Mexico is heading to the Gold Cup Final after handing Honduras a 1-0 defeat in a heated affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Raúl Jiménez scored the lone goal for Mexico in the second half, sealing the win for El Tricolor. It was a grueling match, with tempers flaring, benches clearing, and several unwelcome pitch invaders.
The closest chance for Mexico to break the deadlock came in the 41st minute. Marcel Ruiz was given the ball inside the 18-yard box, spun his defender, and fired a low shot on goal. The shot posed enough of a threat to make Edrick Menjivar dive for the deflection. With the ball bouncing away from him, Roberto Alvarado attempted to poach the free ball, but Menjivar dove to cover it.
The Mexicans finally hit pay dirt in the 50th minute when they scored the first goal of the match and took the lead. Gilberto Mora laid the ball off to the right side, where Raúl Jiménez was waiting for this chance. Once he was within reach, he fired a low effort to the opposite side of the goal to finally beat Menjivar.
Mexico, the nine-time and defending champions, celebrated their victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 70,975 fans. The match delivered high drama and intensity, leading to 23 fouls and nine yellow cards between the two sides.
The grueling victory over Honduras means that Mexico will face the USA in the Gold Cup Final on Sunday, July 6, at 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. local time), with live coverage available on FOX (USA – English), Univision and TUDN (USA – Spanish), Televisa (Mexico), and ESPN and Disney+ (Caribbean, Central & South America).
-Jon Jones
Photos: James Lyons