The 18th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup gets underway in the United States this Sunday 15 June.
The continental championship for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean is the latest of a succession of major tournaments being hosted by the United States, with the FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League Summer Series being held later this summer, followed by the FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2026.
The Gold Cup was preceded by the CCCF Championship, which saw the Central American and Caribbean nations battle for supremacy between 1948 and 1961, and the NAFC Championship, which held just four tournaments between 1947 and 1949. The CONCACAF Championship was introduced in 1961, merging the two, and was held on ten occasions over the next 28 years, with Mexico and Costa Rica each winning three times.
The Gold Cup was introduced in 1991, with the United States playing hosts, as they have done either individually or as co-hosts for each of the 16 tournaments held since. The US also won the inaugural Gold Cup, and followed that with victories in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2021 to take their total number of Gold Cups to seven.
Of the other ten, Mexico have won nine, including the most recent in 2023, and Canada the other in 2000. The US have finished as runners-up five times, with Mexico defeating them in the final on each occasion.
West Ham United’s first representation at the tournament was in 1993, when striker Alex Bunbury represented Canada. The Guyana-born Bunbury had signed from Canadian Soccer League club Montreal Supra, but made just six appearances and failed to score in Claret and Blue. However, he was still a Hammer when he travelled to Mexico to represent his country in the Gold Cup and scored in a 2-2 group-stage draw with Martinique at the Azteca Stadium.
However, an 8-0 defeat by Mexico in their next match saw Canada eliminated, and Bunbury was sold to Portuguese club Marítimo.
Three years later, after the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, midfielder John Harkes represented the Americans at the 1996 Gold Cup. Harkes started the group-stage win over El Salvador and the 1-0 semi-final defeat by Brazil, who had been invited as guests, in Los Angeles.
One of two players to represent West Ham at two Gold Cups, goalkeeper Shaka Hislop was an unused substitute as Trinidad & Tobago reached the semi-finals in 2000 before losing to Canada, who started Craig Forrest in goal in all five of their ties as they went all the way and lifted the trophy.
The British Columbia-born stopper, who had played in the 1991, 1993 and 1996 tournaments, saved a penalty in that semi-final win, kept a clean sheet as Canada defeats guests Columbia 2-0 in the final in Los Angeles.
West Ham’s third representative in 2000 was Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope, who scored in his country’s 2-2 draw with another guest nation, South Korea, in the group stage.
Hislop was back in 2002 and this time he started two games for Trinidad & Tobago against Costa Rica and Martinique as his country was eliminated at the group stage.
After having no representation at the 2005 Gold Cup, utility man Jonathan Spector was in the United States squad in 2007. The then-21-year-old started America’s group-stage wins over Trinidad & Tobago and El Salvador, and was then recalled for the final against Mexico, starting at right-back as the home side came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Soldier Field in his home city of Chicago.
After missing the 2009 Gold Cup, Spector was in the US squad again in 2011, but did not make it onto the pitch as the hosts relinquished a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 to Mexico in Los Angeles. The main man in Mexico’s comeback was winger Pablo Barrera, who scored his country’s first and third goals at the end of his first and only season as a West Ham player.
Barrera had signed from UNAM in 2010, but his only campaign ended in relegation from the Premier League. He was loaned to Zaragoza in Spain, then returned home, where he has since played for Cruz Azul, Monterrey, UNAM, Atlético San Luis and is still turning out for Querétaro at the age of 37.
After a 12-year absence, West Ham returned to the Gold Cup in 2023 in the shape of Michail Antonio, who became the Club’s first Jamaica representative at the tournament and featured in all five ties as the Reggae Boyz reached the semi-finals before losing to Edson Álvarez’s Mexico in the final, albeit the midfielder had yet to join the Irons from Ajax at the time.
Antonio and Álvarez have been selected for the 2025 tournament, which will feature 16 nations, including guests Saudi Arabia, and be hosted by the United States and Canada.
Mexico are in Group A with Costa Rica, Suriname and the Dominican Republic, while Jamaica are in Group C alongside Panama, Guatemala and Guadeloupe. For more details about West Ham’s summer internationals, click HERE.
