2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship

The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (also known as the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup or the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament), the quadrennial international soccer championship organized by CONCACAF for the women's national teams of the North, Central American and Caribbean region. Eight teams played in the tournament, which took place from October 4 to 17, 2018 in the United States.[1][2]

2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship
Tournament details
Host countryUnited States
DatesOctober 4–17
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions United States (8th title)
Runners-up Canada
Third place Jamaica
Fourth place Panama
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored83 (5.19 per match)
Top scorer(s)United States Alex Morgan (7 goals)
Best player(s)United States Julie Ertz
Best young playerJamaica Jody Brown
Best goalkeeperPanama Yenith Bailey
Fair play award United States
2014
2022

The tournament served as the CONCACAF qualifiers to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. The top three teams qualified for the World Cup, while the fourth-placed team advanced to a play-off against the third-placed team from the South American confederation, CONMEBOL.[3] It also determined the CONCACAF teams playing at the 2019 Pan American Games women's football tournament in Lima, Peru.[4]

The United States were the defending champions of the competition. They successfully defended their title as hosts, winning the final 2–0 against Canada for their 8th CONCACAF Women's Championship title.[5]

This was the last CONCACAF tournament branded as the "Women's Championship". In August 2019, CONCACAF announced a rebranding of the competition as the CONCACAF W Championship.[6]

Qualification

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Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the teams playing in the final tournament.

Qualified teams

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The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament. Canada, Mexico, and the United States, as members of the North American Football Union (NAFU), qualified automatically. Two teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) and three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualified from their regional qualifying competitions.

Team Qualification Appearance Previous best performance Previous FIFA Women's World Cup appearances FIFA ranking
at start of event[7]
North American Zone (NAFU)
  Canada Automatic 9th Champions (1998, 2010) 6 5
  Mexico Automatic 9th Runners-up (1998, 2010) 3 24
  United States (title holders & hosts) Automatic 9th Champions (1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014) 7 1
  Costa Rica Central American winners 7th Runners-up (2014) 1 34
  Panama Central American runners-up 3rd Group stage (2002, 2006) 0 66
  Jamaica Caribbean winners 6th Fourth place (2006) 0 64
  Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean runners-up 10th Third place (1991) 0 52
  Cuba Caribbean third place 1st Debut 0 88

Venues

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The venues were announced by CONCACAF on April 8, 2018. Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, North Carolina and H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas hosted the group stage matches, while Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas hosted the four matches in the knockout stage.[8]

Cary, North Carolina Edinburg, Texas Frisco, Texas
Location of the host cities of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.
Sahlen's Stadium H-E-B Park Toyota Stadium
Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 9,735 Capacity: 20,500
     

Draw

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The draw for the final tournament was held on September 4, 2018, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Univision Studios in Miami, Florida, United States.[9][10] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. They were seeded into four pots. Pot 1 contained the United States, seeded in Group A, and Canada, seeded in Group B. The remaining six teams were allocated to Pots 2–4 based on the CONCACAF Women's Rankings. The two teams from UNCAF could not be drawn into the same group.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Squads

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The provisional 35-player roster (4 must be goalkeepers) for each team was announced by CONCACAF on September 10, 2018.[11] The final 20-player roster (2 must be goalkeepers) for each team was announced by CONCACAF on September 26, 2018.[12] After the final 20-player roster was submitted, only injury-related changes would be submitted until 24 hours before each team's first match.[13]

Group stage

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The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 12.12):[13]

  1. points obtained in all group matches;
  2. goal difference in all group matches;
  3. number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:

  1. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. fair play points in all group matches:
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point;
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
    • direct red card: minus 4 points;
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
  5. drawing of lots by CONCACAF.

Group A

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All times are local, EDT (UTC−4).[14]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United States (H) 3 3 0 0 18 0 +18 9 Knockout stage
2   Panama 3 2 0 1 5 5 0 6
3   Mexico 3 1 0 2 4 9 −5 3
4   Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Trinidad and Tobago  0–3  Panama
Report
Referee: Odette Hamilton (Jamaica)
United States  6–0  Mexico
Report
Attendance: 5,404
Referee: Carol Anne Chénard (Canada)

Panama  0–5  United States
Report
Attendance: 7,532
Referee: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
Mexico  4–1  Trinidad and Tobago
Report

Panama  2–0  Mexico
Report
Trinidad and Tobago  0–7  United States
Report
Attendance: 3,996
Referee: Odette Hamilton (Jamaica)

Group B

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All times are local, CDT (UTC−5).[14]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Canada 3 3 0 0 17 1 +16 9 Knockout stage
2   Jamaica 3 2 0 1 10 2 +8 6
3   Costa Rica 3 1 0 2 9 4 +5 3
4   Cuba 3 0 0 3 0 29 −29 0
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Costa Rica  8–0  Cuba
Report
Canada  2–0  Jamaica
Report
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)

Jamaica  1–0  Costa Rica
Report
Cuba  0–12  Canada
Report
Referee: Crystal Sobers (Trinidad and Tobago)

Cuba  0–9  Jamaica
Report
Referee: Crystal Sobers (Trinidad and Tobago)
Costa Rica  1–3  Canada
Report

Knockout stage

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In the semi-finals, if the match was level at the end of 90 minutes, no extra time would be played and the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the third place match and final, if the match was level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time would be played, and if still tied after extra time, the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 12.14).[13]

Bracket

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All times are local, CDT (UTC−5).[14]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
October 14 – Frisco, TX
 
 
  Panama0
 
October 17 – Frisco, TX
 
  Canada7
 
  Canada0
 
October 14 – Frisco, TX
 
  United States2
 
  United States6
 
 
  Jamaica0
 
Third place play-off
 
 
October 17 – Frisco, TX
 
 
  Panama2 (2)
 
 
  Jamaica (p)2 (4)

Semi-finals

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Panama  0–7  Canada
Report
Referee: Odette Hamilton (Jamaica)

United States  6–0  Jamaica
Report
Attendance: 7,555
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)

Canada and United States qualified for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama and Jamaica entered into the third place play-off.

Third place play-off

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Panama  2–2 (a.e.t.)  Jamaica
Report
Penalties
2–4
Referee: Carol Anne Chénard (Canada)

Jamaica qualified for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama entered CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off vs. Argentina.

Final

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Canada  0–2  United States
Report
Attendance: 6,986


 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship winners 
 
United States
8th title

Awards

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Individual awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.[15]

Award Player
Golden Ball   Julie Ertz
Golden Boot   Alex Morgan (7 goals)
Golden Glove   Yenith Bailey
Young Player   Jody Brown
Fair Play   United States
Best XI
Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Yenith Bailey

Goalscorers

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There were 83 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 5.19 goals per match.

7 goals

6 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Qualification for international tournaments

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Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup

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The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama failed to qualify losing out the play-off to 2018 Copa América Femenina third-placed team, Argentina.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA Women's World Cup1
  Canada 14 October 2018[16] 6 (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
  United States 14 October 2018[16] 7 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
  Jamaica 17 October 2018[17] 0 (debut)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Qualified teams for Pan American Games

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The tournament was used to determine the four teams from CONCACAF which would qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games women's football tournament. The top team from each of the three zones, i.e., Caribbean (CFU), Central American (UNCAF), and North American (NAFU), would qualify, with the fourth team to be determined by CONCACAF at a later date.[4] However, both United States and Canada declined to participate to focus on the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, so Mexico qualified for the North American berth.[18]

Team Zone Qualified on Previous appearances in Pan American Games2
  Jamaica CFU 11 October 2018 1 (2007)
  Panama UNCAF 11 October 2018 1 (2007)
  Mexico[18] NAFU 2019 (confirmed by CONCACAF) 5 (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
  Costa Rica[18] UNCAF 2019 (confirmed by CONCACAF) 4 (1999, 2003, 2011, 2015)
2 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Controversy

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In the 89th minute of the final match, Alex Morgan was offside when she scored the second goal for the USA, but the referee did not invalidate the goal.[19] Video assistant referee was not used in this tournament.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Then known as Rebecca Quinn

References

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  1. ^ "2018 Concacaf Women's Championship to be Held in Cary, N.C., Edinburg, Texas & Frisco, Texas". US Soccer. April 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "United States Set to Host 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship in October". www.concacaf.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  3. ^ "Circular #1565 – FIFA women's tournaments 2018–2019" (PDF). FIFA.com. November 11, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Qualification System manual" (PDF). www.panamsports.org/. Pan American Sports Organization. April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "Lavelle and Morgan lift the United States over Canada for the 2018 CWC title". CONCACAF. October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "Concacaf to launch revamped W Championship and new W Gold Cup" (Press release). CONCACAF. August 19, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Women's Ranking – 28 September 2018 (CONCACAF)". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 Concacaf Women's Championship Final Rounds Set for Frisco, Texas, with Group Stages to Be Played in Cary, N.C. and Edinburg, Texas". CONCACAF.com. April 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "Draw Confirmed for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship". CONCACAF.com. August 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Draw Reveals Groups for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship". CONCACAF.com. September 4, 2018.
  11. ^ "Provisional 35 Player Rosters Announced for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship". CONCACAF.com. September 10, 2018.
  12. ^ "Final 20-Player Rosters Announced for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship". CONCACAF.com. September 26, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "2018 Concacaf Women's Championship Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
  15. ^ "Concacaf announces the individual awards and Best XI of the CWC". CONCACAF. October 17, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "USA, Canada win passage to France". FIFA.com. October 15, 2018.
  17. ^ "Jamaica claim first-ever Women's World Cup berth". FIFA.com. October 18, 2018.
  18. ^ a b c "Selección Femenina de fútbol estará en los Panamericanos 2019 pese a no haber clasificado" (in Spanish). La Nación. February 25, 2019.
  19. ^ Mitchell Tierney. "Canada lose to the United States in the Concacaf Women's tournament final". WalkingTheRed.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2020. The goals were not without controversy, however, as Morgan's goal was clearly offside..
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