Mexico became the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champion after defeating Panama with the minimum score as they rose from the ashes and with solid and serious tactics in a tough Gold Cup tournament.
The star of the match was Santiago Giménez, who entered the game after Henry Martin poured all his intention into the field but could not get it done.
Gimenez applied his talents in the last minutes of the match and managed an amazing individual play in an open field to break the Canal’s lock, who also had a great game.
The match was competitive, with a lot of friction, to the extent that El Tri ended up with almost its entire defensive line cautioned with yellow cards, while Panama had 10 players for a few moments, but the Honduran referee changed players, which seemed to be the second yellow card for Harold Cummins.
Gimenez shined with his spectacular goal
There were also controversial plays during a tight offside of Henry Martin, as well as a possible penalty on Orbelín Pineda, who was pulled near the area and up to the line of the Panamanian box, but the referee allowed play to continue.
Panama also had some dangerous plays, with Ismael Díaz in the first half and Cecilio Waterman in the second half, who took advantage of counter-attacking plays and bested Jorge Sánchez who would make continuous errors.
However, Mexico managed to hold their own physically and took advantage of the wear and tear of the game to finish it off in a great individual play, when they were also suffering in their area.
Santiago Giménez entered the field at minute 85 and took advantage of a save in the Mexican box, with a great sweep by Edson Álvarez to cut off an advance.
Orbelín Pineda took the ball from his half and advanced a few meters to give the ball to the Feyenoord striker, who covered the ball in front of Cummins, held the ball, and in space, while speeding past his marker and as he approached the Panamanian area, he smashed the ball past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera to go in dramatically.
Giménez took advantage of the wear and tear generated by Henry Martin throughout the match and left the field exhausted.
With this victory, Mexico ratifies its dominance in CONCACAF, with its ninth Gold Cup, while Panama will continue to wait to be crowned for the first time, after three failed attempts.