Knockout Round
In the quarterfinals, Honduras poured on the attack to lead Costa Rica 3-0 after 29 minutes, and held on to win 3-2. The U.S. scored early and Kasey Keller saved Andy Williams' penalty in the first ten minutes, and from there Jamaica put up little resistance, 3-1 the final result. Colombia outplayed Mexico in the first half, but had nothing to show for it. Both teams traded goals in a tense second half, and then Abel Aguilar's improbable 40 yard shot flew over the keeper and into the net, settling the game and eliminating the holders. Panama and South Africa battled to a 1-1 stalemate, where Panama prevailed in the shootout.
In the semifinals, Honduras scored early on through Iván Guerrero and nearly held on for a famous victory, if not for an errant clearance which led to John O'Brien's equalizer four minutes from time. Oguchi Onyewu made for a thrilling finish, as his header off a free kick won the match in stoppage time for the U.S. The underdogs, Panama, jumped all over Colombia and led by two at halftime. Colombia got one back, but Panama would score again and hold on (Tressor Moreno hitting the post in stoppage time) for a 3-2 victory.
The final was a game of missed chances. The U.S. controlled the run of play, but it was Panama who had the better chances and were unlucky not to score. In the shootout, Panama could not recreate the success against South Africa and missed two penalties while having another saved. The U.S.'s young players showed little fear and after four rounds, they were champions.
In the tournament's 25 games, 73 goals were scored for an average of 2.93, the highest since the 1996 edition. American DaMarcus Beasley scored three goals to win the tournament's Golden Boot, beating out four others on the assists tiebreaker.
Read more about this topic: 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup