LOS ANGELES: Second-half substitute Santiago Gimenez scored with two minutes left to give Mexico a 1-0 win over Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Sunday and secure a record-extending ninth title for ‘El Tri’.

Edson Alvarez found Gimenez near midfield before the 22-year-old raced past two defenders and slotted home with his left foot for an 88th-minute winner that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.

“It is indescribable,” Argentina-born Gime­nez said after the match.

“The only thing I feel is love and passion for those who are always there. God, my family and the people who came today, 75,000 people. We had to give them this Cup.”

Gimenez started on the bench in favour of Henry Martin and, with the match deadlocked, was brought on in the 85th minute.

His fourth goal in 18 international appearances sparked celebrations among the largely pro-Mexico crowd of nearly 73,000 at SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and one of the venues tabbed for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Mexico added a ninth Gold Cup title to those it won in 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

“We knew that we were playing to go down in the history of national soccer and opportunities must be seized,” said Mexico’s interim coach Jaime Lozano, who had coached Mexico to Olympic Bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and was brought in for the Gold Cup tournament after Diego Cocca was sacked last month.

Cocca was fired after a disappointing Nations League campaign, which followed Mexico’s failure to advance from the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar.

“We have said it from day one. Jaime understands very well what it means to represent Me­x­ico, he understands the player very well, he gets the best out of each player and that is reflec­ted on the field,” goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who won a fifth Gold Cup title, said of Lozano.

Lozano himself refused to be drawn on whether he thought he’d earned the permanent job with a North American World.

“This decision is not up to me,” he said. “I signed a contract for the Gold Cup. Mexicans sometimes do not believe much in the process, but even if we had lost the final today, I think we should evaluate many other things, not only the final result.

“If we trust in the process, the results will be immensely better.”

The victory denied underdogs Panama, who upset the United States in the semi-finals, their first Gold Cup title. The US have won the biennial tournament seven times and Canada once.

Mexico looked to have broken the deadlock in the 33rd minute but Henry Martin’s goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review. They had another excellent opportunity just before the break but Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera denied them again.

Panama’s Harold Cummings was shown a second yellow card in the 63rd minute but the referee reversed his decision after it was determined there was no contact on the play.

Panama’s best chance came in the 87th minute but Edgar Barcenas’ long range shot sailed wide of goal but Thomas Christiansen’s Canalmen had no answer to Gimenez’s strike.

“We gave everything we had in today’s game, to the last drop of blood,” Christiansen said. “The team died on its feet.

“Playing in front of 70,000 Mexicans in Los Angeles was not easy and the team gave their all at all times.”

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2023