1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup - Definition and Overview

The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North and Central America (CONCACAF).

The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Los Angeles, Miami, and Oakland. 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.

Jamaica, getting ready for the 1998 World Cup, pulled the stunner of the first round. They didn't even qualify for the tournament, but Canada withdrew, granting them a spot. The Reggae Boyz then topped Group A over Brazil (they tied the South Americans 0-0). In the semifinals, the US finally beat their Brazilian nemesis, as Preki scored the lone goal and Kasey Keller had and amazing game in the net for the victory. Unfortunately for the US, they couldn't repeat that performance in front of a pro-Mexican final crowd in Los Angeles. The tri-colores won their third straight Gold Cup, 1-0, on a Luis Hernandez goal.

First Round

Group A

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA Jamaica 7 3 2 1 0 5 2 Brazil 5 3 1 2 0 5 1 Guatemala 2 3 0 2 1 3 4 El Salvador 1 3 0 1 2 0 6

Guatemala 0 - 0 El Salvador Jamaica 0 - 0 Brazil Brazil 1 - 1 Guatemala Jamaica 3 - 2 Guatemala Brazil 4 - 0 El Salvador Jamaica 2 - 0 El Salvador

Group B

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA Mexico 6 2 2 0 0 6 2 Trinidad and Tobago 3 2 1 0 1 5 5 Honduras 0 2 0 0 2 1 5

T&T 3 - 1 Honduras Mexico 4 - 2 T&T Mexico 2 - 0 Honduras

Group C

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA USA 6 2 2 0 0 5 1 Costa Rica 3 2 1 0 1 8 4 Cuba 0 2 0 0 2 2 10

USA 3 - 0 Cuba Costa Rica 7 - 2 Cuba USA 2 - 1 Costa Rica

Semifinals

February 10, 1998	February 12, 1998
USA 1 - 0 Brazil	Mexico 1 - 0 (AET) Jamaica

Third place match

February 14, 1998

Brazil 1 - 0 Jamaica

Final

February 14, 1998

Mexico 1 - 0 USA