1991 UNCAF Nations Cup
|
Torneo de Naciones de la UNCAF Costa Rica 1991 (Spanish) |
|
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Costa Rica |
| Dates | May 26 – June 2 |
| Teams | 4 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Costa Rica (1st title)
|
| Runners-up |  Honduras |
| Third place |  Guatemala |
| Fourth place |  El Salvador |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 14 (2.33 per match) |
| Attendance | 77,500 (12,917 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Claudio Jara (5 goals) |
The 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup was the inaugural UNCAF Nations Cup, the Central American championship for men's national association football teams. It was organized by the Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol or UNCAF, and it took place in Costa Rica from May 26 to June 2, 1991. All matches were played in the Costa Rican capital, San José at the Estadio Nacional. The top two teams, apart from Costa Rica, go on to participate in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Costa Rica were given a bye due to their performance at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Three teams qualified to enter the tournament alongside hosts Costa Rica, chosen to hold the tournament by UNCAF that same year. The teams played in a round-robin format, with the winner being the squad who obtained the best overall results. The first UNCAF Nations Cup match took place between El Salvador and Guatemala. Since the match ended in a 0-0 draw, the following one between Costa Rica and Honduras produced the first goal in UNCAF Nations Cup history. It was scored by Róger Gómez of Costa Rica. The mascot of the competition was a boy named "Minchito '91".
Hosts and pre-tournament favourites Costa Rica earned 6 points from three wins after defeating Guatemala 1–0 in front of a crowd of 16,500 people, and became the first nation to win the UNCAF Nations Cup.
During the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala on January 26, 1991, the qualification rounds for the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup was decided upon. Since Costa Rica were given a bye into the competition due to its first place standing at the 1989 CONCACAF Championship, which also served as a qualification phase for the FIFA World Cup hosted by Italy in 1990, they weren't required to participate in the preliminary stages. However, the final qualification round of the Central American zone had two bids: the United States and Costa Rica. Costa Rica won the bid and was named by CONCACAF and UNCAF as the host nation of the inaugural UNCAF Nations Cup tournament on February 19, 1991.
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