Mexico defeats Panama in Gold Cup final for 9th title
Mexico’s men’s national soccer team defeated Panama 1-0 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles to secure a record ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup title. Here’s what you need to know:
Mexico topped its previous Gold Cup record of eight titles and earned the trophy after finishing second to the U.S. in last year’s tournament. El Tri defeated Panama 1-0 in June to finish third in the CONCACAF Nations League, won by the U.S. over Canada.
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In the Gold Cup tournament, Mexico advanced to the final with a 3-0 win over Jamaica in the semifinal following a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica in the quarterfinal. El Tri secured group-stage wins over Honduras (4-0) and Haiti (3-1) before falling to Qatar (1-0).
Panama was seeking its first Gold Cup title in its third appearance in the final. The team knocked out the U.S. on Wednesday in the semifinal, winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in extra time. It lost both prior Gold Cup final appearances to the U.S. in 2005 and 2013.
Panama secured wins over Costa Rica (2-1) and Martinique (2-1), as well as a 2-2 draw against El Salvador in the group stage to advance to the quarterfinals, where they defeated Qatar 4-0.
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