Edson Alvarez scored the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute as Mexico overcame an early deficit to defeat the U.S. men’s national team 2-1 in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday night in Houston.
Mexico won its second straight Gold Cup and 10th overall. The U.S. are second with seven titles while Canada won it in 2000.
Chris Richards gave the U.S. the lead in the fourth minute but Raul Jimenez tied it in the 27th.
Alvarez scored Mexico’s tournament-high fifth set piece goal. The first four were off corner kicks. The winner was a free kick that Johan Vasquez flicked to Alvarez for a diving header that was first ruled offside before the decision was overturned after video review.
Goalkeeper Angel Malagon preserved the lead in the second minute of stoppage time with a close-range stop of Patrick Agyemang.
Mexico is 6-2 in Gold Cup finals vs. the U.S.
Richards stunned the Mexicans with an athletic header, ending their streak of not allowing a goal at 387 minutes. It was the earliest goal in Gold Cup final history.
Sebastian Berhalter — whose father, Gregg, was coaching the USMNT in Copa America at this time in 2024 but was fired soon after the tournament — sent a free kick to the middle of the box. Richards had to step back to gain control of the ball before directing it to the underside of the bar, where it fell across the line.
Jimenez roofed a through-ball corner by Marcel Ruiz to make it 1-1. Afterward, Jimenez held up a Diogo Jota jersey to honor his former Wolverhampton teammate, who along with his brother Andre Silva died in a car accident on Thursday.
Mexico led in attempts (16-6), shots on goal (8-3) and corner kicks (12-0).
The U.S. fielded essentially a B team for the Gold Cup so it was no surprise they were a decided underdog against a veteran Mexican side.
Playing in Houston didn’t help. No national team in the world has less of a home-field advantage than when the Americans “host” the Mexicans, and the crowd of 71,000 was at least 75 percent pro-Mexico.
–Field Level Media
