2017 Copa Centroamericana

The 2017 Copa Centroamericana (English: 2017 Central American Cup) was the 14th and last edition of the Copa Centroamericana, the biennial international men's football championship of the Central American region organized by the Central American Football Union (UNCAF).[1] The tournament was hosted in Panama between 13–22 January 2017.[2]

2017 Copa Centroamericana
Central American Cup 2017
Tournament details
Host country Panama
Dates13–22 January 2017
Teams6 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Honduras (4th title)
Runners-up Panama
Third place El Salvador
Fourth place Costa Rica
Tournament statistics
Matches played15
Goals scored27 (1.8 per match)
Top scorer(s) Eddie Hernández (3 goals)
Best player(s) Jorge Claros
Best young player Roberto Domínguez
Best goalkeeper José Calderón
Fair play award Costa Rica

The top four teams qualified for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, while the fifth-placed team advanced to a play-off against the fifth-placed team from the 2017 Caribbean Cup for the final Gold Cup berth.

The tournament was played in round-robin format as a result of Guatemala not being able to participate due to FIFA's suspension of the National Football Federation of Guatemala.[3]

Entrants

Six of the seven UNCAF members were eligible to participate in the tournament.

TeamUNCAF Nations Cup / Copa Centroamericana appearancesPrevious best performanceFIFA ranking at start of event
 Belize11th4th place (2013) 163
 Costa Rica14thChampions (1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014) 17
 El Salvador14th3rd place (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2013) 138
 Honduras14thChampions (1993, 1995, 2011) 75
 Nicaragua14th5th place (2009) 111
 Panama13thChampions (2009) 58

On 28 October 2016, FIFA suspended the National Football Federation of Guatemala for political interference by the Government of Guatemala. Until the suspension is lifted, Guatemalan teams are not permitted to participate in international competitions.[4] CONCACAF had set the deadline of 9 December 2016 for the suspension to be lifted, otherwise by rule, Guatemala would be disqualified from the 2017 Copa Centroamericana, and any revision to the tournament format would be discussed once the deadline had passed.[5] The suspension was not lifted before the deadline, so Guatemala could not participate in the competition.[6]

Venues
Panama City
Estadio Rommel Fernández
Capacity: 32,000
9.035833°N 79.469444°W / 9.035833; -79.469444 (Estadio Rommel Fernández)

Original draw

The original format of the competition was to be a group stage (one group of four teams and one group of three teams) followed by a knockout stage (fifth-placed match, semi-finals, third-placed match and final). The draw for the competition with the original format took place on 25 October 2016, 18:00 UTC−5, at the Hotel Sortis in Panama City, Panama.[7][8]

Pot Team
Hosts (A1)  Panama
Title holders (B1)  Costa Rica
Pot 1 (A3 or A4)
 Belize
 Nicaragua
Pot 2 (A2, B2 or B3)  El Salvador
 Guatemala
 Honduras

The original draw results were:[9]

A change in format was announced on 10 December 2016 following FIFA's decision not to lift the suspension of the National Football Federation of Guatemala.[10]

Squads
Main article: 2017 Copa Centroamericana squads

Each team squad had to have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, two of whom must be goalkeepers.[11]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Honduras (C) 5 4 1 0 7 3 +4 13 Qualification to 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2  Panama (H) 5 3 1 1 4 2 +2 10
3  El Salvador 5 2 1 2 5 4 +1 7
4  Costa Rica 5 1 3 1 4 2 +2 6
5  Nicaragua 5 1 1 3 5 6 −1 4 Advance to 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup CFU–UNCAF play-off
6  Belize 5 0 1 4 2 10 −8 1
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points in matches between tied teams; 5) Goal difference in matches between tied teams; 6) Goals scored in matches between tied teams; 7) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 8.4).[12]
(C) Champion; (H) Host.

Matches

All times are EST (UTC−5).

Matchday 1
Honduras 2–1 Nicaragua
 Report Figueroa  20' (o.g.)
Costa Rica 0–0 El Salvador
Report
Panama 0–0 Belize
Report

Matchday 2
Belize 0–3 Costa Rica
Report
Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
El Salvador 1–2 Honduras
Zelaya  10' Report Castillo  62', 90+1'
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Panama 2–1 Nicaragua
 Report García  30'

Matchday 3
El Salvador 3–1 Belize
 Report McCaulay  43'
Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)
Costa Rica 0–0 Nicaragua
Report
Referee: Jhon Pitti (Panama)
Panama 0–1 Honduras
Report Hernández  36' (pen.)

Matchday 4
Nicaragua 3–1 Belize
 Report Smith  54' (pen.)
Honduras 1–1 Costa Rica
Andino  17' Report Calvo  59'
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Panama 1–0 El Salvador
Arroyo  82' Report

Matchday 5
Belize 0–1 Honduras
Report Hernández  56'
Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
El Salvador 1–0 Nicaragua
Herrera  54' Report
Referee: Jhon Pitti (Panama)
Panama 1–0 Costa Rica
Cooper  67' Report
Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)

Goalscorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[13]

Qualified teams for CONCACAF Gold Cup

The following five teams qualified for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Team Qualified on Previous Gold Cup qualifications
 Honduras17 January 201712 (1991, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
 Panama20 January 20177 (1993, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
 El Salvador22 January 20179 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
 Costa Rica20 January 201712 (1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
 Nicaragua
(won play-off over Haiti) 		28 March 20171 (2009)

References
  1. "Mario Monterrosa, Secretario de UNCAF: ¿'La Copa Regresará a Centroamérica en el 2016'?" [Mario Monterrosa, UNCAF Secretary: The 'Cup will return in Central America in 2016?] (Web). La Nación (in Spanish). 31 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  2. "Panama to host 2017 Central American Cup". CONCACAF.com. 5 March 2016.
  3. "Copa Centroamericana format revised". 11 December 2016. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  4. "Suspension of the Guatemala Football Association". FIFA. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. "Deadlines Set for FEDEFUT". CONCACAF.com. 9 November 2016.
  6. "Guatemala le dice adiós a Copa Centroamericana y Copa Oro". Lared.com.gt. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  7. "Official Draw Confirmed for the Central American Cup Panama 2017". CONCACAF.com. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. "Draw Determines Groups and Schedule for the Central American Cup Panama 2017". CONCACAF.com. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. "Sorteo de la Copa Centroamericana Panamá 2017 define Grupos y Calendario". UNCAF. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  10. "Formato de la Copa Centroamericana sufre modificaciones ante ausencia de Guatemala" (in Spanish). UNCAF. 10 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. "Copa Centroamericana 2017 Regulations (Spanish Edition)" (PDF). CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  12. "Copa Centroamericana 2017 Regulations (Spanish Edition)" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
  13. "2017 Copa Centroamericana: Award Winners". CONCACAF.com. 22 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  14. "TSG announces Copa Centroamericana Best XI". CONCACAF.com. 22 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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