CONCACAF Cup explained

2015 CONCACAF Cup
Other Titles:CONCACAF qualifying play-off for 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
Team1:Mexico
Team1association:
Team1score:3
Team2:United States
Team2association:
Team2score:2
Details:After extra time
Date:October 10, 2015
Stadium:Rose Bowl
City:Pasadena, California
Referee:Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
Attendance:93,723
Weather:97F

The CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) was an international soccer play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner United States played against the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner Mexico on October 10, 2015, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, United States.

Mexico won the match 3–2 after extra time, therefore qualifying for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.[1]

Background

Even though the CONCACAF Gold Cup takes place on a biennial basis, under previous guidelines prior to 2013, only the winners of the Gold Cup that was held two years before the FIFA Confederations Cup qualified as CONCACAF's representative. For example, Mexico won the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. This, in turn, lowered the prestige of the alternating tournament, with CONCACAF teams fielding weaker rosters in the Gold Cup that was held on the same year as the Confederations Cup because the result would have no bearing on qualification for the Confederations Cup. Many teams that were also involved in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup during that year put less focus on the Gold Cup.[2]

CONCACAF announced the introduction of a play-off match on April 5, 2013.[3] Starting from the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the CONCACAF representative would be decided by a play-off between the two CONCACAF Gold Cup winners prior to the Confederations Cup. Then CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb stated this "will allow the Champion of every single Gold Cup edition to have the same competitive opportunity to represent CONCACAF at the international level." In the case where the same national team wins both Gold Cup tournaments, no play-off is played, and the team qualifies directly to the Confederations Cup.

Following CONCACAF's decision to end their affiliation with Traffic Sports USA due to the 2015 FIFA corruption case, Major League Soccer's sister company Soccer United Marketing was chosen as commercial representative for the match.[4]

Qualified teams

Format

CONCACAF originally announced on July 23, 2015, that the play-off would be played as a single match on October 9, 2015, in the United States.[5] After the conclusion of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 26, 2015, CONCACAF announced the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as the venue.[6] The date was later amended to October 10 in order "to allow fans in attendance to enjoy a day-long of festivities, including Futbol Fiesta, a free, interactive fan zone outside the Rose Bowl."[7] [8]

Ticketing

On August 27, 2015, CONCACAF announced the ticket allocation process for the match.[9] Both the United States Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Federation received 30% of the tickets each, which was distributed through supporter groups. Another 30% was sold through a lottery where the general public could apply. The final 10% was given to local teams and sponsors. This system was to prevent the crowd being dominated by either team's supporters despite being on U.S. soil similar to previous Gold Cup finals.[10]

Squads

Each team could select up to 23 players for their squads. On September 15, 2015, CONCACAF announced the provisional team lists.[11] The final 23-player squads were announced by CONCACAF on October 5, 2015.[12]

Mexico

On October 1, the final squad was announced.

Head coach: Ricardo Ferretti

United States

On October 3, the final squad was announced. On October 9, it was announced that Bobby Wood would replace Alejandro Bedoya due to illness.

Head coach: Jürgen Klinsmann

Match summary

width=25!width=25
GK 12Moisés Muñoz
RB 22Paul Aguilar
CB 15Héctor Moreno
CB 5Diego Reyes
LB 7Miguel Layún
DM 4Rafael Márquez (c)
CM 16Héctor Herrera
CM 18
RF 9Raúl Jiménez
LF 19
CF 14
Substitutes:
GK 1 Alfredo Talavera
GK 13Jonathan Orozco
DF 2Israel Jiménez
DF 3
DF 6Jorge Torres Nilo
MF 8Jonathan dos Santos
MF 10
MF 17
MF 20Javier Aquino
MF 21Carlos Esquivel
MF 23Elías Hernández
FW 11Carlos Vela
Manager:
Ricardo Ferretti
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Brad Guzan
RB 23
CB 20 Geoff Cameron
CB 5
LB 7 DaMarcus Beasley
DM 15 Kyle Beckerman
RM 13 Jermaine Jones
LM 9
AM 4 Michael Bradley (c
CF 17
CF 8 Clint Dempsey
Substitutes:
GK 12 Tim Howard
GK 22 Nick Rimando
DF 3
DF 6 Tim Ream
DF 14 Ventura Alvarado
DF 16 Michael Orozco
DF 21 Jonathan Spector
MF 2
MF 10 Danny Williams
MF 19 Graham Zusi
FW 11
FW 18 Chris Wondolowski
Manager:
Jürgen Klinsmann
Assistant referees

[13]
Juan Francisco Zumba (El Salvador)
Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)
Fourth official


Marlon Mejía (El Salvador)

Match rules
  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Twelve named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.
Match notes

Future and abolishment of Confederations Cup

A 2019 edition was initially planned, featuring the winners of the 2017 and 2019 tournaments. In November 2016, CONCACAF announced that the television rights for the 2019 edition have been sold to Fox Sports.[14] On July 26, 2017, with their victory in the final of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States ensured they would participate at a minimum in the 2019 CONCACAF Cup should they fail to win the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[15]

However, on March 15, 2019, FIFA announced that the Confederations Cup would be abolished, with an expanded FIFA Club World Cup taking place instead.[16] This therefore also meant there would be no future editions of the CONCACAF Cup.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mexico claim CONCACAF's spot at Confederations Cup. https://web.archive.org/web/20151012142539/http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/news/y=2015/m=10/news=mexico-claim-concacaf-s-spot-at-confederations-cup-2710781.html. dead. October 12, 2015. FIFA.com. November 28, 2016. October 11, 2015.
  2. Web site: 2013, 2015 Gold Cup winners will meet for 2017 Confederations Cup spot. Reuters. April 5, 2013.
  3. Web site: 2013, 2015 Gold Cup winners will meet for 2017 Confederations Cup spot. July 6, 2021. USA TODAY. en-US.
  4. Web site: Ian. Thomas. SUM To Serve As Commercial Rep For CONCACAF Cup Match. sportsbusinessdaily.com. August 31, 2015. September 3, 2015.
  5. Web site: Match-ups Set for CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015 Finals Weekend in Philadelphia July 25-26. CONCACAF.com. July 23, 2015. July 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725231044/http://www.concacaf.com/article/match-ups-set-for-concacaf-gold-cup-2015-finals-weekend-in-philadelphia-july-25-26. July 25, 2015. dead.
  6. Web site: Playoff match for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 to be played between USA and Mexico on Oct. 9 at the Rose Bowl. CONCACAF.com. July 26, 2015.
  7. Web site: August 7, 2015 . Confederations Cup playoff game between USMNT and Mexico moved to October 10 . MLSsoccer.com.
  8. Web site: Playoff Match between USA and Mexico for FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 Berth to Be Played on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Rose Bowl. CONCACAF.com. August 7, 2015.
  9. Web site: Ticket Lottery Details Announced for CONCACAF Cup Match between USA and Mexico on October 10 at the Rose Bowl. CONCACAF.com. August 27, 2015.
  10. Web site: Wahl . Grant . 2015-08-27 . CONCACAF sets USA-Mexico Rose Bowl tickets split . 2024-03-30 . Sports Illustrated . en-us.
  11. Web site: CONCACAF Cup 2015 Provisional 35-Player Rosters Announced. September 15, 2015. September 15, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150920014043/http://www.concacaf.com/article/concacaf-cup-2015-provisional-35-player-rosters-announced. September 20, 2015. dead.
  12. Web site: Final 23-Player Rosters for CONCACAF Cup 2015 Chosen by Mexico and United States. CONCACAF.com. October 5, 2015. October 5, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170605221025/http://www.concacaf.com/article/final-23-player-rosters-for-concacaf-cup-2015-chosen-by-mexico-and-united-states. June 5, 2017. dead.
  13. Web site: CONCACAF Cup Game Notes: Mexico v USA. CONCACAF.com. October 10, 2015. October 10, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151014002151/http://www.concacaf.com/article/concacaf-cup-game-notes-mexico-v-usa. October 14, 2015. dead.
  14. Web site: CONCACAF Extends Gold Cup Deal with FOX through 2019 Championship. CONCACAF.com. November 28, 2016. November 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161129023536/http://www.concacaf.com/article/concacaf-extends-gold-cup-deal-with-fox-through-2019-championship. November 29, 2016. dead.
  15. News: Stars and Stripes close gap on El Tri . FIFA.com . July 27, 2017 . March 16, 2019.
  16. News: FIFA Council votes for the introduction of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup . FIFA.com . March 15, 2019 . March 15, 2019.