1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup

1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship
1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host country	United States
Dates	January 10–21
Teams	9 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)	3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Mexico (2nd title)
Runners-up	Brazil
Third place	United States
Fourth place	Guatemala
Tournament statistics
Matches played	13
Goals scored	42 (3.23 per match)
Attendance	487,439 (37,495 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Eric Wynalda (4 goals)
← 1993 1998 →

The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).

The tournament returned to the United States and California; the games were hosted by Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim. The format of the tournament changed from 1993: it was expanded to nine teams, separated into three groups of three and played in January as opposed to the 1993 edition which was played in July.

The top team in each group, plus the best second-place finisher would advance to the semifinals. For the first time, a non-CONCACAF team was invited: Brazil, who sent their under-23 side. Mexico won their second straight Gold Cup, beating the Brazilians 2–0 in the final.

Anaheim	Los Angeles	San Diego
Anaheim Stadium	Memorial Coliseum	Jack Murphy Stadium
Capacity: 64,593	Capacity: 93,607	Capacity: 60,836
Anaheim Los Angeles San Diego

Team	Qualification	Appearances	Last Appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Ranking[1]
North American zone
Mexico (TH)	Automatic	3rd	1993	Champions (1993)	12
United States	Automatic	3rd	1993	Champions (1991)	19
Canada	Automatic	3rd	1993	Group Stage (1991, 1993)	65
Caribbean zone qualified through the 1995 Caribbean Cup
Trinidad and Tobago	Winners	2nd	1991	Group Stage (1991)	57
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Runners-up	1st	None	Debut	95
Central American zone qualified through the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup
Honduras	Winners	3rd	1993	Runners-up (1991)	49
Guatemala	Runners-up	2nd	1991	Group stage (1991)	145
El Salvador	Third Place	1st	None	Debut	85
Other
Brazil[2]	Invitation	1st	None	Debut	1

The 9 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.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Guatemala	2	1	0	1	3	1	+2	3
3	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8	6	Advance to Knockout stage
2	Canada	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	3
3	Honduras	2	0	0	2	1	8	−7	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	6	Advance to Knockout stage
2	El Salvador	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	3
3	Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	0	2	4	6	−2	0

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	Semi-finals				Final
	18 January – Los Angeles
	United States	0
					21 January – Los Angeles
	Brazil	1
					Brazil	0
	19 January – San Diego
					Mexico	2
	Mexico	1
	Guatemala	0
					Third place play-off
					21 January – Los Angeles
					United States	3
					Guatemala	0

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There were 42 goals scored in 13 matches, for an average of 3.23 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own 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]

Golden Ball
Raúl Lara
Golden Boot
Eric Wynalda
4 goals

• Lineups/Squads