A Raúl Jiménez goal in the 50th minute was all that Mexico needed to defeat Honduras in front of 70,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and advance to the Concacaf Gold Cup Final game.
The first half of the Gold Cup semifinal was a tense and tight affair, with Honduras’ stout defense withstanding the potent Mexican offense.
However, shortly after the break, Mexico scored a beautiful team goal to take the lead.
Mexico’s Alexis Vega was able to spring himself free in the midfield and threaded a pass to the top of the box to Gilberto Mora. Mora, a 16-year-old midfielder who has been a revelation for Mexico during the Gold Cup, picked out Raúl Jiménez’s far-post run and delivered a perfectly weighted pass that Jiménez slotted past Honduras goalkeeper Edrick Menjivar.
With the assist, Mora now claims the title of the youngest player to record an assist for the Mexican senior national team.
A few minutes later, it looked like Mexico got an insurance goal when Edson Álvarez got on the end of a deflection right in front of the net. However, after a lengthy review, the goal was disallowed for offside.
For the remainder of the second half, Honduras desperately attempted to find the tying goal but were unable to threaten the Mexican net seriously. The most dramatic moment late in the game occurred when both teams converged in center field to argue over a foul, resulting in elbows and arms being thrown.
But with the final whistle, Mexico was the victor over a valiant Honduras side.
Next up is the final game that many across the Concacaf region were hoping to watch. Mexico will face off against its archrivals, the United States, for the Gold Cup crown on Sunday in Houston.
