Mexico beats Panama with a late goal to capture the record-extending 9th Gold Cup

Santiago Gimenez scored after an exciting sprint in the 88th minute and Mexico won the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the ninth time on Sunday evening with a 1-0 victory over Panama.

After Edson Alvarez slipped to block Ivan Anderson’s cross in Mexico’s penalty area, Orbelin Pineda dribbled away and made a great pass into the center circle. Gimenez, the 22-year-old striker of Feyenoord, dribbled past Harold Cummings and beat Cummings and Fidel Escobar into the penalty area. Gimenez kicked a bouncing shot with the left foot over goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera for his fourth goal in 18 international appearances and his second of the tournament.

The goal from Argentina-born Gimenez, who came on as a substitute just three minutes earlier, sparked a frenzied celebration at the SoFi Stadium, packed with fans celebrating Mexico’s dramatic resurgence in this biennial CONCACAF tournament.

Just months after Mexico crashed out of the World Cup with its worst performance in nearly half a century, El Tri bounced back with an outstanding tournament under interim manager Jaime Lozano, who took over the beleaguered program just a month ago.

Mexico, which only allowed two goals in its games, has won this tournament more than all other countries combined. The US has seven Gold Cup titles and Canada one.

Gimenez’s late goal ended an improbable Gold Cup hosted by Panama, which upset the US in the semifinals to earn its third appearance in the final. Los Canaleros didn’t get a single solid scoring opportunity past veteran Mexican goaltender Guillermo Ochoa.

Lozano, who coached Mexico’s Olympic team to a bronze medal in Tokyo two years ago, was hired to manage the Gold Cup campaign by Juan Carlos Rodriguez, who assumed the presidency of the Mexican Football Federation just a month earlier.

While the Gold Cup is notorious for half-strength national teams, Mexico entered the final with eight starters who also entered the World Cup.

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Mexico dominated the game for most of the first half, but Panama defended impressively. Henry Martin looked to give Mexico the lead in the 33rd minute with a close range goal, but a video review minutes into the game found him offside.

Pineda and Martin both had tempting chances in the 43rd minute, but Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera stopped their successive shots.

Panama had the best chance shortly after the break, but Alberto Quintero headed his header just wide of the far post. Edgar Barcenas had another good chance in the 87th minute, but missed from outside the box wide.

Moments later, Gimenez scored his biggest goal for Mexico.

But this victory is an impressive turnaround for Mexico, which failed to progress from World Cup group play in Qatar for the first time since 1978. That disappointment led to the departure of coach Tata Martino and Diego Cocca’s short tenure before the arrival of Lozano, who largely relied on the core of his Olympic team at the Gold Cup.

Just a month after frustrated Mexican fans boycotted the Nations League third-place game in Las Vegas against Panama, that passionate base returned in full voice to the Los Angeles Rams’ palatial NFL stadium.

Panama barely missed the World Cup last year, but still retained Spanish coach Thomas Christiansen. The decision paid off with inspired play in the Gold Cup, culminating in the nation’s first trip to the final since 2013 with victory over hosts USA on penalties in San Diego.

For the Gold Cup final, SoFi installed natural grass instead of the usual artificial grass for American football and the seams in the sod were clearly visible in some places. The $5 billion US stadium is in the running to host the World Cup final in 2026, but it seems unlikely that will happen due to the tight field.

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USA beats Canada on penalties in CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals

Canada lost 3-2 to the Americans on penalties in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday evening.