Four hunt last two Tokyo 2020 football tickets

And then there were four.

From an original eight entrants, only four teams remain in the men’s qualifying competition for the Tokyo 2020 Games in CONCACAF – a geographical zone comprised of North, Central America and the Caribbean. And those four (Mexico, the United States, Canada and Honduras) must become just two on Sunday to set the stage for the region’s final, but also – and more importantly – to fill out the names on the last two tickets on offer to the Tokyo 2020 (in 2021) Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.

Mexico, hosts and firm favourites heading into the 12-day competition (open only to players 24 years of age and younger), were unsurprising winners of a complicated Group A. After a pair of lopsided wins over Costa Rica and minnows the Dominican Republic, the showdown for top spot in the section against arch-rivals USA was as tense as it always promised to be.

Antuna cracker seals it for Mexico

In the end, a moment of magic was needed from the outstanding Uriel Antuna (his second goal of the round) to settle the affair on Wednesday night in the Mexicans’ favour (1-0).

“It was a very hard game. It always is [against the USA],” said Mexico coach and 34-times capped midfielder Jaime ‘Jimmy’ Lozano, who knows a thing or two about this rivalry with the neighbours to the north that’s become known as CONCACAF’s ‘Clasico.’ “It’s always going to be very competitive. We had our moments and we did our share of suffering too. But now we’re calm and happy with the win.”

American coach Jason Kreis – a former USA international with a jackhammer of a left foot – was left predictably ruing his team’s lack of sharpness in attack.

“We had some chances and it’s too bad we didn’t do a little bit better in the final third,” said Kreis, who saw his team through to the semifinal stage as second-place finishers in Group A thanks to wins over Costa and the Dominican Republic. In all, the Americans only conceded one goal in their three group games. “We’re still looking for a little more sharpness up front. But I’m really pleased with the effort and the fight we put in.”

On the other side of the bracket, on Thursday night, Honduras and Canada booked their passage to the semifinals via a tense 1-1 draw that saw both teams finish Group B with five points from their three games (two draws and a win for each).  

“We’re very happy to have won the group. It wasn’t easy and we had a difficult opponent on the night in Canada,” said captain Denil Maldonado, who was selected player-of-the-game thanks to his towering header in the 30th minute – just two minutes after Canada took a lead via Derek Cornelius. “But we believed in ourselves and we played our football. It’s not a win on the night, but it was enough to finish on top of the group. It gives us a lot of confidence heading into the semifinal.”

In the end, only one slim point of goal difference separated group winners Honduras from runners-up Canada. As such, the Canadians – who opened the competition with a Tajon Buchanan-inspired 2-0 win over El Salvador before drawing 0-0 with a brave Haitian outfit – have good reason to fancy their chances in the all-important semifinal stage.

“It’s exciting,” said midfielder David Norman Jr. – son of a former Canada international and Olympian at the 1984 Games. “Coming in, our goal was to win the game and win the group. We fell a bit short of that but we still need to keep our heads high and our chests out and be ready for Sunday night [against Mexico]. These are the games you want to play in CONCACAF and we've got a group of boys here who want to make history."

All or nothing in last four

Nerves will be jangling on Sunday night at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara when the final two tickets to Tokyo are handed out to the semifinal winners.

Mexico, on a high after finishing their group undefeated, scoring eight goals and conceding just one, will be up against a Canada team full of energy and enterprise and who fancy their status as outsiders.

“The fight in our players impressed me the most in the group stage,” said Canada coach Mauro Biello. “We’ve played three matches in a week and they’ve given their all for the shirt and for their country. These boys want it and while they know it is a difficult task ahead, I think it’s going to be something for which they will be ready.”

The earlier game will pit a solid USA against a speedy Honduran outfit, dangerous in transition. The Hondurans have a bit of recent history at the Olympics to inspire them, having finished fourth, and just outside the medals, at Rio 2016.

While the USA are the CONCACAF country to qualify for the most Olympic football tournaments historically, they haven’t reached the big stage since Beijing 2008. That is something the players will be keen to put right with a ticket to Tokyo on the line on Sunday.

The American coach knows the importance of the upcoming contest after an emotionally depleting loss to longtime rivals Mexico last time out. “The most important game is coming,” the USA coach said after the slim 1-0 loss to Mexico. “And we need to move forward very quickly and prepare ourselves for that [the semifinal].”

Passage to Japan

The two winning teams on Sunday night will book a place in the CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying final (to be played on Tuesday) and both will join a field of 16 teams, from all over the world, to participate in this summer’s Men’s Olympic Football tournament in Sapporo, Miyagi, Tokyo, Kashima, Yokohama and Saitama.

The tournament will run from 22 July to 7 August during this summer’s Games.

Only one nation from CONCACAF has won a men’s Olympic football gold and that was Mexico at the 2012 Games in London when they beat a Neymar-led Brazil in the final with a raft of stars like Gio dos Santos, Carlos Salcido and Jose de Jesus Corona.