# 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup

The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean regions organized by CONCACAF.
The tournament was originally scheduled from 2 through July 25, 2021, but was later rescheduled for July 10 through August 1. Mexico were the defending champions. For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used at the tournament.
The United States won their seventh Gold Cup title by defeating Mexico 1–0 in the final at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

## Qualified teams

Twelve teams qualified directly via the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League. These were the four group winners of League A, four group runners-up of League A and the four group winners of League B.
Furthermore, twelve teams were entered into the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification tournament (GCQ), also based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League. These teams were the four group third-placed teams of League A, the four group runners-up of League B, and the four group winners of League C.
In the original format as announced in September 2019, four teams were to advance out of the GCQ. However, in September 2020, CONCACAF announced that 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions and 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar would participate as a guest in the 2021 and 2023 tournaments. It was the first time since 2005 that a non-CONCACAF association took part in the tournament. Consequently, just three teams qualified for the 2021 edition via the qualifiers.
On July 9, 2021, CONCACAF announced that Curaçao, which had originally qualified as the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A Group D runners-up, would not participate in the tournament because of its high number of COVID-19 cases. They were replaced in Group A by Guatemala, the next-highest ranked team in qualifying.
| Team | Qualification | Date of qualification | Gold Cup appearances (+ CONCACAF Championship) | Last appearance (+ CONCACAF Championship) | Previous best Gold Cup performance (+ CONCACAF Championship) | FIFA Ranking at start of event | CONCACAF Ranking at start of event |
| Canada | CNL League A Group A runners-up | October 11, 2019 | 15th (18th) | 2019 | Champions (2000) Champions (1985) | 70 | 3 |
| Honduras | CNL League A Group C winners | October 13, 2019 | 15th (21st) | 2019 | Runners-up (1991) Champions (1981) | 67 | 5 |
| Grenada | CNL League B Group A winners | November 14, 2019 | 3rd (3rd) | 2011 | Group stage (2009, 2011) | 160 | 23 |
| Jamaica | CNL League B Group C winners | November 15, 2019 | 12th (14th) | 2019 | Runners-up (2015, 2017) | 45 | 6 |
| United States (host) | CNL League A Group A winners | November 15, 2019 | 16th (18th) | 2019 | Champions (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017) | 20 | 2 |
| Mexico (title holders) | CNL League A Group B winners | November 15, 2019 | 16th (24th) | 2019 | Champions (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019) Champions (1965, 1971, 1977) | 11 | 1 |
| El Salvador | CNL League B Group B winners | November 16, 2019 | 12th (18th) | 2019 | Quarter-finals (2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2017) Runners-up (1963, 1981) | 69 | 10 |
| Costa Rica | CNL League A Group D winners | November 17, 2019 | 15th (21st) | 2019 | Runners-up (2002) Champions (1963, 1969, 1989) | 50 | 4 |
| Martinique | CNL League A Group C runners-up | November 17, 2019 | 7th (7th) | 2019 | Quarter-finals (2002) | — | 11 |
| Suriname | CNL League B Group D winners | November 18, 2019 | 1st (3rd) | N/A (1985) | Debut 6th place (1977) | 136 | 15 |
| Panama | CNL League A Group B runners-up | November 19, 2019 | 10th (11th) | 2019 | Runners-up (2005, 2013) | 78 | 7 |
| Qatar | Invited guest | September 2, 2020 | 1st | N/A | Debut | 58 | N/A |
| Trinidad and Tobago | GCQ winners | July 6, 2021 | 11th (16th) | 2019 | Third place (2000) | 103 | 13 |
| Haiti | GCQ winners | July 6, 2021 | 8th (16th) | 2019 | Semi-finals (2019) Champions (1973) | 83 | 9 |
| Guadeloupe | GCQ winners | July 6, 2021 | 4th (4th) | 2011 | Semi-finals (2007) | — | 16 |
| Guatemala | Next best-ranked team from GCQ | July 9, 2021 | 11th (19th) | 2015 | Fourth place (1996) Champions (1967) | 127 | 8 |
* ↑ CNL indicates 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League, GCQ indicates 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifiers.
* ↑ Bold indicates that the corresponding team was hosting or co-hosting the event.
* 1 2 Martinique and Guadeloupe are not FIFA members, so they have no FIFA ranking.

## Venues

On April 13, 2021, CONCACAF announced that the final would take place on August 1, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. On April 22, CONCACAF confirmed the tournament would be held across 9 cities in the U.S.
| Dallas | Arlington (Dallas/Fort Worth Area) | Houston | Houston |
| Cotton Bowl | AT&T Stadium | NRG Stadium | BBVA Stadium |
| Capacity: 92,100 | Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 71,795 | Capacity: 22,039 |
| Glendale (Phoenix Area) | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | Paradise (Las Vegas Area) |
| State Farm Stadium | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | Allegiant Stadium |
| Capacity: 63,400 | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | OrlandoGlendaleKansas CityArlingtonFriscoDallasAustinParadiseHoustonclass=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. | Capacity: 61,000 |
| Orlando | Austin | Frisco (Dallas/Fort Worth Area) | Kansas City |
| Exploria Stadium | Q2 Stadium | Toyota Stadium | Children's Mercy Park |
| Capacity: 25,500 | Capacity: 20,500 | Capacity: 20,500 | Capacity: 18,467 |

## Final draw

The group stage draw took place in Miami, Florida, United States on September 28, 2020, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), along with the draw for the preliminary round. This was the first ever group stage draw for the Gold Cup. The teams were split into four pots based on the CONCACAF Rankings of August 2020. The four teams of Pot 1 were automatically seeded, with Mexico in Group A, the United States in Group B, Costa Rica in Group C and Honduras in Group D. Guests Qatar were placed in Pot 4 and pre-drawn into Group D, which began play on the latest date, as they were also slated to participate in the 2021 Copa América prior to the Gold Cup before subsequently withdrawing from that tournament.

### Seeding

The following was the composition of the draw pots (pots were based on the August 2020 CONCACAF Rankings, and teams in italics are prelim winners whose identity was not known at the time of the seeding):
Pot 1 :
| Team | Rank |
| Mexico | 1 |
| United States | 2 |
| Costa Rica | 3 |
| Honduras | 4 |
Pot 2 :
| Team | Rank |
| Jamaica | 5 |
| Canada | 6 |
| Panama | 8 |
| El Salvador | 10 |
Pot 3 :
| Team | Rank |
| Martinique | 11 |
| Curaçao | 13 |
| Suriname | 15 |
| Grenada | 20 |
Pot 4 :
| Team | Rank |
| Haiti | — |
| Guadeloupe | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | — |
| Qatar | — |

### Draw results and group fixtures

The draw resulted in the following groups (teams in italics are prelim winners whose identity was not known at the time of the draw):
Group A :
| Group A PosTeam A1 Mexico A2 El Salvador A3 Guatemala A4 Trinidad and Tobago | Group B PosTeam B1 United States B2 Canada B3 Martinique B4 Haiti | Group C PosTeam C1 Costa Rica C2 Jamaica C3 Suriname C4 Guadeloupe | Group D PosTeam D1 Honduras D2 Panama D3 Grenada D4 Qatar |
* ↑ Guatemala failed to qualify for the tournament, but replaced Curaçao after the team had to withdraw following a COVID-19 outbreak.
Group stage schedule :
| Matchday | Dates | Matches |
| Matchday 1 | July 10–13, 2021 | 2 v 3, 1 v 4 |
| Matchday 2 | July 14–17, 2021 | 4 v 2, 3 v 1 |
| Matchday 3 | July 18–20, 2021 | 1 v 2, 3 v 4 |

## Squads

Each team had to submit a list of 23 players, of which 3 players must be goalkeepers.

## Match officials

On June 29, 2021, CONCACAF announced a total of 19 referees, 25 assistant referees and 12 video assistant referees (VAR) appointed for the tournament. In addition, the CONCACAF Referee Committee approved the participation of 12 referees from CONCACAF's Targeted Advanced Referee Program (TARP) who trained with elite officials in order to prepare for future competitions.
Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and Senegalese assistant referee Djibril Camará participated in the tournament as part of a referee exchange between the Confederation of African Football and CONCACAF. Originally, the African refereeing team was also conformed by referee Maguette N'Diaye and assistant referee El Hadji Malick Samba, both from Senegal. However, these two officials had problems with their visas, preventing them from traveling.
Referees
* Drew Fischer
* Ricardo Montero
* Juan Gabriel Calderón
* Bakary Gassama
* Reon Radix
* Mario Escobar
* Bryan López
* Selvin Brown
* Said Martínez
* Oshane Nation
* Daneon Parchment
* Adonai Escobedo
* Fernando Guerrero
* Fernando Hernández
* César Ramos
* Iván Barton
* Ismael Cornejo
* Jair Marrufo
* Armando Villarreal
* Ismail Elfath
Assistant referees
* Iroots Appleton
* Micheal Barwegen
* William Arrieta
* Juan Carlos Mora
* Gerson López
* Walter López
* Christian Ramírez
* Roney Salinas
* Nicholas Anderson
* Ojay Duhaney
* Jassett Kerr
* Miguel Hernández
* Michel Morales
* Alberto Morin
* Henri Pupiro
* Geovany García
* David Morán
* Juan Francisco Zumba
* Djibril Camará
* Zachari Zeegelaar
* Caleb Wales
* Frank Anderson
* Kyle Atkins
* Logan Brown
* Kathryn Nesbitt
* Corey Parker
Video assistant referees
* David Gantar
* Carlos Ayala
* Arturo Cruz
* Leon Barajas
* Erick Miranda
* Angel Monroy
* Joel Rangel
* Tatiana Guzmán
* Allen Chapman
* Tim Ford
* Edvin Jurisevic
* Chris Penso
Targeted advanced referee program (TARP)
* Pierre-Luc Lauzière
* Keylor Herrera
* Benjamin Pineda
* Diego Montaño
* José Torres
* Tristley Bassue
* Nima Saghafi
* Rubiel Vazquez

## Group stage

The match schedule was announced on May 13, 2021.
All match times listed are EDT (UTC−4), as listed by CONCACAF. If the venue was located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

### Tiebreakers

The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:
* Points obtained in all group matches (three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat);
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Number of goals scored in all group matches;
* Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match): Yellow card: −1 points;Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;Direct red card: −4 points;Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
* Drawing of lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | El Salvador | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Guatemala | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Canada | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Haiti | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Martinique | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Costa Rica | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Jamaica | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Suriname | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Guadeloupe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 0 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qatar | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Honduras | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Panama | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Grenada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 | |

## Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each), with each team being allowed to make a sixth substitution. If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out.
As with every tournament since 2005 (except 2015), there was no third place play-off.
All match times listed are EDT (UTC−4), as listed by CONCACAF. If the venue was located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 24 July – Glendale | 24 July – Glendale | | | |
| Qatar | 3 | | | |
| Qatar | 3 | 29 July – Austin | 29 July – Austin | | |
| El Salvador | 2 | 29 July – Austin | 29 July – Austin | |
| El Salvador | 2 | Qatar | 0 | |
| 25 July – Arlington | 25 July – Arlington | | Qatar | 0 | |
| 25 July – Arlington | 25 July – Arlington | United States | 1 | |
| United States | 1 | United States | 1 | |
| United States | 1 | | | | 1 August – Paradise | 1 August – Paradise |
| Jamaica | 0 | | | | 1 August – Paradise | 1 August – Paradise |
| Jamaica | 0 | | | | United States (a.e.t.) | 1 |
| 24 July – Glendale | 24 July – Glendale | | | | | United States (a.e.t.) | 1 |
| 24 July – Glendale | 24 July – Glendale | | | | Mexico | 0 |
| Mexico | 3 | | | | Mexico | 0 |
| Mexico | 3 | 29 July – Houston (NRG) | 29 July – Houston (NRG) | | | |
| Honduras | 0 | 29 July – Houston (NRG) | 29 July – Houston (NRG) | | | |
| Honduras | 0 | Mexico | 2 | | | |
| 25 July – Arlington | 25 July – Arlington | | Mexico | 2 | | | |
| 25 July – Arlington | 25 July – Arlington | Canada | 1 | |
| Costa Rica | 0 | Canada | 1 | |
| Canada | 2 | | | |

### Final
## Statistics
### Goalscorers

There were 89 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 2.87 goals per match.
4 goals
* Almoez Ali
3 goals
* Stephen Eustáquio
* Cyle Larin
* Joaquín Rivas
* Romell Quioto
* Rogelio Funes Mori
* Orbelín Pineda
* Abdulaziz Hatem
2 goals
* Junior Hoilett
* Celso Borges
* Joel Campbell
* Emmanuel Rivière
* Rolando Blackburn
* Eric Davis
* José Luis Rodríguez
* Akram Afif
* Gleofilo Vlijter
* Daryl Dike
* Miles Robinson
* Gyasi Zardes
1 goal
* Tajon Buchanan
* Theo Corbeanu
* Jonathan Osorio
* Ariel Lassiter
* Bryan Ruiz
* Jairo Henríquez
* Walmer Martinez
* Alex Roldan
* Romar Frank
* Raphaël Mirval
* Matthias Phaëton
* Dimitri Ramothe
* Gerardo Gordillo
* Ricardo Adé
* Carnejy Antoine
* Stéphane Lambese
* Jerry Bengtson
* Johnny Leverón
* Alexander López
* Edwin Solano
* Cory Burke
* Bobby Decordova-Reid
* Junior Flemmings
* Shamar Nicholson
* Kévin Fortuné
* Jonathan dos Santos
* Héctor Herrera
* Luis Rodríguez
* Alberto Quintero
* César Yanis
* Homam Ahmed
* Hassan Al-Haydos
* Mohammed Muntari
* Nigel Hasselbaink
* Reon Moore
* Nicholas Gioacchini
* Matthew Hoppe
* Shaq Moore
* Sam Vines
1 own goal
* Amari'i Bell (against Guadeloupe)
* Samuel Camille (against United States)
Source: CONCACAF

### Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.
* Golden Ball Award: Héctor Herrera
* Golden Boot Award: Almoez Ali
* Golden Glove Award: Matt Turner
* Young Player Award: Tajon Buchanan
* Goal of the Tournament: Bobby Decordova-Reid (against Suriname)
* Fighting Spirit Award: Bryan Tamacas
* Fair Play Award: United States

#### Best XI

The following players were chosen as the tournament's best eleven.
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Matt Turner | Miles Robinson Edson Álvarez Shaq Moore Damion Lowe | Héctor Herrera Celso Borges Tajon Buchanan | Akram Afif Rogelio Funes Mori Almoez Ali |

### Prize money

Each team received a participation fee of $200,000, with the runners-up earning $500,000 and the winners earning $1 million.
| Round achieved | Amount | Teams |
| Final tournament | $200,000 | 16 |
| Runners-up | $500,000 | 1 |
| Winners | $1,000,000 | 1 |

## Marketing
### Logo and slogan

The official logo was unveiled on September 28, 2020, during the final draw in Miami, Florida. The official slogan of the tournament was "This Is Ours".

### Match ball

Flight by Nike was the tournament's official match ball.

### Official songs and anthems

"All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)" by Canadian musicians Widelife and Simone Denny, and "Cool" by Irish singer-songwriter Samantha Mumba, served as the two official songs of the tournament. Mumba's first singles "Baby Come on Over" and "Gotta Tell You" were initially selected but were replaced as Mumba's previous label Polydor rejected the usage.
"Glorious" by English-Canadian girl group All Saints served as the official anthem of the tournament.
"Fútbol a la Gente" by Puerto Rican singer Guaynaa and Mexican cumbia group Los Ángeles Azules, and "Pa'lante" by Colombian singer Lao Ra and Dominican DJ Happy Colors, served as the two official Spanish-language songs of the tournament, the former being selected by Univision as part of their coverage.
"Juega" was the official Spanish anthem, by Colombian duo Cali y El Dandee featuring Jamaican singer Charly Black.

## Controversy

At the 88th minute of the semifinal match between Mexico and Canada, the referee briefly suspended the match because the Mexican fans had been heard yelling the homophonic chant "Puto". Mexico was able to catch a crucial break and ended up scoring the match winning goal at the 99th minute.