2015 GCC U-23 Championship

The 2015 GCC U-23 Championship was the sixth edition of the GCC U-23 Championship. It took place in Bahrain for the second time.[1] Six nations took part. The competition was held in Riffa from 16 to 29 January.[2] Saudi Arabia won their third title after defeating Kuwait 5–2 in the final.[3]

2015 GCC U-23 Championship
البطولة الخليجية للمنتخبات تحت 23 سنة لكرة القدم (in Arabic)
Tournament details
Host country Bahrain
Dates16–28 January
Teams6 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Saudi Arabia (3rd title)
Runners-up Kuwait
Third place Oman
Fourth place United Arab Emirates
Tournament statistics
Matches played11
Goals scored32 (2.91 per match)
Top scorer(s)Kuwait Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari (4 goals)
Best player(s)Saudi Arabia Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem
Best goalkeeperSaudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Rehaili

The 2015 edition was officially known as the Huawei GCC National Teams Under-23 Championship for the second time after the sponsorship deal between Huawei and the AGCFF.[4]

It was initially going to be hosted by Qatar in September 2014, but was later moved to Bahrain and scheduled for January 2015[5][6] The group stage draw was held on 4 June 2014.[7]

The semi-final and final were delayed by a number of days due to the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.[8]

Teams
Team Previous appearances in tournament[upper-alpha 1]
 Bahrain (host)5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 Kuwait5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 Qatar5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 Oman5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 Saudi Arabia5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
 United Arab Emirates4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
  1. Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

Venues
Riffa
Bahrain National Stadium
Capacity: 24,000

Group stage

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United Arab Emirates 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  Kuwait 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
3  Qatar 2 0 1 1 0 3 −3 1
Source: kooora
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Kuwait 0–2 United Arab Emirates
Ahmed 71'
Salmeen 90+2'
Kuwait 3–0 Qatar
Al-Tararwa 22'
Al Shammari 56'
Dashti 60'
United Arab Emirates 0–0 Qatar
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Oman 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  Saudi Arabia 2 1 0 1 5 5 0 3
3  Bahrain (H) 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 1
Source: kooora
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Saudi Arabia 3–2 Bahrain
Al-Sulaiheem 32'
Al-Nadhri 77'
Al-Saiari 90+1'		 Hassan 47'
Matar 51'
Saudi Arabia 2–3 Oman
Al-Bishi 68'
Al-Nadhri 72'		 Al-Rushadi 9', 43'
Al-Hamdani 48'
Bahrain 0–0 Oman
Referee: Sultan Al-Marzooqi (United Arab Emirates)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 10.1 and 10.3).

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
26 January – Riffa
 
 
 United Arab Emirates1 (3)
 
28 January – Riffa
 
 Saudi Arabia (p)1 (5)
 
 Saudi Arabia5
 
26 January – Riffa
 
 Kuwait2
 
 Oman1 (4)
 
 
 Kuwait (p)1 (5)
 
Third place match
 
 
28 January – Riffa
 
 
 United Arab Emirates1
 
 
 Oman2

Fifth place play-off
Qatar 1–2 Bahrain
Alaaeldin 29' Adel 73'
Al-Osfor 85'

Semi-finals
United Arab Emirates 1–1 Saudi Arabia
Mubarak 25' Al-Kharaa 6'
Penalties
3–5
Referee: Abdulaziz Abdulla (Bahrain)
Oman 1–1 Kuwait
Fazari 42' Al Shammari 7'
Penalties
4–5
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Third place play-off
United Arab Emirates 1–2 Oman
Jassim 67' (pen.) Al-Siyabi 49'
Al-Rawahi 79'

Final
Saudi Arabia 5–2 Kuwait
Al-Bishi 32'
Al-Saiari 40'
Al-Nadhri 67'
Al-Sulaiheem 74' (pen.)
Othman 90+4'		 Report Al Shammari 46', 86' (pen.)

Winners
 2015 GCC U-23 Championship champion 

Saudi Arabia
Third title

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Top Goalscorers Most Valuable Player Best goalkeeper
Kuwait Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari Saudi Arabia Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Rehaili

Goalscorers

There have been 32 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 2.91 goals per match.

4 goals

  • Kuwait Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References
  1. "Bahrain to host GCC olympic and U-17 tournaments". Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  2. "الكويت والإمارات تفتتحان اليوم أولى مباريات بطولة (هواوي) السادسة للمنتخبات الخليجية لكرة القدم تحت 23 سنة".
  3. "منتخبنا الأولمبي يتوج بطلا لكأس الخليج للمرة الثالثة".
  4. "Huawei signs on as title sponsor for Gulf Cup". Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  5. "GCC U-23 Tournament date moved to August 30". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  6. UAE prepare for the GCC U-23 Cup
  7. "U-23 drawn in Group B". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  8. "تأجيل مباراتي قبل نهائي بطولة الخليج للمنتخبات الاولمبية بعد وفاة العاهل السعودي".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.