| Tourney Name: | CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Other Titles: | CONCACAF Championship |
| Size: | 176 |
| Country: | United States |
| Dates: | January 10–21 |
| Num Teams: | 9 |
| Confederations: | 2 |
| Venues: | 3 |
| Cities: | 3 |
| Champion: | MEX |
| Count: | 2 |
| Second: | BRA |
| Third: | USA |
| Fourth: | GUA |
| Matches: | 13 |
| Goals: | 42 |
| Top Scorer: |  Eric Wynalda (4 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 1993 |
| Nextseason: | 1998 |
The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The tournament returned to the United States and California; the games were hosted by Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim. The format of the tournament changed from 1993: it was expanded to nine teams, separated into three groups of three and played in January as opposed to the 1993 edition which was played in July.
The top team in each group, plus the best second-place finisher would advance to the semifinals. For the first time, a non-CONCACAF team was invited: Brazil, who sent their under-23 side. Mexico won their second straight Gold Cup, beating the Brazilians 2–0 in the final.
| Anaheim | Los Angeles | San Diego | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Stadium | Memorial Coliseum | Jack Murphy Stadium | |
| Capacity: 64,593 | Capacity: 93,607 | Capacity: 60,836 | |
| Team | Qualification | Appearances | Last Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Ranking[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American zone | ||||||
| (TH) | Automatic | 3rd | 1993 | Champions (1993) | 12 | |
| Automatic | 3rd | 1993 | Champions (1991) | 19 | ||
| Automatic | 3rd | 1993 | Group Stage (1991, 1993) | 65 | ||
| Caribbean zone qualified through the 1995 Caribbean Cup | ||||||
| Winners | 2nd | 1991 | Group Stage (1991) | 57 | ||
| Runners-up | 1st | None | Debut | 95 | ||
| Central American zone qualified through the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup | ||||||
| Winners | 3rd | 1993 | Runners-up (1991) | 49 | ||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 1991 | Group stage (1991) | 145 | ||
| Third Place | 1st | None | Debut | 85 | ||
| Other | ||||||
| Invitation | 1st | None | Debut | 1 | ||
See main article: 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup squads.
The 9 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 20 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.
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See main article: 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
The following Gold Cup awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: the Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Ball (best overall player).[2]
| scope=col style="background-color: gold" | Golden Ball |
|---|---|
| Raúl Lara | |
| scope=col style="background-color: gold" | Golden Boot |
| Eric Wynalda | |
| 4 goals |