Host country Honduras Runners-up El Salvador Top scorer(s) Hugo Sánchez (3 goals) Teams 6 Matches played 15 | Champions Honduras (1st title) Fourth place Canada Start date 1981 Goals scored 28 Venues 1 | |
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Dates 1 November – 22 November Champion Honduras national football team Third place Mexico national football team | ||
The 1981 CONCACAF Championship, the eighth edition of the CONCACAF Championship, was held in Honduras from 1 November 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.
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Final round
Honduras and El Salvador qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup.