Edson Álvarez‘s second-half header gave Mexico a 2-1 win over the United States and a 10th Concacaf Gold Cup title in a frenetic final at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Sunday night.
Chris Richards opened the scoring for the U.S. in the 4th minute with a brilliant header that just made it over the goal line, but Raúl Jiménez tied it up before half-time with a clinical finish past U.S. keeper Matthew Freese.
After his goal, Jimenez paid tribute to Diogo Jota, his former teammate at Wolverhampton Wanderers who was killed along with his brother André Silva in a car crash on Thursday.
With Mexico dominating possession and chances, Álvarez got on the end of a set piece and flicked the ball past Freese for the 2-1 lead. The header was initially ruled out for offside, but after a video review the goal was given, sending the majority Mexico crowd into a frenzy.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino used the same starting lineup against Mexico as he had in the Americans’ two previous knockout round wins against Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Defending champions Mexico won its 10th Gold Cup title with the victory. The U.S. has won the Gold Cup seven times and Canada has lifted the trophy once. Sunday’s game was the eighth meeting between Mexico and the U.S. in the final.
Missing many of its regular starters because of injuries, vacation and the Club World Cup, the No. 16 U.S managed five wins over relatively weak opponents and reached its first Gold Cup final since 2021. The meeting with 17th-ranked Mexico will be the last competitive match for both nations before they co-host next year’s World Cup along with Canada.
The USMNT entered the Gold Cup with a four-game losing streak, its longest since 2007.
