1-0: Mexico, Gold Cup champion

The choice of Mexico won this Sunday the golden cup in a close final played in the American city of Los Angeles with Panama, which in the blink of an eye of its defense fell 1-0 with a goal in the 88th minute of santi gimenez. The striker came on as a substitute and was only on the field for three minutes when he became Mexico’s hero thanks to a great goal.

Giménez held the ball in the middle of the field under pressure from Harold Cummings, cut it with a great movement and headed straight for the Panamanian goal with a cross shot with his left foot. Mexico, which lost the title game against the United States in 2021, now regained the Concacaf throne and added its ninth Gold Cup since the format change. On the other hand, Panama, which signed off on a spectacular tournament, is once again just one step away from glory as it has lost in the three Gold Cup finals it has played in (2005, 2013 and 2023).

In an atmospheric SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, full of green Mexican jerseys and in front of a total of 72,963 spectators, El Tri completed its revival after June’s League of Nations disappointment, which ended with the dismissal of Diego Cocca, and now he raised the Gold Cup with his interim coach Jaime Lozano.

Thomas Christiansen relied on the same Panamanian eleven that eliminated the US in the semifinals while Lozano made just one change in Mexico compared to his cross in Jamaica and gave the axis of the midfield to Édson Álvarez instead of Erick Sánchez. In an early half that alternated between dominance and substitutions, chances abounded for both teams, although there was no prize in front of goal.

Mexico took the ball early but in the 2nd minute there was a big scare when Adalberto Carrasquilla, with a three-finger pass, left Ismael Díaz alone against ‘Memo’ Ochoa but César Montes stopped the goal of Panamanians. The Canal team seemed to have more spark in attack and the Mexican team did not have the first approach of interest until the 19th, when Uriel Antuna wasted a good situation with a weak shot.

Henry Martín managed to send the ball into the net after good triangulation by Mexico in the 33rd minute, but the referee disallowed the goal for offside at the start of the game. El Tri, despite this disappointment, continued to harass the rival area and would have gone into the break with a goal on their scoreboard if not for a superb intervention by Orlando Mosquera, who failed to make two shots in a row by Orbelín Pineda and Martín on clearer occasions before the break.

However, Panama also came close to scoring in extra time when Aníbal Godoy grabbed a rebound at the front end and his left-footed shot went inches wide of Ochoa’s right post. The exchange of sterile occasions at the restart: Alberto Quintero took the floor for Panama, with a crossed header that went wide; and for Mexico, Álvarez raised his voice, unable to finish service from Martín a bit.

Harold Cummings, on yellow from the first half, came close to leaving Panama with ten after seeing a second card for a foul on Pineda but VAR saved him from being sent off. Minutes passed without the marker moving and the roots grew before an extension loomed on the horizon. Pineda for Mexico or Díaz for Panama scored the winning goal for their teams, but in the end it was Giménez, with a great action for El Tri, who became the hero of the final.

DATA SHEET

1 – Mexico: Ochoa; Jorge Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Gallardo; Romo, Álvarez, Chávez (Erick Sánchez, m.75); Antuna (Alvarado, m.75), Martín (Giménez, m.84) and Pineda (Reyes, m.92)
Coach: Jaime Lozano
0 – Panama: Mosquera; Bárcenas, Cummings (Londoño, m.91), Escobar, Andrade, Davis (Anderson, m.61); Quintero (Waterman, m.61), Carrasquilla, Godoy, Díaz; Fajardo
Instructor: Thomas Christiansen
Purpose: 1-0, Santi Giménez (d. 88)
Referee: Martinez (Honduras) said. He advised Vásquez, Montes, Gallardo and Álvarez in Mexico and Cummings, Carrasquilla, Godoy and Mosquera in Panama
Incidents: The Gold Cup final was played at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles before 72,963 spectators