2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Infobox International Football Competition
tourney_name = CONCACAF Gold Cup
year = 2005
other_titles = CONCACAF Championship


size = 150px
caption = 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup official logo
country = USA
dates = July 6 – July 24
num_teams = 12
confederations = 3
venues = 7
cities = 7
champion = USA
count = 3
second = PAN
matches = 25
goals = 68
attendance = 800000
top_scorer = flagicon|USA DaMarcus Beasley
flagicon|USA Landon Donovan
flagicon|GTM Carlos Ruiz
flagicon|HND Wilmer Velasquez
flagicon|PAN Luis Tejada
player = flagicon|USA DaMarcus Beasley

The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North and Central America (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious in the final against an upstart Panama team led by tournament MVP Luis Tejada. After regulation and 30 minutes of extra time ended scoreless, the USA won 3-1 on penalties.

For this edition, the format was switched from four groups of three teams each to the Copa América format of three groups of four teams. As a result, there was one more group stage game for each team, and the likelihood of teams advancing on a coin toss was much less. The top two teams from each group and the two best third-place teams would advance to the quarterfinals.

As usual for the Gold Cup, several of the top teams fielded less than their top squads, including guest teams Colombia and South Africa. Mexico and the United States were missing at least half their usual starters, and a few top name players on smaller nations (Paulo Wanchope and Amado Guevara, among others) also declined to participate. During the tournament, matches in Miami's Group A had to be postponed because of Hurricane Dennis.

Qualifiers

Caribbean Zone 2004/05:
*fb|JAM
*fb|CUB
*fb|TRI from the Caribbean Cup.Central American Zone 2003:
*fb|CRC
*fb|HON
*fb|GUA
*fb|PAN from the UNCAF Nations Cup 2005.Qualified automatically:
*fb|CAN
*fb|MEX
*fb|USAGuests:
*fb|RSA
*fb|COL

quads

:For a complete list of participating squads see "2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup squads"

Group Stage

Group A

Group A (Colombia, Honduras, Panama, and Trinidad & Tobago) started with an upset 1-0 win for Panama over Colombia and a 1-1 draw between Honduras and Trinidad. The second matchday saw Honduras defeat Colombia 2-1 and Panama and Trinidad draw with two goals apiece. This left guest nation Colombia at the bottom of the table heading into the final matchday, but with the format of the tournament all the teams were still alive. Colombia beat Trinidad in the first half of a doubleheader, meaning that Panama and Honduras would be guaranteed qualification. Honduras won to finish on top of the group, leaving Panama second; Colombia finished with three points and a goal differential of 0; they would have to wait for other games to determine whether they would advance.

Group B

Group B play started at Seattle's Qwest Field with Canada facing Costa Rica and Cuba facing the United States. Costa Rica won 1-0 in the first match of the doubleheader. In the second match, Cuba opened the scoring in the 18th minute, but the U.S. responded just before the half. Neither side was able to score in the second half until Landon Donovan scored for the US on a free kick in the 87th minute. The U.S. then added two more goals to their tally in the closing minutes to make a close game on the pitch look like a blowout on paper. The second round of matches featured Costa Rica versus Cuba and the U.S. versus Canada. Costa Rica won 3-1 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals; the United States won 2-0, also clinching a spot in the next round. This would set up a Costa Rica-United States battle with not much more than pride on the line; Canada and Cuba, despite earning no points in the first two matches, were both still alive if other results went their way. The third matchday, played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, started with a 0-0 draw between the group's top teams. Since Group A's matches had been played earlier in the day, both Cuba and Canada knew what they would need to do to guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals: Canada would need to win by four goals and Cuba would need to win by six goals. Canada won, but only by a 2-1 margin.

Group C

Group C's first matches took place in the Los Angeles area, with the first matchday at the Home Depot Center and the second at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The first matches featured South Africa versus Mexico and Guatemala versus Jamaica. South Africa jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Mexicans in the first half and held on to win 2-1. In the second match, a Carlos Ruiz hat trick was not enough for Guatemala as the Jamaicans, helped by two goals in the opening five minutes, managed to outscore the Guatemalans for a final tally of 4-3. In the second matchday Mexico rebounded from their loss to defeat Guatemala 4-0 with two goals in each half. The Jamaica-South Africa match was another high-scoring affair; Jamaica took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute but South Africa answered a minute later. Jamaica jumped to a 2-1 lead in the 41st but again the South Africans answered, this time in the 43rd minute. The Jamaicans took yet another lead in the 57th but South Africa scored ten minutes before the end of the match and the game ended 3-3. Thanks to the results from the other groups, Jamaica and South Africa were both automatically qualified for the next round before playing their third match; Mexico would advance unless they lost by six goals or more or lost and Guatemala won and ended up with a better goal differential (an unlikely scenario, since Guatemala would have to make up an 8-goal difference). The final group matches took place in Houston; in the first match of the evening, Guatemala earned a draw against the South Africans for their only point of the tournament, essentially assuring the Mexicans of qualification. With both teams having little to play for, Mexico managed to win 1-0; thanks to this result and the night's other result, the Mexicans managed to end up on top of group C with 6 points.

Knockout round

In the quarterfinals, Honduras poured on the attack to lead Costa Rica 3-0 after 29 minutes, and held on to win 3-2. The U.S. scored early and Kasey Keller saved Andy Williams' penalty in the first ten minutes, and from there Jamaica put up little resistance, 3-1 the final result. Colombia outplayed Mexico in the first half, but had nothing to show for it. Both teams traded goals in a tense second half, and then Alex Aguilar's improbable 40 yard shot flew over the keeper and into the net, settling the game and eliminating the holders. Panama and South Africa battled to a 1-1 stalemate, where Panama prevailed in the shootout.

In the semifinals, Honduras scored early on through Iván Guerrero and nearly held on for a famous victory, if not for an errant clearance which led to John O'Brien's equalizer four minutes from time. Oguchi Onyewu made for a thrilling finish, as his header off a free kick won the match in stoppage time for the U.S. The underdogs, Panama, jumped all over Colombia and led by two at halftime. Colombia got one back, but Panama would score again and hold on (Tressor Moreno hitting the post in stoppage time) for a 3-2 victory.

The final was a game of missed chances. The U.S. controlled the run of play, but it was Panama who had the better chances and were unlucky not to score. In the shootout, Panama could not recreate the success against South Africa and missed two penalties while having another saved. The U.S.'s young players showed little fear and after four rounds, they were champions.

In the tournament's 25 games, 73 goals were scored for an average of 2.93, the highest since the 1996 edition. American DaMarcus Beasley scored three goals to win the tournament's Golden Boot, beating out four others on the assists tiebreaker.

Venues

*Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
*Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Home Depot Center, Carson, California
*Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
*Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
*Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington
*Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Group Stage results

Group A

Knockout Round Results

Bracket

Round8
16 July - Foxboro|fb|HON|3|fb|CRC|2
16 July - Foxboro|fb|USA|3|fb|JAM|1
17 July - Houston|fb|MEX|1|fb|COL|2
17 July - Houston|fb|RSA|1 (3)|fb|PAN|1 (5)
July 21 - East Rutherford|fb|HON|1|fb|USA|2
July 21 - East Rutherford|fb|COL|2|fb|PAN|3
July 24 - East Rutherford|fb|USA|0 (3)|fb|PAN|0 (1)

Quarterfinals

footballbox
date = July 16, 2005
13:00
team1 = fb-rt|HON
score = 3–2
report =
team2 = fb|CRC
goals1 = Velasquez 6'
Turcios 27'
Núñez 29'
goals2 = Bolaños 39'
Ruíz 81'
stadium = Gillette Stadium, Foxboro
Attendance: 22.108
Referee: Archundia (MEX)
footballbox
date = July 16, 2005
16:00
team1 = fb-rt|USA
score = 3–1
report =
team2 = fb|JAM
goals1 = Wolff 6'
Beasley 42'
Beasley 83'
goals2 = Fuller 88'
stadium = Gillette Stadium, Foxboro
Attendance: 22.108
Referee: Batres (GUA)
footballbox
date = July 17, 2005
15:00
team1 = fb-rt|MEX
score = 1–2
report =
team2 = fb|COL
goals1 = Pineda 64'
goals2 = Castrillón 58'
Aguilar 74'
stadium = Reliant Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 60.050
Referee: Sibrian (SLV)
footballbox
date = July 17, 2005
18:00
team1 = fb-rt|RSA
score = 1–1
report =
team2 = fb|PAN
goals1 = Ndlela 68'
goals2 = Dely Valdez 48'
stadium = Reliant Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 60.050
Referee: Prendergast (JAM)penshootoutbox
penalties1 = Evans : scored
Gaxa : scored
Katza : saved
Lekgwathi : scored
penaltyscore = 3–5
penalties2 = Tejada : scored
Rodríguez : scored
Baloy : scored
Blanco : scored
Gómez : scored

emifinals

footballbox
date = July 21, 2005
18:00
team1 = fb-rt|HON
score = 1–2
report =
team2 = fb|USA
goals1 = Guerrero 30'
goals2 = O'Brien 86'
Onyewu 90+2'
stadium = Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 41.721
Referee: Prendergast (JAM)
footballbox
date = July 21, 2005
21:00
team1 = fb-rt|COL
score = 2–3
report =
team2 = fb|PAN
goals1 = Patiño 62'
Patiño 88'
goals2 = Phillips 11'
Dely Valdés 26'
Phillips 72'
stadium = Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 41.721
Referee: Sibrian (SLV)

Final

footballbox
date = July 24, 2005
15:00
team1 = fb-rt|USA
score = 0–0
report =
team2 = fb|PAN
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 31.018
Referee: Batres (GUA)penshootoutbox
penalties1 = Quaranta : scored
Armas : saved
Donovan : scored
Davis : scored
penaltyscore = 3–1
penalties2 = Tejada : saved
Dely Valdés : missed
Baloy : scored
Blanco : missed

Result

Top scorers

Three goals
*flagicon|USA DaMarcus Beasley (Golden Boot Winner)
*flagicon|USA Landon Donovan
*flagicon|GTM Carlos Ruiz
*flagicon|HND Wilmer Velasquez
*flagicon|PAN Luis Tejada
Two goals
*flagicon|COL Abel Aguilar
*flagicon|COL Jairo Patiño
*flagicon|CRC Randall Brenes
*flagicon|JAM Ricardo Fuller
*flagicon|JAM Jermaine Hue
*flagicon|MEX Jared Borgetti
*flagicon|PAN Jorge Dely Valdes
*flagicon|PAN Ricardo Phillips
*flagicon|RSA Lungisani Ndlela
One goal
*flagicon|CAN Ali Gerba
*flagicon|CAN Atiba Hutchinson
*flagicon|COL Jaime Castrillon
*flagicon|COL Hector Hugo Hurtado
*flagicon|COL Tressor Moreno
*flagicon|CRC Christian Bolaños
*flagicon|CRC Bryan Ruiz
*flagicon|CUB Alain Cervantes
*flagicon|CUB Maykel Galindo
*flagicon|CUB Lester More
*flagicon|GUA Gonzalo Romero
*flagicon|HND Samuel Caballero
*flagicon|HND Mario Ivan Guerrero
*flagicon|HND Maynor Figueroa
*flagicon|HND Milton Núñez
*flagicon|HND Danilo Turcios
*flagicon|JAM Teafore Bennett
*flagicon|JAM Luton Shelton
*flagicon|JAM Damion Stewart
*flagicon|JAM Andy Williams
*flagicon|MEX Omar Bravo
*flagicon|MEX Alberto Medina
*flagicon|MEX Francisco Rodríguez
*flagicon|RSA Philip Evans
*flagicon|RSA Elrio Van Heerden
*flagicon|RSA Solace Nkosi
*flagicon|RSA Siyabango Nomvete
*flagicon|RSA Abram Raselemane
*flagicon|TTO Marvin Andrews
*flagicon|TTO Christopher Birchall
*flagicon|TTO Cornell Glen
*flagicon|USA Clint Dempsey
*flagicon|USA John O'Brien
*flagicon|USA Oguchi Onyewu
*flagicon|USA Josh Wolff

Awards

Most Valuable Player
*flagicon|PAN Luis TejadaTop Goalkeeper
*flagicon|PAN Jaime PenedoFair Play Trophy
*flagicon|HND Honduras Best XI
*G - flagicon|PAN Jaime Penedo
*D - flagicon|PAN Felipe Baloy
*D - flagicon|HND Samuel Caballero
*D - flagicon|USA Oguchi Onyewu
*M - flagicon|USA DaMarcus Beasley
*M - flagicon|USA Landon Donovan
*M - flagicon|COL Jairo Patiño
*M - flagicon|MEX Luis Ernesto Pérez
*F - flagicon|COL Tressor Moreno
*F - flagicon|PAN Luis Tejada
*F - flagicon|HND Wilmer Velasquez

Honorable Mention
*G - flagicon|USA Kasey Keller
*D - flagicon|JAM Tyrone Marshall
*D - flagicon|CRI Michael Umaña
*M - flagicon|ZAF Philip Evans
*M - flagicon|USA John O'Brien
*F - flagicon|PAN Jorge Dely Valdes
*F - flagicon|CRI Jafet Soto

Final Rankings

External links

* [http://www.us.terra.com/goldcup2005// Official site]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tables/05gc.html Gold Cup 2005 at RSSSF]