2015 GCC U-23 Championship
International football competition
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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]
| البطولة الخليجية للمنتخبات تحت 23 سنة لكرة القدم (in Arabic) | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country |  Bahrain |
| Dates | 16–28 January |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 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 played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 32 (2.91 per match) |
| Top scorer | Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari (4 goals) |
| Best player | Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem |
| Best goalkeeper | Ahmed Al-Rehaili |
← 2013 2016 → | |
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
- 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 |
| Kuwait | 0–2 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
Ahmed  71'Salmeen 90+2' |
| Kuwait | 3–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Tararwa 22' Al Shammari 56'Dashti 60' |
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 |
| 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' |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were to be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 10.1 and 10.3).
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 26 January – Riffa | ||||||
| United Arab Emirates | 1 (3) | |||||
| 28 January – Riffa | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia (p) | 1 (5) | |||||
| Saudi Arabia | 5 | |||||
| 26 January – Riffa | ||||||
| Kuwait | 2 | |||||
| Oman | 1 (4) | |||||
| Kuwait (p) | 1 (5) | |||||
| Third place match | ||||||
| 28 January – Riffa | ||||||
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | |||||
| Oman | 2 | |||||
Fifth place play-off
Semi-finals
| United Arab Emirates | 1–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Mubarak 25' |
Al-Kharaa 6' |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 3–5 | ||
Third place play-off
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari |
Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem |
Ahmed Al-Rehaili |
Goalscorers
There have been 32 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 2.91 goals per match.
4 goals
Ahmed Hizam Al Shammari
3 goals
2 goals
Hatem Al-Rushadi
Abdulaziz Al-Bishi- Mohammed Al-Saiari
- Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem
1 goal
Mohamed Adel- Ali Al-Osfor
- Ali Hassan
- Mohammed Matar
- Yaqoub Al-Tararwa
- Mahmoud Dashti
- Khaled Al-Hamdani
- Mohammed Al-Rawahi
- Ahmed Al-Siyabi
- Omer Fazari
Ahmed Alaaeldin- Faisel Al-Kharaa
- Mazen Othman
Yousef Ahmed- Saeed Jassim
- Khalfan Mubarak
- Ali Salmeen