1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship
Tournament details
Host country	United States
Dates	February 1–15
Teams	10 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)	3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Mexico (3rd title)
Runners-up	United States
Third place	Brazil
Fourth place	Jamaica
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	44 (2.75 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Luis Hernández Paulo Wanchope (4 goals each)
Best player(s)	Kasey Keller
← 1996 2000 →

The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship for the member associations of CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The tournament was once again held in the United States, with matches played in Los Angeles, Miami, and Oakland, California. The format of the tournament changed from 1996: it was expanded to ten teams, with four in Group A and three each in Groups B and C. The top team in each group, plus the second place in Group A would advance to the semifinals. Brazil was invited again, and brought their senior team this time. Prior to the tournament, Canada withdrew due to a lack of available players and were replaced by Jamaica.^[1]

Jamaica topped Group A over Brazil, who they tied 0–0, in a surprise result for the team. In the semi-finals, the United States beat Brazil, as Preki scored the lone goal and Kasey Keller preserved the clean sheet. The United States could not repeat that performance in front of a pro-Mexican final crowd in Los Angeles. Mexico won their third straight Gold Cup, 1–0, on a Luis Hernández goal.