In February of 2016, the U.S. Women’s National Team and all the other nations that are part of CONCACAF will be heading to Texas for the Women’s Olymp
In February of 2016, the U.S. Women’s National Team and all the other nations that are part of CONCACAF will be heading to Texas for the Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. The two cities that were announced by confederation to host the matches are Houston and Frisco. This tournament will decide the 2 teams that will get a spot in the Olympics.
This is an 8-team qualifying tournament. So far, the U.S., Canada and Mexico have already guaranteed their spots. There will still be 2 teams from Central America and 3 teams from the Caribbean, which still need to be determined. The 8 teams will be split in 2 groups, the top 2 teams in each group automatically advance to the semifinals. The 2 teams who end up in the final match will both qualify for the Olympics.
The first group, Group A, will play at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. The 3 group stage matches that will take place there will be on February 10th, 13th, and 15th.
The second group, Group B, will play at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. The group stage matches will take place on February 11th, 14th, and 16th. BBVA will also host the semifinals and final match on the 18th and 21st, respectively.
It is still unknown what teams are in what group, so the U.S. still needs to find out their opponents, which will happen later on. The U.S. is definitely the favorite team to win not only this qualifying tournament but also the actual Olympics, as they have just won their third 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup a month ago. If they win this Olympics, it will also be their third consecutive gold medal.