Much has changed since the first Concacaf Gold Cup in 1991. Now the top men's competition for national sides from North and Central America and the Caribbean -- including the United States and Mexico -- it was originally a fairly unknown tournament that had a compressed nine-day sprint for eight teams.
Years before battling with El Tri for regional dominance, the U.S. men's national team arrived at the Gold Cup keen to make their mark. Months after taking part in the 1990 World Cup, their first qualification for the global event in 40 years, there was an eagerness to show that they could be taken seriously by the rest of the continent.