El Salvador wins first-ever CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup
concacaf.comARLINGTON, Texas – El Salvador topped Mexico 1-0 on Wednesday to win the CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup 2013 (CIGC13) before a crowd of more than 81,000 at Cowboys Stadium.
Josue Renderos, representing the Central American nation, triumphed over Irving Velazquez in a tight battle. The match -- held in between games of the Gold Cup’s semifinal doubleheader -- was contested on the 60-yard video screen that hangs 90 feet above the stadium’s field, providing all fans in attendance with a unique viewing experience.
Along with the confederation title, the CD FAS fan won an all-expenses paid VIP trip for two to Sunday’s 2013 Gold Cup final in Chicago, where he will be presented with the trophy at the tournament’s closing ceremony.
Despite not knowing each other prior to the CONCACAF competition, Renderos demonstrated “Fair Play” by inviting Velazquez to be his guest in Chicago.
The CIGC13 proved to be an outstanding success as it brought together 12 finalists from each of the confederation’s three sub-regions for a passion-filled celebration of international, interactive football.
Similar to the Gold Cup itself, the participating teams were split into three groups of four teams each with the group winners and runners-up, plus the two best third-place finishers, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Velazquez’s Mexico and Canada were the only sides to emerge from the first round with unblemished records.
Each of the quarterfinal pairings was decided by one goal or less. Mexico needed penalty kicks to get past Jamaica, while the United States, Canada and El Salvador posted wins by the narrowest of margins.
The semifinal encounters were just as tricky to negotiate. El Salvador defeated the U.S. (3-2) and Mexico, once again, progressed on penalty kicks over previously undefeated and untied Canada, which was skillfully represented by Kevin Dehizadeh.
The 12 finalists qualified for the CIGC13 Grand Final by playing FIFA Interactive World Cup 2013 (FIWC13) Season 6 via the PlayStation® network.
Carlon Garcia representing T&T.
