# 1998 Copa Merconorte

The 1998 Copa Merconorte was the 1st edition of association football tournament Copa Merconorte held in 1998. Atlético Nacional of Colombia beat Deportivo Cali also of Colombia in the final.
Originally, this tournament was to start on 1 September 1998 (the group stage lasting until 25 November), with 16 teams divided into 4 groups of 4. Those 16 teams included 3 Mexican teams, América, Cruz Azul and Guadalajara.
However, the Mexican Football Federation insisted on including Toluca and Necaxa, the two finalists of the 1998 Summer season, instead of América and Guadalajara, who had been chosen for their popular support. No agreement could be reached, and on 20 August the Mexican teams withdrew. The organization then decided to remove the two teams from the USA (D.C. United and Los Angeles Galaxy) as well, include a fourth Colombian team (América de Cali) and play with 3 groups of 4.

## Participants

| Country | Team |
| Bolivia (1 berth) | The Strongest |
| Colombia (4 berths) | América de Cali |
| Colombia (4 berths) | Atlético Nacional |
| Colombia (4 berths) | Deportivo Cali |
| Colombia (4 berths) | Millonarios |
| Ecuador (3 berths) | Barcelona |
| Ecuador (3 berths) | El Nacional |
| Ecuador (3 berths) | Emelec |
| Peru (3 berths) | Alianza Lima |
| Peru (3 berths) | Sporting Cristal |
| Peru (3 berths) | Universitario |
| Venezuela (1 berth) | Caracas |

## Group stage

According to the original draw in march of 1998, these are the groups of competition:
Group A: Sporting Cristal, Emelec, Deportivo Cali and Guadalajara
Group B: América, Universitario, El Nacional and Atlético Nacional
Group C: Alianza Lima, Barcelona, Millonarios and D.C. United
Group D: The Strongest, Caracas, Cruz Azul and Los Angeles Galaxy
Each team played the other teams in the group twice during the group stage. The three group winners and the best runner-up advanced to the second round.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MIL | EME | AME | CRI |
| 1 | Millonarios | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 10 | Advance to Semifinals | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Emelec | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 9 | | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| 3 | América de Cali | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 |
| 4 | Sporting Cristal | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ATL | ALI | STR | BAR |
| 1 | Atlético Nacional | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 11 | Advance to Semifinals | — | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Alianza Lima | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| 3 | The Strongest | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 8 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Barcelona | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 5 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CAL | NAC | CAR | UNI |
| 1 | Deportivo Cali | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 11 | Advance to Semifinals | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| 2 | El Nacional | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | Advance to Semifinals | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Caracas | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–2 |
| 4 | Universitario | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 5 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — |

### Ranking of second placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | C | El Nacional | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | Advance to Semifinals |
| 2 | A | Emelec | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | B | Alianza Lima | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | |

## Champion

* Copa Merconorte 1998 Winners
* Atlético Nacional First Title