2015 CONCACAF Cup
| CONCACAF qualifying play-off for 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| after extra time | |||||||
| Date | October 10, 2015 | ||||||
| Venue | Rose Bowl, Pasadena | ||||||
| Referee | Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) | ||||||
| Attendance | 93,723 | ||||||
| Weather | 96°F, Clear, 9 MPH WSW wind | ||||||
The 2015 CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) was an international football play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. 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.
Background
Even though the CONCACAF Gold Cup is held every two years, 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 had resulted in CONCACAF teams using weaker rosters in the Gold Cup that was held on the same year as the Confederations Cup, as the result of this tournament having no bearing on qualification for the Confederations Cup and many teams were also involved in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup during that year.[1]
CONCACAF announced the introduction of a play-off match on April 5, 2013.[2] Starting from the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the CONCACAF representative will be decided by a play-off between the two CONCACAF Gold Cup winners prior to the Confederations Cup. Then CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb said this "will allow the Champion of every single Gold Cup edition to have the same competitive opportunity to represent CONCACAF at the international level."[2] 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.[2]
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.[3]
Qualified teams
- The United States qualified for the play-off by winning the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, after beating Panama 1-0 in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on July 28, 2013.
- Mexico qualified for the play-off by winning the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, after beating Jamaica 3-1 in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on July 26, 2015.
Format
CONCACAF originally announced on July 23, 2015 that the play-off will be played as a single match on October 9, 2015 in the United States.[4] After the conclusion of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 26, 2015, CONCACAF announced the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as the venue.[5] 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."[6][7]
Ticketing
On August 27, 2015, CONCACAF announced the ticket allocation process for the match.[8] Both the United States Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Federation will receive 30% of the tickets, which will be distributed through supporter groups. Another 30% will be sold through a lottery where the general public can apply. The final 10% will be given to local teams and sponsors. This system is to prevent the crowd being dominated by either team's supporters despite being on U.S. soil similar to previous Gold Cup finals.[9]
Squads
Each team can select up to 23 players for their squads. On September 15, 2015, CONCACAF announced the provisional team lists.[10] The final 23-player squads were announced by CONCACAF on October 5, 2015.[11]
Mexico
On October 1, the final squad was announced.
Head coach: 
Ricardo Ferretti
| # | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Alfredo Talavera | September 18, 1982 (aged 33) |  Toluca
|
| 2 | DF | Israel Jiménez | August 13, 1989 (aged 26) | UANL
|
| 3 | DF | Arturo Rivas | October 18, 1984 (aged 30) | UANL
|
| 4 | DF | Rafael Márquez | February 13, 1979 (aged 36) |  Verona
|
| 5 | DF | Diego Reyes | September 19, 1992 (aged 23) |  Real Sociedad
|
| 6 | DF | Jorge Torres Nilo | January 16, 1988 (aged 27) | UANL
|
| 7 | DF | Miguel Layún | June 25, 1988 (aged 27) |  Porto
|
| 8 | MF | Jonathan dos Santos | April 26, 1990 (aged 25) | Villarreal
|
| 9 | FW | Raúl Jiménez | May 5, 1991 (aged 24) | Benfica
|
| 10 | MF | Jesús Corona | January 6, 1993 (aged 22) | Porto
|
| 11 | FW | Carlos Vela | March 1, 1989 (aged 26) | Real Sociedad
|
| 12 | GK | Moisés Muñoz | February 1, 1980 (aged 35) | América
|
| 13 | GK | Jonathan Orozco | May 12, 1986 (aged 29) | Monterrey
|
| 14 | FW | Javier Hernández | June 1, 1988 (aged 27) |  Bayer Leverkusen
|
| 15 | DF | Héctor Moreno | January 17, 1988 (aged 27) |  PSV
|
| 16 | MF | Héctor Herrera | April 19, 1990 (aged 25) | Porto
|
| 17 | MF | Javier Güémez | October 17, 1991 (aged 23) | América
|
| 18 | MF | Andrés Guardado | September 28, 1986 (aged 29) | PSV
|
| 19 | FW | Oribe Peralta | January 12, 1984 (aged 31) | América
|
| 20 | MF | Javier Aquino | February 11, 1990 (aged 25) | UANL
|
| 21 | MF | Carlos Esquivel | April 10, 1982 (aged 33) | Toluca
|
| 22 | DF | Paul Aguilar | March 6, 1986 (aged 29) | América
|
| 23 | MF | Elías Hernández | April 29, 1988 (aged 27) | León |
United States
On October 3, the final squad was announced. On October 9, it was announced that Bobby Wood would replace Alejandro Bedoya (illness).
Head coach: Jürgen Klinsmann
| # | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Brad Guzan | September 9, 1984 (aged 31) |  Aston Villa
|
| 2 | MF | DeAndre Yedlin | July 9, 1993 (aged 22) | Sunderland
|
| 3 | DF | Brad Evans | April 20, 1985 (aged 30) |  Seattle Sounders FC
|
| 4 | MF | Michael Bradley | July 31, 1987 (aged 28) |  Toronto FC
|
| 5 | DF | Matt Besler | February 11, 1987 (aged 28) | Sporting Kansas City
|
| 6 | DF | Tim Ream | October 5, 1987 (aged 28) | Fulham
|
| 7 | DF | DaMarcus Beasley | May 24, 1982 (aged 33) | Houston Dynamo
|
| 8 | FW | Clint Dempsey | March 9, 1983 (aged 32) | Seattle Sounders FC
|
| 9 | MF | Gyasi Zardes | September 2, 1991 (aged 24) | LA Galaxy
|
| 10 | MF | Danny Williams | March 8, 1989 (aged 26) | Reading
|
| 11 | FW | Bobby Wood | November 15, 1992 (aged 22) | Union Berlin
|
| 12 | GK | Tim Howard | March 6, 1979 (aged 36) | Everton
|
| 13 | MF | Jermaine Jones | November 3, 1981 (aged 33) | New England Revolution
|
| 14 | DF | Ventura Alvarado | August 16, 1992 (aged 23) | América
|
| 15 | MF | Kyle Beckerman | April 23, 1982 (aged 33) | Real Salt Lake
|
| 16 | DF | Michael Orozco | February 7, 1986 (aged 29) | Tijuana
|
| 17 | FW | Jozy Altidore | November 6, 1989 (aged 25) | Toronto FC
|
| 18 | FW | Chris Wondolowski | January 28, 1983 (aged 32) | San Jose Earthquakes
|
| 19 | MF | Graham Zusi | August 18, 1986 (aged 29) | Sporting Kansas City
|
| 20 | DF | Geoff Cameron | July 11, 1985 (aged 30) | Stoke City
|
| 21 | DF | Jonathan Spector | March 1, 1986 (aged 29) | Birmingham City
|
| 22 | GK | Nick Rimando | June 17, 1979 (aged 36) | Real Salt Lake
|
| 23 | MF | Fabian Johnson | December 11, 1987 (aged 27) | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
Match summary
| Mexico |
3–2 (a.e.t.) | United States |
|---|---|---|
J. Hernández  10'Peralta 96'Aguilar 118' |
Report | Cameron 15' Wood 108' |
          Mexico
|
    United States
|
|
Assistant referees:[12]
|
Match rules
|
Match notes
|
References
- ↑ "2013, 2015 Gold Cup winners will meet for 2017 Confederations Cup spot". Reuters. April 5, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Gold Cup Winner to Qualify to FIFA Confederations Cup™ Playoff Match". CONCACAF. April 5, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- ↑ Thomas, Ian (August 31, 2015). "SUM To Serve As Commercial Rep For CONCACAF Cup Match". sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Match-ups Set for CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015 Finals Weekend in Philadelphia July 25-26". CONCACAF.com. July 23, 2015.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Confederations Cup playoff game between USMNT and Mexico moved to October 10". MLSsoccer.com. August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Ticket Lottery Details Announced for CONCACAF Cup Match between USA and Mexico on October 10 at the Rose Bowl". CONCACAF.com. August 27, 2015.
- ↑ Grant Wahl (August 27, 2015). "CONCACAF determines split for more even USA-Mexico Rose Bowl crowd". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ "CONCACAF Cup 2015 Provisional 35-Player Rosters Announced". 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ↑ "Final 23-Player Rosters for CONCACAF Cup 2015 Chosen by Mexico and United States". CONCACAF.com. 5 October 2015.
- ↑ "CONCACAF Cup Game Notes: Mexico v USA". CONCACAF.com. October 10, 2015.