The 1981 CONCACAF Championship, the eighth edition of the CONCACAF Championship, was held in Honduras from 1 to 22 November. All games were played in the Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino in Tegucigalpa. This tournament was won by the host, Honduras, who earned their first title and secured for the first time a place in the FIFA World Cup, as the tournament also served as qualification to Spain 1982. The North, Central American and Caribbean zone was allocated two places (out of 24) in the final tournament. This edition was marked by an upset as Mexico, traditional CONCACAF heavyweights and needing a win to go through, were eliminated by Honduras. The 0–0 tie between Mexico and Honduras qualified El Salvador to participate in the World Cup as the CONCACAF runners-up. El Salvador also became the first Central American team to qualify for more than one World Cup. This would be the last tournament which would feature a host nation for the final round.
Venue Tegucigalpa Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Capacity: 35,000
Qualified teams
Teams TeamMethod ofqualificationTotaltimesqualifiedLasttimequalifiedPrevious bestperformance North American Zone winners 2 1977 Fourth place (1977) Caribbean Zone Group A winners 2 1971 Fourth place (1971) Central American Zone runners-up 4 1977 Runners-up (1963) Caribbean Zone Group B winners 6 1977 Winners (1973) (host) Central American Zone winners 5 1973 Runners-up (1967) (title holders) North American Zone runners-up 8 1977 Winners (1965, 1971, 1977)
Squads
Standings
Matches
Qualified teams to the 1982 FIFA World Cup
Team Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Consecutivefinalsappearances Previous bestperformance Winners 16 November 1981 1st — 1 — Runners-up 22 November 1981 2nd 1970 1 First round (1970)
Goalscorers
3 goals
Hugo Sánchez
2 goals
Ian Bridge Mike Stojanović Ramón Núñez David Buezo José Roberto Figueroa Ricardo Castro
1 goal
Bob Iarusci Wes McLeod Jorge Luis Rodríguez Ever Hernández Norberto Huezo Daniel Cadet Gerald Romulas Anthony Costly Carlos Orlando Caballero Eduardo Laing Jorge Urquía Manuel Manzo
1 own goal Frantz Mathieu (playing against Cuba)
Team of the Tournament Source: +Ideal XI by RSSSFGoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Luis Guevara Mora Ian Bridge Francisco Osorto Efraín Gutiérrez Jaime Villegas Norberto Huezo Ramón Maradiaga Ramón Núñez Carlos Caballero José Figueroa Hugo Sánchez
Notes To date, this is the last time that Mexico failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. (Mexico did not appear in the 1990 FIFA World Cup as they were banned in light of a scandal in which they used overage players in a youth tournament.)
References
External links