The 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of the Gold Cup, the football (soccer) championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Miami and Pasadena. The format of the tournament stayed the same as in 2000: twelve teams were split into four groups of three. The top two teams in each group would advance to the quarterfinals. Ecuador and South Korea were invited from outside CONCACAF.
Canada, who rode the coin toss all the way to winning the 2000 Cup, needed luck once again, as all games in Group D ended with a 2-0 result. Lots were drawn, with Canada and Haiti moving on to the next round; Ecuador did not. But the Canadian luck ran dry in the semifinals, as the US beat them on penalties after tying 0-0. The United States met Costa Rica in the final and topped them 2-0 behind goals by Josh Wolff and Jeff Agoos for their first tournament win since 1991.
During the tournament, Cuban players Alberto Delgado and Rey Angel Martinez defected from Cuba to the United States.
Read more about 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Squads, Qualifying Round, Knockout Round, Results and Awards, Top Scorers, Awards, Team Statistics
Famous quotes containing the words gold and/or cup:
“But not gold in commercial quantities,
Just enough gold to make the engagement rings
And marriage rings of those who owned the farm.
What gold more innocent could one have asked for?”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Sunday morning may be cheery enough, with its extra cup of coffee and litter of Sunday newspapers, but there is always hanging over it the ominous threat of 3 P.M., when the sun gets around to the back windows and life stops dead in its tracks.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)