At SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Mexico defeated Panama 1-0 to capture its seventh Gold Cup title. Santiago Giménez scored the game-winning goal just four minutes after coming in.
Adalberto Carrasquilla and Ismael Daz’s combined play in the second minute gave Panama a strong start and some early time in the attacking third, but by halfway through the first half, the tide had turned. When Luis Romo and Jorge Sánchez took consecutive close-range shots in the 43rd minute, Mexico had possibly its greatest scoring opportunity of the game, but Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera made crucial stops to preserve the score tied at halftime.
Even if a winning goal was difficult to come by, Mexico started to take control of the game in the second half. By the 60th minute, El Tri had taken control of the match completely, and Uriel Antuna’s header was just saved by Mosquera. Later in the half, Panama did launch short spurts of assault, but Mexico’s defense handled the attempts with remarkable ease. Mexican players had some of their finest opportunities on either side of a puzzling decision made by referee Hector Martinez in the 63rd minute, when he gave Panama’s Harold Cummings a second yellow card for what appeared to be a foul on Orbeln Pineda. A minute or so later, Martinez changed the penalty, and play continued.
In the 88th minute, Giménez gave the winners their first advantage. The 22-year-old received the ball from Pineda and sprinted into the box’s middle to beat Mosquera. When Mexico gave up a free kick in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, it almost made for a tense ending, but the shot was blocked.Mexico gets a break after winning the Gold Cup after a trying summer. After just seven games in charge, the club fired head coach Diego Cocca after losing to the U.S. men’s national team 3-0 in the Nations League semifinals. The continental championship coaching position was promptly filled by Jaime Lozano on an interim basis, and he can now view the undertaking as a success.
