In 2011, CONCACAF celebrates its 50th anniversary.
ABOUT CONCACAF
History | Hall of Fame
Committees | National Associations
News: General | Confederation
Through "This Week in CONCACAF History" you can revisit the region's most memorable people, events and crowning achievements.
March 20-26
March 20, 1964: Mexico hosted and won the first CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Mexico City after defeating the USA, 2-1, to take the four-team group with a perfect 3-0-0 record (6 points) … The Tricolor opened with a 5-1 victory over Panama on March 16 and then, two days later, blanked Surinam, 6-0 … With the CONCACAF title, Mexico secured its berth to the Olympic Football Tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
March 21, 1992: Marcos Lugris became the first player to score in FIFA World Cup Qualifying for USA 1994 as he helped lead visiting Puerto Rico to a 2-1 first-leg victory over the Dominican Republic at Santo Domingo's Estadio Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte … Lugris scored in 23rd minute and teammate Ramiro Borja added to the lead (57th), meanwhile Dinardo Rodriguez got one back for the host in the 68th minute … Puerto Rico went on to win the home-and-away series seven days later with a 1-1 draw in the return-leg in San Juan.
March 22, 1961: Costa Rica handed Mexico its second loss in World Cup Qualifying with a 1-0 victory in the opening match of the Final Round Group (for FIFA World Cup Chile 1962) at San Jose's Estadio Nacional … Carlos Vivo Goban (52nd) scored the only goal of the match as the Ticos ended the Tricolor's 14-game unbeaten streak in World Cup Qualifying … The last defeat in qualifying by Mexico was in 1934, 4-2, against the USA.
March 23, 2008: An extra time goal by Georgie Welcome (103rd) gave Honduras a 1-0 win against host USA in the finals of the 2008 CONCACAF Men's U-23 Olympic Qualifying Tournament at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee … Honduras and the USA had already qualified to the Olympic Football Tournament in Bejing, China, after overcoming Guatemala (0-0, 6-5 pen) and Canada (3-0), respectively, in the semifinals two days earlier in Nashville.
March 24, 1968:For the first time in CONCACAF Champions' Cup history, a third encounter took place to determine the finals winner as El Salvador's Alianza FC defeated visiting CRKSV Jong Colombia of Netherlands Antilles by a score of 5-3 in playoff at the Estadio Flor Blanca in San Salvador for the delayed 1967 final …Jong Colombia took the first-leg, 2-1, in Willemstad on March 17, before Alianza FC leveled the series two days later with a 3-0 triumph in the second encounter in San Salvador.
March 25, 1962:A crowd of 15,000 saw the first-ever CONCACAF Champions' Cup encounter as host CD Aguila of El Salvador played Guatemala's CSD Comunicaciones to a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Flor Blanca in San Salvador… Guillermo Palomo of CSD Comunicaciones was credited for the first goal in the 1962 tournament in the opening seven minutes of the match, however, Jose Luis Soto got the equalizer for CD Aguila five minutes before halftime.
March 26, 1972: Walter Elizondo's penalty kick goal (80th) gave LD Alajuelense of Costa Rica a 1-0 triumph against the USA's Rochester Lancers to conclude the 1971 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Final Round Group (played in 1972) at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City, Guatemala … LD Alajuelense's result combined with Mexico's CD SC Cruz Azul 3-1 victory over the host CSD Comunicaciones on the same day gave both sides eight points at the end of six-team group standings … The following month, CD SC Cruz Azul became the first club to win three consecutive Champions' Cups after defeating visiting LD Alajuelense in a single-game playoff, 5-1, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
For more information or general inquiries concerning historical content, please contact Steven Torres, CONCACAF Director of Information Services at steve.torres@concacaf.org.
