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Location: Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif., USA
The U.S. surprised the region in 1991 when they swept their way to the inaugural Gold Cup championship. In the finals, the U.S. downed Honduras 4-3 in penalty kicks after the two teams went scoreless after 120 minutes of action in front of 39,873 fans at the L.A. Coliseum. It was in the semifinals, though, where the U.S. stunned all observers with a convincing 2-0 victory over Mexico behind goals from John Doyle and Peter Vermes.
In group play, Marcelo Balboa’s stunning bicycle-kick goal capped off a last-minute comeback for the U.S. in their 2-1 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in the opening Gold Cup match. That victory was followed by wins over Guatemala (3-0) and Costa Rica (3-2), which set-up the U.S. heroics against Mexico.
Mexico was forced into the match-up with the U.S. when they lost their group to Honduras on goal differential. Honduras would later advance to the finals with a 2-0 semifinal victory over Costa Rica, which set-up a 2-0 victory for Mexico over the ‘Ticos in the third place match. |
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| 1st CONCACAF Gold Cup — United States ’91 (Los Angeles & Pasadena, Calif.) |
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6-29-91
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Trinidad & Tobago
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2-1 W
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Balboa, Murray
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Pasadena, Calif.
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18,435
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7-1-91
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Guatemala
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3-0 W
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Murray, Quinn, Wynalda
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Pasadena, Calif.
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6,344
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7-3-91
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Costa Rica
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3-2 W
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Perez, Vermes, own goal
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Los Angeles, Calif.
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36,703
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7-5-91
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Mexico (s)
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2-0 W
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Doyle, Vermes
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Los Angeles, Calif.
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41,103
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7-7-91
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Honduras (f)
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0-0 T (4-3 pk)
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Los Angeles, Calif.
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39,873
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(s) Semfinal
(f) Final |
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Champion: United States
Runner-up: Honduras |
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1991 Gold Cup
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