Striker scores last-gasp winner to guide El Tri to 1-0 win over Panama in regional championship final
LOS ANGELES
Santiago Gimenez scored the game-winner minutes after entering the match Sunday as Mexico beat Panama 1-0 to win a record-extending ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup crown.
The final of the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean was a fast-paced physical affair between a Mexico team eager to move on from recent disappointments and a Panama side seeking a first Gold Cup crown in their third appearance in the finals.
Gimenez started on the bench in favour of Henry Martin and, with the match deadlocked, was brought on in the 85th minute.
Three minutes later the 22-year-old Feyenoord striker became an instant hero.
After Ivan Anderson’s cross into the Mexico penalty area was blocked, Mexico’s Orbelin Pineda came away with the ball and passed to Gimenez at midfield.
Gimenez raced into the penalty area, spinning away from one defender and beating another before slotting a left-footed shot past Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
“It is indescribable,” Gimenez said. “It is impressive how the group came together to move forward. I’m not saying it with words, it was seen with the title.”
His fourth goal in 18 international appearances sparked frenzied 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.
The United States own seven titles, but were stunningly eliminated by Panama in a penalty shootout during the semi-finals.
“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.
