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin
Attendance: 47,307
Referee: Martín Vázquez (Uruguay)

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Gold medal match
         
B1 Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 2
A2 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 0
B1 Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 4
C2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1
D1 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2
C2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 3
B1 Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 0
A1 Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1
A1 Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina (aet)2
B2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1
A1 Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 3Bronze medal match
C1 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 0
C1 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil (aet)2C2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0
D2 Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 0 C1 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3

Quarter-finals

Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg2–0 (a.e.t.)Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Sóbis Soccerball shade.svg101'
Marcelo Soccerball shade.svg105'		 Report
Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang
Attendance: 41,043
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg2–3Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Rossi Soccerball shade.svg18' (pen.), 74' (pen.) Report Dembélé Soccerball shade.svg23', 79'
Mirallas Soccerball shade.svg45+2'
Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 50,802
Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg2–1 (a.e.t.)Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Messi Soccerball shade.svg14'
Di María Soccerball shade.svg105'		 Report Bakkal Soccerball shade.svg36'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 51,366
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg2–0Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast
Odemwingie Soccerball shade.svg44'
Obinna Soccerball shade.svg82' (pen.)		 Report
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
Attendance: 28,944
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Semi-finals

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg4–1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Adefemi Soccerball shade.svg17'
Obasi Soccerball shade.svg59', 72'
Okonkwo Soccerball shade.svg78'		 Report Ciman Soccerball shade.svg88'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 56,312
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg3–0Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Agüero Soccerball shade.svg52', 58'
Riquelme Soccerball shade.svg76' (pen.)		 Report
Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 52,968
Referee: Martín Vázquez (Uruguay)

Bronze medal match

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg0–3Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Bronze medal icon.svg
Report Diego Soccerball shade.svg27'
Jô Soccerball shade.svg45', 90+2'
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 50,705
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Gold medal match

Silver medal icon.svg Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg0–1Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Gold medal icon.svg
Report Di María Soccerball shade.svg58'
Beijing National Stadium, Beijing
Attendance: 89,102
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Source for cards: [6]

Team details

Final ranking

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina  (ARG)6600112+918
2Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria  (NGR)6411104+613
3Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil  (BRA)6501143+1115
4Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium  (BEL)6303710−39
5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)421183+57
6Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast  (CIV)42026606
7Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)41214405
8Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon  (CMR)412123−15
9Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)31114404
10Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea  (KOR)311124−24
11Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)301213−21
12Flag of Serbia (2004-2010).svg  Serbia  (SRB)301237−41
13Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China  (CHN)301216−51
14Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand  (NZL)301217−61
15Flag of Japan.svg  Japan  (JPN)300314−30
16Flag of Honduras (before 2022).svg  Honduras  (HON)300305−50
Source: IOC

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
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

References

  1. ↑ "Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008". FIFA. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Messi and Argentina grab gold in Beijing". FIFA. 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "List of Referees & Assistant Referees appointed for the Olympic Football Tournaments Beijing 2008 – (Men's tournament)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "2008 Summer Olympics Soccer Results - Beijing, China - ESPN". www.espn.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Torneo Olímpico de Fútbol • 23 Aug 2008 • 01:00 • National Stadium (Bird's Nest)". FIFA (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
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