During the Gold Cup, Dempsey scored both U.S. goals in a 2–1 group stage win over Honduras at the Toyota Stadium in his native Texas. Three days later, at his former club ground in New England, he struck the only goal to defeat Haiti, sending his team into the quarter-finals, where he scored his first international hat-trick in a 6–0 victory against Cuba. In the third-place play-off, he scored his seventh goal of the tournament to equalize for a 1–1 draw against Panama, and also netted his attempt in the penalty shootout which his team eventually lost; he finished the tournament as its top scorer.