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Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament facts for kids

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2012 Men's Olympic Football Tournament
Tournament details
Host country Great Britain
Dates 26 July – 11 August
Teams 16
Venue(s) 6 (in 6 host cities)
← 2008
2016 →

The 2012 Men's Olympic Football Tournament was a special football competition for male players under 23 years old. It was part of the exciting 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, Great Britain. The tournament took place from July 26 to August 11, 2012.

Teams from all over the world, made up of their best young players, competed to win the gold medal. Argentina was the champion from the previous Olympics in 2008. The games were played across England, Scotland, and Wales. A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final stages of the tournament.

Who Played? Teams in the Tournament

Sixteen national teams qualified to play in the 2012 Men's Olympic Football Tournament. They earned their spots through different competitions held around the world.

How Teams Qualified When They Qualified Where They Qualified Number of Teams Qualified Teams
Host nation 1 United Kingdom Great Britain
AFC (Asia) Competition 29 March 2012 Various (home and away) 3 South Korea South Korea
Japan Japan
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
CAF (Africa) Competition 10 December 2011  Morocco 3 Gabon Gabon
Morocco Morocco
Egypt Egypt
CONCACAF (North/Central America) Competition 2 April 2012  United States 2 Mexico Mexico
Honduras Honduras
CONMEBOL (South America) Competition 12 February 2011  Peru 2 Brazil Brazil
Uruguay Uruguay
OFC (Oceania) Competition 25 March 2012  New Zealand 1 New Zealand New Zealand
UEFA (Europe) Competition 25 June 2011  Denmark 3 Spain Spain
Switzerland Switzerland
Belarus Belarus
AFC–CAF Play-off 23 April 2012 United Kingdom Great Britain 1 Senegal Senegal
Total 16

Where the Games Were Played: Venues

The football matches were played in six different stadiums across Great Britain. These stadiums were chosen for their large size and modern facilities.

London Manchester
Wembley Stadium Old Trafford
Capacity: 90,000 Capacity: 76,212
Wembley Stadium Old Trafford Stadium
Cardiff Newcastle
Millennium Stadium St James' Park
Capacity: 74,500 Capacity: 52,387
Millennium Stadium St James' Park
Glasgow Coventry
Hampden Park City of Coventry Stadium
Capacity: 52,103 Capacity: 32,500
Hampden Park Ricoh Arena

How the Tournament Started: Group Stage

The 16 teams were divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Each team played every other team in their group once. Teams earned points for wins and draws. The top two teams from each group moved on to the next stage.

  • Pld: Matches Played
  • W: Wins
  • D: Draws (Ties)
  • L: Losses
  • GF: Goals For (goals scored by the team)
  • GA: Goals Against (goals scored by the other team)
  • GD: Goal Difference (GF minus GA)
  • Pts: Points

Group A Matches and Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
United Kingdom Great Britain 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
Senegal Senegal 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5
Uruguay Uruguay 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 3 6 -3 1
26 July 2012
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 1 – 2 Uruguay Uruguay
Great Britain United Kingdom 1 – 1 Senegal Senegal
29 July 2012
Senegal Senegal 2 – 0 Uruguay Uruguay
Great Britain United Kingdom 3 – 1 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
1 August 2012
Senegal Senegal 1 – 1 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Great Britain United Kingdom 1 – 0 Uruguay Uruguay

Group B Matches and Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Mexico Mexico 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7
South Korea South Korea 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5
Gabon Gabon 3 0 2 1 1 3 -2 2
Switzerland Switzerland 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1
26 July 2012
Mexico Mexico 0–0 South Korea South Korea
Gabon Gabon 1–1 Switzerland Switzerland
29 July 2012
Mexico Mexico 2–0 Gabon Gabon
South Korea South Korea 2–1 Switzerland Switzerland
1 August 2012
Mexico Mexico 1–0 Switzerland Switzerland
South Korea South Korea 0–0 Gabon Gabon

Group C Matches and Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Brazil Brazil 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 9
Egypt Egypt 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4
Belarus Belarus 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 1 2 1 5 -4 1
26 July 2012
Belarus Belarus 1–0 New Zealand New Zealand
Brazil Brazil 3–2 Egypt Egypt
29 July 2012
Brazil Brazil 1–1 Belarus Belarus
Egypt Egypt 3–1 New Zealand New Zealand
1 August 2012
Brazil Brazil 3–0 New Zealand New Zealand
Egypt Egypt 3–1 Belarus Belarus

Group D Matches and Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Japan Japan 3 2 1 0 2 0 +2 7
Honduras Honduras 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
Morocco Morocco 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1 2
Spain Spain 3 0 1 2 0 2 -2 1
26 July 2012
Spain Spain 0–1 Japan Japan
Honduras Honduras 2–2 Morocco Morocco
29 July 2012
Spain Spain 0–1 Honduras Honduras
Japan Japan 1–0 Morocco Morocco
1 August 2012
Japan Japan 0–0 Honduras Honduras
Spain Spain 0–0 Morocco Morocco

The Final Rounds: Knockout Stage

After the group stage, the top eight teams moved on to the knockout phase. This meant that if a team lost, they were out of the tournament. The knockout stage included quarter-finals, semi-finals, a bronze medal match, and the gold medal final.

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Gold medal match
                           
  A1   Great Britain 1 (4)  
B2   South Korea 1 (5)  
    South Korea 0  
    Brazil 3  
C1   Brazil 3
  D2   Honduras 2  
      Brazil 1
    Mexico 2
  B1   Mexico 4  
A2   Senegal 2  
    Mexico 3 Bronze medal match
    Japan 1  
D1   Japan 3   South Korea 2
  C2   Egypt 0     Japan 0

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Torneo masculino de fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres 2012 para niños

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