Washington, July 8 (IANS): Mexico defeated the United States 1-0 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Monday to claim the trophy for the first time since 2015.
Mexico, who were playing their first tournament under new coach Tata Martino, have now defeated the US on five of the last six occasions the two sides met in North America’s leading international tournament, Xinhua news agency reported.
Jonathan dos Santos scored the decisive goal in the 73rd minute to seal the match in Mexico’s favour.
The result could have been different had the US not squandered the chances which came their way. Jordan Morris beat Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa with a header from Christian Pulisic’s corner in the 51st minute, but Andres Guardado headed the ball off the goalline.
After conceding the goal, the US poured forward and substitute Cristian Roldan might have levelled things up, only to see his point-blank effort hit defender Hector Moreno on the head and bounce away to safety in the 87th minute.
The US suffered defeat just a few hours after their female counterparts lifted the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time.
“Over the course of 90 minutes, Mexico was the better team. What we lacked was some calmness and composure,” US coach Gregg Berhalter said after the match.
