Gold Cup Final 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

The year 2007 saw the United States defending its title successfully. The title was won by defeating Mexico in the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Gold Cup final. This win earned them a berth to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

The CONCACAF Championship was revived in 1991 after a period of twenty years and was renamed CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which USA emerged victorious by defeating Honduras. Next three matches were won by Mexico, while Canada claimed the title in 2000. USA and Mexico again won the Cup in 2003, and 2005 respectively. USA came back with a bang in 2007 Gold Cup final defeating Mexico.

The CONCACAF declared the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament open on 6th June. The six venues for the tournament were – Soldier Field (Chicago, Illinois) – hosted the Semifinals on June 21 and final on June 24, Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Massachusetts). It hosted last two Group B Matches and two Quarterfinal Matches, Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas) and played a host to the last two Group C Matches and two Quarterfinal Matches, Miami Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida). It also hosted all Group A Matches, Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) and played a host to all first four Group C Matches and The Home Depot Center (Carson, California), besides the first four Group B Matches.

In the 2007 Gold Cup final, twelve teams qualified for the tournament. They were divided into three groups. The top teams in each group moved on to the knockout stage along with the best two from the team in the third place, thus filling out the knockout field of eight. If the teams have same points, they are ranked on the basis of certain criteria in the following order – head to head matches between the tied teams (if applicable), greatest goal difference in group matches, greatest number of goals scored in the three group matches, and above all, if the teams are still tied, CONCACAF will draw lots.

Canada, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, and Haiti comprised Group A while Canada finished as group leader. USA, Guatemala, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago played in Group B as well as USA, who emerged the winner in the Gold Cup final, achieved the best first-round record of any team with three wins. During which it scored a total of seven goals.

Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Cuba made up Group C with Honduras being the group winner. In the quarterfinals, Canada beat Guatemala, the United States won over Panama, Mexico defeated Costa Rica, and Guadeloupe gained victory over Honduras. In the semifinals, the United States and Mexico defeated their rivals to move on to the Gold Cup final.

On June 24, 2007, the United States scored two goals in a span of 11 minutes, leading it to victory. A penalty kick from Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber gave the Americans a 2-1 win and its second consecutive Gold Cup. In the 1998 Gold Cup final, these two countries faced each other, with Mexico defeating the United States. Wikipedia