1991 UNCAF Nations Cup

Host selection

During the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala on 26 January 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 19 February 1991.

Qualification

Main article: 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup preliminary round

The draw for the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualifying competition for Central America took place in Guatemala City on 26 January 1991. Six teams entered to compete for the three remaining places in the competition, alongside eventual host Costa Rica. The teams were divided into three groups of two. As the host nation of the event, Costa Rica qualified automatically. The qualifying process began in April 1991 and concluded in May 1991. At the conclusion of the qualifying group stage, the three group winners qualified for the tournament.

Qualified teams

The following four teams qualified for the finals:

Match officials

A list of 13 referees from eight football federations for the tournament were chosen to participate in the tournament. ;Referees ;Antigua and Barbuda

• Arlington Success

;Costa Rica

• Rodrigo Badilla
• Berny Ulloa
• Carlos Arrieta
• Ronald Gutiérrez
• Guillermo Hernández
• José Luis Vargas ;El Salvador
• José Gómez

;Guatemala

• Jorge Meléndez

;Honduras

• José Luis Fuentes

;Mexico

• Carlos Javier Castellanos ;Panama
• Alberto Thomas

;United States

• Vicente Mauro

Venues

Stadium

The Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica's national stadium and home of the Costa Rica national football team, was announced as the sole venue of the tournament.

Accommodations

Hotels and base camps were used by the four national squads to stay and train before and during the UNCAF Nations Cup tournament. All teams opted to stay in hotels in San José.

Training grounds

Six venues were chosen as training grounds. Most teams opted to train outside San José. Only Costa Rica trained in the national capital on privately owned football pitches.

Mascot

Minchito '91, the mascot for the 1991 competition, was the first UNCAF Nations Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition in Central America. Inspired in "the traditions, beliefs, legends and customs of Costa Rica", Minchito was born as an authentic peasant. The boy, who is seven-years-old, was created by the Hispanic Publicity Company. The name is a diminutive of the name 'Benjamín' in Costa Rica. Minchito is dressed with a white shirt, a red scarf and belt with black shorts, the most common set of clothes of a Costa Rican peasant.

Squads

Main article: 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup squads

Each team's squad consisted of 18 players (two of whom must be goalkeepers). Teams also had two additional reserve players they could use as replacements in the event of serious injury, at any time. During a match, all remaining squad members not named in the starting team are available to be one of the three permitted substitutions (provided the player is not serving a suspension).

Tournament overview

Format

All times are Central Time Zone (UTC-6) In the following tables:

• Pld = total games played
• W = total games won
• D = total games drawn (tied)
• L = total games lost
• GF = total goals scored (goals for)
• GA = total goals conceded (goals against)
• GD = goal difference (GF−GA)
• Pts = total points accumulated The four teams played in round-robin format to determine the winner. This format would guarantee each team at least three games. Each team were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:

1. Greatest total goal difference in the three group matches
2. Greatest number of goals scored in the three group matches
3. If teams remained level after those criteria, a mini-group would be formed from those teams, who would be ranked on:
4. Most points earned in matches against other teams in the tie
5. Greatest goal difference in matches against other teams in the tie
6. Greatest number of goals scored in matches against other teams in the tie
7. If teams remained level after all these criteria, UNCAF would hold a drawing of lots}}

Results

Jara

Flores Gómez Gómez

Machado

Statistics

Goalscorers

Claudio Jara received the Golden Boot for scoring five goals. In total, 14 goals were scored by 8 different players.

;5 goals

• CRC Claudio Jara ;2 goals
• CRC Róger Gómez
• CRC Norman Gómez ;1 goal
• SLV Raúl Díaz Arce
• SLV Guillermo Rivera
• HON Juan Carlos Espinoza
• HON Gilberto Machado
• CRC Leonidas Flores

All-Star Team

Chilean sports magazine Triunfo evaluated player performances through statistical data finished with the following players leading each position.

References

References

1. (January 25, 1991). "Torneo de Naciones de CONCACAF: Costa Rica busca la ratificacion de sede". [[La Nación (San José).
2. (January 27, 1991). "En Julio Copa de Naciones". [[La Nación (San José).
3. (February 20, 1991). "Torneo de Naciones Inicia el 26 de Mayo". [[La Nación (San José).
4. (May 23, 1991). "UNCAF en Apuntes". [[La Nación (San José).
5. (May 21, 1991). "Selecciones Llegan el Próximo Viernes". [[La Nación (San José).
6. (May 25, 1991). "Escogidas Seis Sedes Para Entrenamientos". [[La Nación (San José).
7. (May 27, 1991). "Minchito, ¡Puro Mais!". [[La Nación (San José).
8. (May 24, 1991). "Prensa Escogerá al Mejor Jugador". [[La Nación (San José).
9. (May 24, 1991). "UNCAF en Apuntes". [[La Nación (San José).
10. (October 13, 2014). "Buzón de Rodrigo Calvo - 13 de octubre de 2014". [[La Nación (San José).