1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup
| CONCACAF Championship | |
|---|---|
 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | January 10 – January 21 |
| Teams | 9 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 |
| Runners-up |
 |
| Third place |
 |
| Fourth place |
 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Goals scored | 42 (3.23 per match) |
| Attendance | 487,439 (37,495 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
|
The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the football (soccer) championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The tournament went back to the United States and California; the games were hosted by Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim. The format of the tournament changed from 1993: it was expanded to nine teams, separated into three groups of three and played in January as opposed to the 1993 edition which was played in July.
The top team in each group, plus the best second-place finisher would advance to the semifinals. For the first time, a non-CONCACAF team was invited: Brazil, who sent their Under-23 side. Mexico won their second straight Gold Cup, beating the Brazilians 2-0 in the final.
Participating nations
| Team | Qualification | Appearance in Gold Cup |
|---|---|---|
| North American zone | ||
| Host | 3rd |
| Automatic | 3rd |
 | Automatic | 3rd |
| Caribbean zone qualified through the 1995 Caribbean Cup | ||
 | Winners | 2nd |
 | Runners-Up | 1st |
| Central American zone qualified through the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup | ||
 | Winners | 3rd |
| Runners-Up | 2nd |
 | 3rd Place | 1st |
| CONMEBOL | ||
| Invited | 1st |
Venues
| Anaheim | Los Angeles | San Diego |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Stadium | Memorial Coliseum | Jack Murphy Stadium |
| Capacity: 64,593 | Capacity: 93,607 | Capacity: 60,836 |
 |  |  |
CONCACAF squads
First round
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 |
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | –8 | 0 |
| Mexico |
5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
L. García  Peláez A. Garcia |
Report |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –1 | 3 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | –7 | 0 |
| Brazil |
4–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| André Luis Caio Sávio Leandro Machado |
Report | Radzinski |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 3 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –2 | 0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Latapy |
Report | Díaz Arce Cerritos |
| United States |
3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Wynalda Moore |
Report | Dwarika |
| United States |
2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Wynalda Balboa |
Report |
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| January 18 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| 0 | |||||
| January 21 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| 1 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
| January 19 – San Diego | ||||||
| 2 | |||||
| 1 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| January 21 – Los Angeles | ||||||
| 3 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
Semifinals
| United States |
0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Balboa |
Third place match
Final
| Brazil |
0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | L. García Blanco |
         Brazil
|
     Mexico
|
Awards
| 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners |
|---|
Mexico Second title |
Top scorers
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals
Team statistics
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Dif | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
| F | |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 |
| S | |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 |
| S | |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 1 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 |
| 1 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | -7 |
| 1 | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | -8 |