1998_Gold_Cup
1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
International football competition
The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship for the member associations of CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
| CONCACAF Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | February 1–15 |
| Teams | 10 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Mexico (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  United States |
| Third place |  Brazil |
| Fourth place |  Jamaica |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 44 (2.75 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Luis Hernández Paulo Wanchope(4 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Kasey Keller |
← 1996 2000 → | |
The tournament was once again held in the United States, with matches played in Los Angeles, Miami, and Oakland, California. The format of the tournament changed from 1996: it was expanded to ten teams, with four in Group A and three each in Groups B and C. The top team in each group, plus the second place in Group A would advance to the semifinals. Brazil was invited again, and brought their senior team this time. Prior to the tournament, Canada withdrew due to a lack of available players and were replaced by Jamaica.[1]
Jamaica topped Group A over Brazil, who they tied 0–0, in a surprise result for the team. In the semi-finals, the United States beat Brazil, as Preki scored the lone goal and Kasey Keller preserved the clean sheet. The United States could not repeat that performance in front of a pro-Mexican final crowd in Los Angeles. Mexico won their third straight Gold Cup, 1–0, on a Luis Hernández goal.
| Los Angeles | Oakland | Miami |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Orange Bowl |
| Capacity: 93,607 | Capacity: 63,026 | Capacity: 74,476 |
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Qualification
| Team | Qualification | Appearances | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Ranking[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American zone | |||||
| Mexico (TH) |
Automatic | 4th | 1996 | Champions (1993,1996) | 5 |
| United States |
Automatic | 4th | 1996 | Champions (1991) | 28 |
| Caribbean zone qualified through the 1997 Caribbean Cup | |||||
 Trinidad and Tobago |
Winners | 3rd | 1996 | Group stage (1991, 1996) | 56 |
| Jamaica[pn 1] |
Third Place | 3rd | 1993 | Third Place (1993) | 39 |
 Cuba |
Playoff | 1st | None | Debut | 88 |
| Central American zone qualified through the 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup | |||||
| Costa Rica |
Winners | 3rd | 1993 | Third Place (1993) | 51 |
 Guatemala |
Runners-up | 3rd | 1996 | Fourth Place (1996) | 83 |
 El Salvador |
Third Place | 2nd | 1996 | Group stage (1996) | 64 |
 Honduras |
Fourth Place | 4th | 1996 | Runners-up (1991) | 73 |
| Other | |||||
| Brazil |
Invitation | 2nd | 1996 | Runners-up (1996) | 1 |
Notes:
Qualification play-off
A playoff between Cuba, the runner-up from the 1996 Caribbean Cup and Saint Kitts and Nevis, the runner-up from the 1997 Caribbean Cup, was held to determine which nation would qualify for the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Squads
The 10 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 20 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaica |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 2 | Brazil |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 | |
| 3 | Guatemala |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | El Salvador |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 1 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 2 | Trinidad and Tobago |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Honduras |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
| Mexico | 4–2 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
Ramírez  37'Hernández 63', 82'Palencia 65' |
Report | Marcelle 59' Nixon 75' |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 2 | Costa Rica |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 3 | |
| 3 | Cuba |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 |
| Costa Rica | 7–2 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Berry 3' Wanchope 21', 32', 64', 78'López 29' (pen.)Myers 44' |
Report | Martén 50' Sebrango 90' |
| United States | 2–1 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Pope 7' Preki 78' |
Report | Oviedo 56' |
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| February 10 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| United States | 1 | |||||
| February 15 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| Brazil | 0 | |||||
| United States | 0 | |||||
| February 12 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| Mexico | 1 | |||||
| Jamaica | 0 | |||||
| Mexico (a.s.d.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| February 15 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| Brazil | 1 | |||||
| Jamaica | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Goalscorers
There were 44 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.75 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
The following Gold Cup awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: the Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Ball (best overall player).[3][4]
| Golden Ball |
|---|
| Kasey Keller |
| Golden Boot |
| Luis Hernández |
| 4 goals |
| Best XI | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Kasey Keller |
Eddie Pope Claudio Suárez Ze María |
Ramón Ramírez Preki Paul Hall Cuauhtémoc Blanco |
Edmundo Romário Paulo Wanchope |
- Davidson, Neil (November 26, 1997). "Canada looking to play host to group of World Cup finalists". Vancouver Sun. The Canadian Press. p. E7. Retrieved July 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. December 23, 1997. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- "Golden Boot Award" (Press release). CONCACAF. July 26, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- "Most Valuable Player Award" (Press release). CONCACAF. July 26, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2009.