Mexico Defeats The United States In Gold Cup Final, Ending Promising Tournament For Americans

In the eighth Gold Cup final meeting between the United States and Mexico, El Tri emerged victorious by a score of 2-1 in Houston, Texas.

Mexico is now the first team since the 2011 Mexico squad to repeat as tournament champions. It was the first competitive match won by Mexico in this rivalry in six years.

Things could not have started better for the United States. In just the fourth minute of the game, the Americans earned a free kick from about 10 yards across midfield, not a higher danger area by any means. However, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (former coach Greg’s son) fired a spectacular crosser which found center back Chris Richards, who flicked a header off the crossbar and just past the goal line.

It was the first time Mexico had given up a goal in the knockout stage, and the first one conceded by El Tri in 387 minutes of game time.

But Mexico did not need much time to respond. The controlled possession for much of the next 20 minutes, and in the 27th minute, their persistence was rewarded as Raúl Jiménez roofed a zinger of a strike from inside the box to knot it at 1-1.

Jiménez paid tribute to his former Wolverhampton (Premier League) teammate Diogo Jota - who tragically passed away last week - with his celebration.

The second half didn’t see much action until the 78th minute, when, off another set piece, Captain Edson Álvarez alertly forced home a header off a deflection from his teammate. After originally being called offside, VAR confirmed that he was a hair onside and Mexico had their 2-1 lead.

The United States did little to seriously challenge Mexico in the final minutes, and it served as a bitter end to an otherwise promising tournament showing. 

The United States will now have just about a year to regroup and get ready to host the World Cup. While most of the star players will be back for the Stars and Stripes, this game will leave a bitter taste in the program’s mouth until then.