2024 Olympic football tournaments - Paris

[Tazmania]

I was suprised by the quality of Indonesia and how comfortable they are in possession: good dribbling, passing and shooting skills together with some nice combination play.

[amenina]

AFC U23 Asian Cup, quarter-final result, 26 April

Uzbekistan 2-0 Saudi Arabia

Uzbekistan advanced to the semi-finals, and will play Indonesia.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... reign.html

[amenina]

AFC U23 Asian Cup, quarter-final result, 26 April

Iraq 1-0 Vietnam

Iraq advanced to the semi-finals, and will play Japan.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... mis_1.html

[amenina]

So the four semi-finalists are represented by four different regions of AFC (apart from South Asia who did not have any teams qualified).

Semi-final fixtures: https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... four_.html

Monday

Indonesia v Uzbekistan
Venue: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: 17:00 (UTC+3)

Japan v Iraq
Venue: Jassim Bin hamad Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: 20:30 (UTC+3)

[Tazmania]

Iraq-Vietnam decided by a very poor VAR decision to give a penalty-kick to Iraq.

[amenina]

It has been reported by the Japanese media that the rules for allocating the three AFC teams which qualify directly to the men's Olympics to the group stage berths "AFC 1", "AFC 2", and "AFC 3" have been changed. Previously, it was said at the time of the draw that the allocation of berths will follow the seeding rules used for the group stage draw. However, the Japanese Football Association have received a communication from the AFC prior to the start of the U23 Asian Cup that the allocation of berths will strictly follow the ranking of the U23 Asian Cup, i.e., the champions will be "AFC 1", the runners-up will be "AFC 2", and the third-placed team will be "AFC 3".

https://www.msn.com/ja-jp/news/world/%E ... 0dbd&ei=36

Here are the Olympic men's draw results

Group A: France, USA, AFC-CAF Play-off, New Zealand
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, AFC 3, Ukraine
Group C: AFC 2, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic
Group D: AFC 1, Paraguay, Mali, Israel

And the four semi-finalists of the AFC U23 Asian Cup are Japan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. I am guessing that IOC and FIFA are hoping that Japan will win the tournament....

[amenina]

So the four semi-finalists are represented by four different regions of AFC (apart from South Asia who did not have any teams qualified).

Semi-final fixtures: https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... four_.html

Monday

Indonesia v Uzbekistan
Venue: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: 17:00 (UTC+3)

Japan v Iraq
Venue: Jassim Bin hamad Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: 20:30 (UTC+3)

Two places in the men's Olympic tournament will be decided today.

[TommyChat]

I think that AFC 1 has the easiest draw of the 4 anyway followed by AFC 2. The playoff winner group can be considered easier then the AFC 3 but I can't see a team losing for that and risk losing to Guinea.

Edit: I didn't notice that if any of the 3 not being Japan end up in the same group with Israel there will be troubles.

[Sagy]

I think that AFC 1 has the easiest draw of the 4 anyway followed by AFC 2. The playoff winner group can be considered easier then the AFC 3 but I can't see a team losing for that and risk losing to Guinea.

Edit: I didn't notice that if any of the 3 not being Japan end up in the same group with Israel there will be troubles.

Uzbekistan Should not lead to troubles as well.

[amenina]

AFC U23 Asian Cup, semi-final result, 29 April

Indonesia 0-2 Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan advanced to the final and qualified for the Olympics for the first time.

Indonesia will play in the third place match for a second chance to qualify.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... an__2.html

[bugylibicska]

AFC U23 Asian Cup, semi-final result, 29 April

Indonesia 0-2 Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan advanced to the final and qualified for the Olympics for the first time.

Indonesia will play in the third place match for a second chance to qualify.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... an__2.html

Finally. Bravo Uzbekistan! 1st time not choking.

[amenina]

AFC U23 Asian Cup, semi-final result, 29 April

Japan 2-0 Iraq

Japan advanced to the final and qualified for the Olympics for the eighth straight time.

Iraq will play in the third place match for a second chance to qualify.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc ... nal_1.html

[amenina]

Third place match on 2 May

Final on 3 May

[amenina]

The draw presenter says the three AFC teams will be placed as "AFC 1", "AFC 2", "AFC 3" based on the ranking of the five-tournament seeding formula scores, not by the ranking of the qualifying competition AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024.

We can assume that Japan or Korea will be AFC 1 and go to group D

Unless of course neither team qualifies for one of three AFC berths. In that case whoever wins the AFC U-23 Asian Cup will be AFC 1, because winning the qualifying tournament is worth 5 seeding points, and all other AFC teams have less than 5 seeding points.

The AFC teams with seeding points are (the U-23 Asian Cup champions will earn 5 more points):
Japan - 19.8
Korea Republic - 19.6
Australia - 4.2
Iraq - 4.2 (Australia ranked ahead of Iraq due to 2020 results)
UAE - 0.6
China PR - 0.4
(Note: Saudi Arabia played in 2020, but earned 0 points)

If there are more than one AFC team with 0 seeding points, a drawing of lots should be used to decide the ranking according to the draw procedure, and thus which group they go to.

From the AFC article: "The top three teams from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will earn automatic tickets to the men's tournament but their groups will be decided based on their performance in the last five editions of the Olympics. "

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/oly ... glory.html

The same article has been changed to reflect the new rule:

The top three teams from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will earn automatic tickets to the men's tournament.

The AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 champions will play in Group D with Paraguay, Mali and Israel their opponents. The runners-up side will feature in Group C alongside Spain, Egypt and Dominican Republic while the third-placed side will play in Group B with two-time champions Argentina, Morocco and Ukraine their opponents.

The fourth placed side from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will advance to a playoff against Africa's Guinea on May 9 in Paris, with the winners to take a spot in Group A which also consists France, USA and New Zealand.

Men's Draw
Group A: France, USA, AFC4/CAF, New Zealand
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, AFC3, Ukraine
Group C: AFC2, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic
Group D: AFC1, Paraguay, Mali, Israel

[Eyal]

I think that AFC 1 has the easiest draw of the 4 anyway followed by AFC 2. The playoff winner group can be considered easier then the AFC 3 but I can't see a team losing for that and risk losing to Guinea.

Edit: I didn't notice that if any of the 3 not being Japan end up in the same group with Israel there will be troubles.

Both finalists were eliminated by Israel in the world cup, but I don't think that it can happen again as Israel will have a different coach and few players that will not be able to play (due to age and clubs restrictions)...