SEVEN COUNTRIES QUALIFY FOR THE LIMA 2019 PAN AMERICAN GAMES IN MEN’S FOOTBALL

Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, the United States of America, Jamaica, Panama and Peru will compete in the men’s football tournament at the Pan American Games between July 26 and August 11 in Lima.

In a major upset, Ecuador succeeded in winning the 2019 South American U-20 Championship, held in Chile, by beating Venezuela (world runner-up in the category) 3-0 in the last match. Argentina placed second when they lost 0-1 to Brazil. Uruguay placed third.

As of last November, the US, Jamaica and Panama had already secured their place in the Games. The las quota place will be decided in April at the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football).

All these countries will join Peru at the event, that qualified as host country. This will be the Peruvian team’s second men’s football tournament because the team directed by Víctor “Chino” Rivera competed in the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

TOURNAMENT IN SAN MARCOS

The football competition will be held between July 28 and August 10 in the stadium of the National University of San Marcos.

The eight qualified teams will be divided into two groups (comprising two Conmebol teams and two Concacaf teams each). The top two teams of each group will advance to the semifinals. The third-place teams of each group will compete for fifth and sixth place, while the fourth-place team will compete for seventh and eighth place of the general ranking.

The Level 1 synthetic grass field has already been installed at the San Marcos Stadium. This grass is certified by FIFA and meets the international standards required for the Pan American Games. Currently, seats are being installed and the anti-doping areas have been set up.  The San Marcos Stadium will also have artificial lighting for night-time matches.