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Location: Miami, Fla., Oakland & Los Angeles, Calif., USA
The 1998 Gold Cup was the most successful yet for CONCACAF, despite bad weather, postponed games and an historic USA-Brazil clash which was played with less than 24 hours notice for both teams.
Preki Radosavljevic was the story for the U.S. on the offensive end, scoring a brilliant late goal against Costa Rica to send the U.S. through to the semifinals. That goal would have been enough to lift Radosavjlevic into U.S. prominence, but he did it one better in the U.S.A.’s next match, an historic 1-0 triumph over Brazil courtesy a 22-yard bomb from Preki in the 65th minute.
Of course, Preki’s goal was only half the story, as goalkeeper Kasey Keller replaced Brad Friedel in the nets (who started the USA’s first two matches) and stymied Romario and Brazil with a 10-save performance, widely considered to be the best in U.S. Soccer history. On the strength of that game alone, and a 1-0 loss to Mexico in the finals not withstanding, Keller was voted the MVP of the tournament for just two games work.
In the final, Mexican World Cup-hero Luis Hernandez scored in the closing minutes of the first half to give the Tri-Colores a 1-0 victory over the U.S. National Team and the 1998 Gold Cup crown in front of a sold-out crowd of 91,255 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The crowd was the fourth largest to watch the U.S. National Team domestically, and could have included an additional 6,941 paid spectators who watched the game on a giant television screen inside the Los Angeles Sports Arena, adjacent to the Coliseum. |
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| 4th CONCACAF Gold Cup — United States '98 (Miami, Fla., Oakland & Los Angeles, Calif.) |
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2-1-98
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Cuba
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3-0 W
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Wegerle, Wynalda, Moore
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Oakland, Calif.
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11,234
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2-7-98
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Costa Rica
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2-1 W
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Pope, Radosavljevic
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Oakland, Calif.
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36,240
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2-10-98
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Brazil (s)
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1-0 W
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Radosavljevic
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Los Angeles, Calif.
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12,298
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2-15-98
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Mexico (f)
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0-1 L
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—
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Los Angeles, Calif.
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91,255
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(s) Semfinal
(f) Final |
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Champion: Mexico
Runner-up: United States (USA finish: 2nd place) |
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1998 Gold Cup
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