1991 UNCAF Nations Cup
Torneo de Naciones de la UNCAF Costa Rica 1991
(in Spanish)
Tournament details
Host countryCosta Rica
Dates26 May – 2 June
Teams4 (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 played6
Goals scored14 (2.33 per match)
Attendance77,500 (12,917 per match)
Top scorer(s)Costa Rica 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 26 May to 2 June 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.

Host selection

1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualifiers
  Host nation
  Countries that qualified
  Did not qualify

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.[1] 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.[1] However, the final qualification round of the Central American zone had two bids: the United States and Costa Rica.[2] 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.[3]

Qualification

The draw for the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualifying competition for Central America took place in Guatemala City on 26 January 1991.[1] 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.[3] The qualifying process began in April 1991 and concluded in May 1991.[1] At the conclusion of the qualifying group stage, the three group winners qualified for the tournament.[1]

Qualified teams

The following four teams qualified for the finals:[4]

CountryQualified asQualified onPrevious appearances in tournament
 Costa RicaHost nation19 February 19910 (debut)
 El SalvadorGroup 2 winner24 April 19910 (debut)
 GuatemalaGroup 3 winner12 May 19910 (debut)
 HondurasGroup 1 winner12 May 19910 (debut)

Match officials

A list of 13 referees from eight football federations for the tournament were chosenn to participate in the tournament.[5]

Referees

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.[3]

San José
Estadio Nacional
Capacity: 35,060

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.[4]

Distribution of hotels in the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup[4]
Team Site City
 Costa Rica Hotel Tennis Club San José
 Guatemala Hotel Plaza San José
 El Salvador Hotel Ambassador San José
 Honduras Hotel Ambassador San José
CONCACAF Delegation Hotel Corobicí San José
UNCAF Delegation Hotel Corobicí San José
UNCAF Referees Committee & Officials Hotel Europa San José
VIPs Hotel Corobicí 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.[6]

Training Grounds[6]
Team Venue City
 Costa Rica Cancha Firestone San José
Cancha Republic Tobacco Company San José
Cancha Firestone San José
 Guatemala Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Alajuela
Cancha Tabacalera Costarricense San José
 Honduras Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero Heredia
Cancha Tabacalera Costarricense San José
 El Salvador Estadio José Fello Meza Cartago
Cancha Republic Tobacco Company San José

Mascot

Minchito '91 was the official tournament 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.[7]

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).[8]

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.[9]

If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:[9]

  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:
    1. Most points earned in matches against other teams in the tie
    2. Greatest goal difference in matches against other teams in the tie
    3. Greatest number of goals scored in matches against other teams in the tie
  4. If teams remained level after all these criteria, UNCAF would hold a drawing of lots

Results

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Costa Rica 3300101+96
 Honduras 311123−13
 Guatemala 302101−12
 El Salvador 301229−71
El Salvador 0–0 Guatemala
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)
Costa Rica 2–0 Honduras
Gómez 11'
Jara 52'		 Report
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Carlos Castellanos (Mexico)
Guatemala 0–0 Honduras
Attendance: 10,000
Costa Rica 7–1 El Salvador
Jara 17', 41', 48'
Flores 21'
Gómez 63', 89'
Gómez 66'		 Report Arce 16'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Arlington Success (Antigua and Barbuda)
El Salvador 1–2 Honduras
Rivera 77' Espinoza 2'
Machado 58'
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Jorge Meléndez (Guatemala)
Costa Rica 1–0 Guatemala
Jara 32' Report
Attendance: 16,500
Referee: José Luis Fuentes (Honduras)

Statistics

Goalscorers

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

5 goals
2 goals
1 goal

All-Star Team

Chilean sports magazine Triunfo evaluated player performances through statistical data finished with the following players leading each position.[10]

Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Guatemala Jorge Marotta (Guatemala)

Costa Rica Vladimir Quesada (Costa Rica)
Honduras Gilberto Yearwood (Honduras)
Guatemala Eduardo Acevedo (Guatemala)
Honduras Marcos Anariba (Honduras)

El Salvador Guillermo Rivera (El Salvador)
Costa Rica Róger Gómez (Costa Rica)
Costa Rica Carlos Velásquez (Costa Rica)
Honduras Camilo Bonilla (Honduras)

Costa Rica Claudio Jara (Costa Rica)
Costa Rica Leonidas Flores (Costa Rica)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Torneo de Naciones de CONCACAF: Costa Rica busca la ratificacion de sede" [CONCACAF Nations Cup: Costa Rica looks for ratification on host bid] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). January 25, 1991. p. 39A. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  2. ↑ "En Julio Copa de Naciones" [Nations Cup in July] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). January 27, 1991. p. 42A. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Torneo de Naciones Inicia el 26 de Mayo" [Nations Cup starts May 26] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). February 20, 1991. p. 29A. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Selecciones Llegan el Próximo Viernes" [National Teams Will Arrive Next Friday] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 21, 1991. p. 34A. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ "UNCAF en Apuntes" [Notes on UNCAF] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 23, 1991. p. 43A. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Escogidas Seis Sedes Para Entrenamientos" [Six Venues Chosen as Training Grounds] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 25, 1991. p. 34A. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Minchito, ¡Puro Mais!" [Minchito, Pure Corn!] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 27, 1991. p. 4C. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Prensa Escogerá al Mejor Jugador" [Press Will Pick Best Player] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 24, 1991. p. 44A. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "UNCAF en Apuntes" [Notes on UNCAF] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). May 24, 1991. p. 45A. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Buzón de Rodrigo Calvo - 13 de octubre de 2014" [Rodrigo Calvo's Mailbox - October 13, 2014] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
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