// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was 1981 CONCACAF a champ? It had a ball.
| Campeonato de Naciones de CONCACAF 1981 (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Honduras |
| Dates | 1–22 November |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Honduras (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  El Salvador |
| Third place |  Mexico |
| Fourth place |  Canada |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 28 (1.87 per match) |
| Attendance | 470,484 (31,366 per match) |
| Top scorer | Hugo Sánchez (3 goals) |
← 1977 1985 → | |
| CONCACAF Qualifiers |
|---|
The 1981 CONCACAF Championship, the eighth edition of the CONCACAF Championship, was held in Honduras from 1 to 22 November. All games were played in the Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino in Tegucigalpa. This tournament was won by the host, Honduras, who earned their first title and secured for the first time a place in the FIFA World Cup, as the tournament also served as qualification to Spain 1982. The North, Central American and Caribbean zone was allocated two places (out of 24) in the final tournament. This edition was marked by an upset as Mexico, traditional CONCACAF heavyweights and needing a win to go through, were eliminated by Honduras. The 0–0 tie between Mexico and Honduras qualified El Salvador to participate in the World Cup as the CONCACAF runners-up. El Salvador also became the first Central American team to qualify for more than one World Cup. This would be the last tournament which would feature a host nation for the final round.
Venue
[edit]| Tegucigalpa |
|---|
| Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino |
| Capacity: 35,000 |
 |
Qualified teams
[edit]Teams
[edit]| Team | Method of qualification |
Total times qualified |
Last time qualified |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | North American Zone winners | 2 | 1977 | Fourth place (1977) |
 Cuba | Caribbean Zone Group A winners | 2 | 1971 | Fourth place (1971) |
| El Salvador | Central American Zone runners-up | 4 | 1977 | Runners-up (1963) |
 Haiti | Caribbean Zone Group B winners | 6 | 1977 | Winners (1973) |
| Honduras (host) | Central American Zone winners | 5 | 1973 | Runners-up (1967) |
| Mexico (title holders) | North American Zone runners-up | 8 | 1977 | Winners (1965, 1971, 1977) |
Squads
[edit]Standings
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honduras |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 8 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | El Salvador |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Mexico |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | |
| 4 | Canada |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | |
| 5 | Cuba |
5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 | |
| 6 | Haiti |
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 2 |
Matches
[edit]| Mexico | 4–0 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
Castro  18'H. Sánchez 43', 50'Manzo 53' |
| Canada | 1–0 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Stojanovic 90' |
| Haiti | 1–1 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Romulas 34' |
Stojanovic 50' |
| Mexico | 0–1 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Hernández 81' |
| Honduras | 2–0 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Buezo 36' Costly 69' |
| El Salvador | 0–0 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 1–1 | Haiti |
|---|---|---|
| H. Sánchez 87' |
Cadet 47' |
| Honduras | 2–1 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Caballero 12' Figueroa 40' |
Bridge 19' |
| Mexico | 1–1 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Castro 29' |
Bridge 57' |
| Honduras | 0–0 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Haiti | 0–1 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Huezo 18' (pen.) |
| Cuba | 2–2 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Núñez 2' Rodríguez 74' |
McLeod 48' Iarusci 84' |
| Honduras | 0–0 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 CONCACAF Championship winners |
|---|
 Honduras First title |
Qualified teams to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
[edit].jpg)
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Consecutive finals appearances |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honduras | Winners | 16 November 1981 | 1st | — | 1 | — |
| El Salvador | Runners-up | 22 November 1981 | 2nd | 1970 | 1 | First round (1970) |
Goalscorers
[edit]- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
- Frantz Mathieu (playing against Cuba)
Team of the Tournament
[edit]Source:[1]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Guevara Mora |
Ian Bridge Francisco Osorto Efraín Gutiérrez Jaime Villegas |
Norberto Huezo Ramón Maradiaga |
Ramón Núñez Carlos Caballero José Figueroa Hugo Sánchez |
Notes
[edit]To date, this is the last time that Mexico failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. (Mexico did not appear in the 1990 FIFA World Cup as they were banned in light of a scandal in which they used overage players in a youth tournament.)
References
[edit]- ↑ "Torneo Premundial Honduras 1981 (VIII Campeonato de Naciones (NORCECA) CONCACAF)". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1981 CONCACAF Championship
- 1981 in CONCACAF football
- 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
- CONCACAF Championship
- International association football competitions hosted by Honduras
- FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
- 1981 in Cuban sport
- 1981–82 in Mexican football
- 1981–82 in Salvadoran football
- 1981–82 in Honduran football
- 1981 in Canadian soccer
- November 1981 sports events in North America
- Football competitions in Tegucigalpa
- 20th century in Tegucigalpa
- Honduras at the 1982 FIFA World Cup
- El Salvador at the 1982 FIFA World Cup
- 1981 in Haitian sport
- 1981 in North American men's international football