Mexico vs Jamaica turned out as expected, as Mexico secured a place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final with a 3-0 victory over Jamaica on Wednesday night in SoFi Stadium. Henry Martín opened the scoring just 80 seconds into the match, followed by Luis Chávez converting a free kick in the 30th minute.
In the game’s dying moments, Roberto Alvarado added a goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time. Under interim coach Jaime Lozano, Mexico will now face Panama in the final as they aim to claim their ninth Gold Cup title. The final will take place on Sunday in Inglewood, California.
Martín netted his ninth international goal, his third in the tournament, by controlling the ball with a touch from Jesús Gallardo’s cross and finding the back of the net from 8 yards, beating Andre Blake. In Mexico’s opening match, a 4-0 victory over Honduras, Luis Romo had scored just 51 seconds into the game.
Chávez expertly curled a 25-yard free kick into the upper right corner of Blake’s goal, securing his fourth international goal and his third of the tournament. Chávez had previously scored his first international goal from a free kick against Saudi Arabia at the World Cup last year.
Alvarado registered his fifth goal by tapping in a pass from Gallardo.
Mexico claimed the championship title in 2019 and suffered a defeat in the 2021 final against the United States in extra time at Las Vegas.
Following Mexico’s win over Jamaica, Mexico defender Jorge Sanchez dismissed the notion that his teammates sought a redemption match in the Gold Cup final against the United States. But USA could not qualify following their loss to Panama in a penalty shootout.
Mexico vs Jamaica: Jorge Sanchez claims Mexico didn’t care if they faced USA in the final
“I think that you’re the ones that say that part [about grudge matches] with the United States,” Sanchez told reporters after defeating Jamaica 3-0 in a Gold Cup semifinal on Wednesday at the Allegiant Stadium in at Las Vegas.
“In the end, the United States aren’t here. But the one who is here is Panama. We didn’t care, we weren’t even worried about who was going to make it to the final.”
In the Concacaf Nations League semifinal last month, the USMNT convincingly won 3-0 against Mexico, which resulted in the dismissal of former coach Diego Cocca.
This outcome extended Mexico’s winless streak to six matches against the U.S., and with the appointment of interim manager Jaime “Jimmy” Lozano just before the Gold Cup, there was hope of restoring their reputation in the tournament after both teams reached the semifinals this week.
Mexico are likely to lift the Gold Cup once again!
However, the U.S. suffered a disappointing 5-4 loss to Panama on penalties earlier on Wednesday, while Mexico comfortably defeated Jamaica.
“Usually the dream final is United States and Mexico. But for me that doesn’t matter,” Lozano said in news conference.
“I didn’t even know, the game ended and someone interviewed me and they asked, ‘what are your thoughts about going against Panama.’ I didn’t know who we were going to play.
“And I assure you that’s the least important thing to me right now. But I believe that the objective remains the same. And if Panama is in the final it’s because they did something a little better than the U.S.”
Mexico will face Panama in the final on July 16 in the SoFi Stadium with the El Tri tipped to be the champions.
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