2014 Copa Centroamericana

The 2014 Copa Centroamericana (also known as the Central American Cup Tigo 2014 USA for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th Copa Centroamericana, the regional championship for men's national association football teams in Central America. It was organized by the Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol or UNCAF, and took place in the United States.

2014 Copa Centroamericana
Central American Cup Tigo 2014 USA
Tournament details
Host countryUnited States[1]
Dates3–13 September[2]
Teams7 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Costa Rica (8th title)
Runners-up Guatemala
Third place Panama
Fourth place El Salvador
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored27 (2.25 per match)
Attendance305,784 (25,482 per match)
Top scorer(s) Marco Pappa
(4 goals)
Best player(s) Marco Pappa
Best goalkeeper Jaime Penedo
Fair play award Guatemala

Overview

In January 2013, UNCAF tentatively announced that the competition would be hosted in the United States, specifically California and Texas.[3] Eduardo Li, the President of the Costa Rican FA and Vice-President of UNCAF said that the competition is to celebrate 25 years of UNCAF.[4] The announcement became official in January 2014, and it was announced that the competition would take place in September 2014.

Following the announcement, UNCAF President Rafael Tinocco said that September 2014 was chosen because "September is the month of independence" and that there are nine days in September on the FIFA International Match Calendar which would allow national associations to choose their first choice players.[5] Tinocco also stated that the competition would be hosted outside of the Central American region, and hosted in United States due to the "money factor".[5]

The top four teams would qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The fifth place team would advance to a play-off against the fifth place team from the 2014 Caribbean Cup tournament to determine which other nation will qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[6] This is the first time that the two overall fifth-placed teams compete to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, previously five teams from Central America and four from the Caribbean have qualified for the Confederation's competition.

The winner of the tournament would qualify for the Copa América Centenario, a 16-team tournament of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF national teams to be held in the United States in 2016.[7]

FIFA calendar issue

Two of the four competition dates fall outside of the FIFA International Match Calendar's "international window" for September 2014. Any two dates between 1 and 9 September at least three days apart were allocated as possible fixture dates in the window,[8] meaning that the fixtures that took place on 3 and 7 September would be able to have a first choice selection available as clubs would be unable to reject call-ups, while the fixtures that took place on 10 and 13 September (including the final) would require the players' clubs to agree that players could participate.[9][10]

Teams

All seven UNCAF member national teams participated in the tournament.

Team UNCAF Nations Cup /
Copa Centroamericana
appearances		 Previous best performance FIFA Ranking
at start of event
 Belize 10th Fourth Place (2013) 162
 Costa Rica (Title holders) 13th Champion (1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013) 15
 El Salvador 13th Third Place (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2013) 127
 Guatemala 12th Champion (2001) 134
 Honduras 13th Champion (1993, 1995, 2011) 43
 Nicaragua 13th Fifth Place (2009) 175
 Panama 12th Champion (2009) 63

Bold indicates that the corresponding team was hosting the event.

Venues

In May and June 2014, UNCAF announced that the following venues would host the tournament:

Washington Dallas Houston Los Angeles
RFK Memorial Stadium Cotton Bowl BBVA Compass Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
38.889722°N 76.971667°W / 38.889722; -76.971667 (RFK Memorial Stadium) 32.779722°N 96.759722°W / 32.779722; -96.759722 (Cotton Bowl) 29.752199°N 95.352415°W / 29.752199; -95.352415 (BBVA Compass Stadium) 34.014167°N 118.287778°W / 34.014167; -118.287778 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)
Capacity: 19,467† Capacity: 92,100 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 93,607
Locations of venues for the 2014 Copa CentroAmericana

Squads
Further information: 2014 Copa Centroamericana squads

Officials

The following officials were selected for the tournament:[19]

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was made on 29 January 2014.[20] The schedule was announced on 17 July 2014.[21][22] Changes to the schedule were made on 18 August.[23]

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[24][25]

  1. Greater number of points in matches between the tied teams.
  2. Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points).
  3. Greater number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points).
  4. Greater goal difference in all group matches.
  5. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches.
  6. Drawing of lots.
Legend
Group winners advance to the final and qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Group runners-up advance to the third place match and qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Group third-placed teams advance to the fifth place match

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Guatemala 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Final and Gold Cup
2  El Salvador 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6 Third place match and Gold Cup
3  Honduras 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3 Fifth place match
4  Belize 3 0 0 3 1 6 −5 0
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Honduras 2–0 Belize
James  35' (o.g.)
Smith  37' (o.g.)		 Report
Attendance: 20,516[26]
Referee: Sandy Vásquez (Dominican Republic)
El Salvador 1–2 Guatemala
Burgos  69' Report Pappa  26', 64'
Attendance: 20,516[26]
Guatemala 2–1 Belize
C. Ruiz  26'
Ávila  51'		 Report McCaulay  80'
Attendance: 20,156[27]
Honduras 0–1 El Salvador
Report Menjivar  67'
Attendance: 20,156[27]
Referee: Jeffrey Solís (Costa Rica)
El Salvador 2–0 Belize
Burgos  48'
Alvarez  69'		 Report
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 19,287[28]
Referee: Sandy Vásquez (Dominican Republic)
Honduras 0–2 Guatemala
Report Pappa  37', 80'
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 19,287[28]
Referee: Roberto García (Mexico)

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Costa Rica 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 4 Final and Gold Cup
2  Panama 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4 Third place match and Gold Cup
3  Nicaragua 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0 Fifth place match
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Costa Rica 3–0 Nicaragua
Borges  39' (pen.)
Ureña  49'
Venegas  86'		 Report
Attendance: 20,516[26]
Costa Rica 2–2 Panama
Venegas  81'
Borges  87' (pen.)		 Report Pérez  51'
Nurse  71'
Attendance: 20,156[27]
Panama 2–0 Nicaragua
Pérez  81'
R. Torres  82'		 Report
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Attendance: 19,287[28]

Final stage

In the final stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, the match is determined by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[29]

Fifth place match
Honduras 1–0 Nicaragua
Lozano  45+1' Report
Attendance: 41,969[30]

Honduras advanced to represent the Central American Football Union at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification play-off, where they will play against French Guiana, the 2014 Caribbean Cup fifth-placed team. The winner of the play-off will qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[31]

Third place match
El Salvador 0–1 Panama
Report R. Torres  5'
Attendance: 41,969[30]

Final
Guatemala 1–2 Costa Rica
C. Ruiz  25' (pen.) Report B. Ruiz  29'
Bustos  56'
Attendance: 41,969[30]
Guatemala
Costa Rica
GK1Ricardo Jerez
DF3Elías Vásquez
DF11Rafael Morales 67'
DF4Wilson Lalín
DF5Carlos Eduardo Gallardo 90+1'
MF8Jean Márquez
MF15Sergio Trujillo 84'
MF10José Manuel Contreras
MF16Marco Pappa
FW19Marvin Ávila
FW20Carlos Ruiz (c)
Substitutions:
FW9Jairo Arreola 67'
MF17Nelson Miranda 84'
FW14Kendell Herrarte 90+1'
Manager:
Ivan Franco Sopegno
GK18Patrick Pemberton 79'
DF26Pablo Salazar
DF2Johnny Acosta 90+5'
DF19Roy Miller
DF17David Myrie 76'
MF22José Miguel Cubero
MF23Juan Bustos 85'
MF24Johan Venegas 81'
FW21David Ramírez 90+1'
FW15Armando Alonso
FW10Bryan Ruiz (c)
Substitutions:
DF3Porfirio López 81'
MF8Óscar Granados 85'
FW9Jonathan Moya 90+1'
Manager:
Paulo Wanchope

Costa Rica qualified for the Copa América Centenario.

 2014 Copa Centroamericana
Champions 

Costa Rica
Eighth title

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[32]

Award Winner
Golden Ball Marco Pappa
Golden Boot Marco Pappa
Golden Glove Jaime Penedo
Fair Play  Guatemala
Man of the Match – Final Bryan Ruiz

Goalscorers
4 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

Final ranking
Rank Team Prize money (U.S. Dollars)[33]
 Costa Rica $60,000
 Guatemala $40,000
 Panama $30,000
4  El Salvador $25,000
5  Honduras $20,000
6  Nicaragua $15,000
7  Belize $10,000

References
  1. "Copa Centroamericana En Estado Unidos Por Unanimidad" (in Spanish). UNCAF.net. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  2. "UNCAF's Central American Cup to be Held in the United States in Late Summer 2014". CONCACAF.com. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  3. "Copa Centroamericana 2015 se jugaría en Estados Unidos" (in Spanish). Prensa Libre. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. "La próxima Copa Centroamericana será en Estados Unidos" (in Spanish). Radio Monumental. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. "El Salvador será sede eliminatorio UNCAF" (in Spanish). fesfut.org.sv. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. Williams, Sean. "Jamaica to host 2014 Caribbean Cup". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  7. "It's official: Copa América will be held on US soil in special centennial tournament in 2016". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  8. "International Match Calendar" (pdf). FIFA. April 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  9. "International Match Calendar" (pdf). FIFA. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  10. Annexe 1, art. 1 par. 6 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players states that "It is not compulsory to release players outside an international window" ("Circular no. 1437" (pdf). FIFA. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.).
  11. "Central American Cup 2014 to Open in Washington, D.C. with Triple-Header". CONCACAF.com. June 7, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  12. "La Copa Centroamericana 2014 Comenzará En Washington" (in Spanish). UNCAF. June 7, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  13. "Dallas to Host Group Stage of Central American Cup 2014 at Historic Cotton Bowl". CONCACAF.com. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  14. "Dallas Será Sede De Partidos De La Copa Centroamericana 2014" (in Spanish). UNCAF. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  15. "Houston to Host Central American Cup 2014 Matches". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  16. "Houston Será Sede De Partidos De La Copa Centroamericana 2014" (in Spanish). UNCAF. June 1, 2014. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  17. "Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Host Central American Cup 2014 USA Final on September 13". CONCACAF.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  18. "Los Ángeles Será La Sede De La Final De La Copa Centroamericana 2014" (in Spanish). UNCAF. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  19. "2014 Copa Centroamericana (UNCAF) - Selected Officials". FIFA Referees News. September 2, 2014.
  20. "Copa UNCAF será en septiembre y en EUA" (in Spanish). La Prensa Grafica. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  21. "Schedule Announced for Central American Cup 2014 to Be Played in the U.S. this September". CONCACAF.com. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  22. "Listos Grupos Y Calendario Para Copa Centroamericana" (in Spanish). UNCAF.net. 18 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  23. "Kickoff Times Adjusted for Opening and Final Rounds of Central American Cup Tigo 2014 USA". CONCACAF.com. 18 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  24. "Reglamento Copa Centroamericana 2014". UNCAF.
  25. "Central American Cup: Tie-break Procedure". CONCACAF.com. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  26. UNCAF on Twitter
  27. UNCAF on Twitter
  28. UNCAF on Twitter
  29. "Reglamento Copa Centroamericana 2014". UNCAF.
  30. UNCAF on Twitter
  31. Free Kick (Issue #6). CONCACAF. Jun–Jul 2014. p. 7. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  32. "CCA: Award Winners". CONCACAF.com. September 14, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  33. "Reglamento Copa Centroamericana 2014". UNCAF.
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