1996 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament
| Preolímpico Concacaf 1996 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Canada |
| City | Edmonton |
| Dates | 10–19 May |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Mexico (4th title) |
| Runners-up |
 Canada |
| Third place |
 Costa Rica |
| Fourth place |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 48 (3.2 per match) |
The 1996 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament, was the 9th edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It was an age restricted football tournament to determine which national under-23 age group teams qualify for the men's football tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics from the CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean) region. The tournament was hosted by Canada and took place between 10–19 May 1996. It was the first time in which teams that qualified for the Olympics were permitted to supplement their rosters with three players not restricted by age in its 18-man final list.[1]
A total of six teams played in the final tournament: two teams from the North American Zone (NAFU) (Canada and Mexico, which qualify directly for the final tournament), two teams from the Central American Zone (UNCAF), and two teams from the Caribbean Zone (CFU).
Mexico, as winners of the tournament qualified for the men's football tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics with the United States who automatically qualified as hosts. Canada, which finished second, advanced to the CONCACAF–OFC play-off where they faced off against Australia, winners of the 1996 OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament.
Qualification
| Team | Qualification | Appearance | Previous best performances | Previous men's Olympic appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American Zone (NAFU) | ||||
| Canada | Automatic | 7th | Runner-up (1984) | 1 |
| Mexico | Automatic | 8th | Winner (1964, 1972, 1976) | 7 |
| Central American Zone (UNCAF) | ||||
| Costa Rica | Preliminary round | 4th | Winner (1980, 1984) | 2 |
 El Salvador | Preliminary round | 3rd | Winner (1968) | 1 |
| Caribbean Zone (CFU) | ||||
 Jamaica | Preliminary round | 2nd | 4th (1972) | 0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Preliminary round | 3rd | Runner-up (1968) | 0 |
Final round
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 15 | Qualification to Atlanta 1996 |
| 2 | Canada |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 | Qualification to CONCACAF–OFC play-off |
| 3 | Costa Rica |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | |
| 4 | Jamaica |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 6 | |
| 5 | Trinidad and Tobago |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 | |
| 6 | El Salvador |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 3 |
Play-off
The CONCACAF–OFC football play-off for the 1996 Summer Olympics was a two legged qualification play-off between the second placed team from CONCACAF and the winner team from the Oceania Football Confederation, with the winner qualifying for the final berth in the 1996 Summer Olympics men's football tournament.
Australia won 7–2 on aggregate and qualified to Atlanta 1996.[2]