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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:
Central American Zone 2003:
Qualified automatically:
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 US 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 US 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 US 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. Nevertheless, if Mexico lost to Jamaica by six goals or more, the Canadians could still go through. 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 minuteds 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 USA 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 inprobable 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 stalemte, 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 USA. 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 USA 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 USA'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
GROUP STAGE TABLES & RESULTS Group A Group B Group C KNOCKOUT ROUND RESULTS Quarterfinals Semifinals Final TOP SCORERS 3 goals
AWARDS Most Valuable Player
Top Goalkeeper
Fair Play Trophy
Best XI
Honorable Mention
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