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Gimenez became Mexico's national hero when he came on during the second half of the match. Within three minutes of taking the field, the striker beat the defenders from midfield and after a long run he shot with his left foot to score a goal.

Gimenez's goal put an end to Panama's aspirations, which had been enjoying very positive opinions and results throughout the competition. It was the third time that the Panamanian team has tried to take home the cup in finals. The Panamanians came close to scoring in stoppage time on a rebound by Aníbal Godoy.

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For Mexico, it is the fourth victory in a California stadium. The Mexican national team lost during the last tournament to the United States in 2021, but this year it is once again reaffirming its position as the team with the most titles in the competition. The Mexicans have raised their heads and Jaime Lozano, who took the reins of the team after the dismissal of Diego Cocca, has reaffirmed himself as the coach the national team needs.

Lineups:

• Mexico: Ochoa; Jorge Sánchez, Montes, Vásquez, Gallardo; Romo, Álvarez, Chávez (Erick Sánchez, m.75); Antuna (Alvarado, m.75), Martín (Giménez, m.84) and Pineda (Reyes, m.92). Coach: Jaime Lozano.
• Panama: Mosquera; Bárcenas, Cummings (Londoño, m.91), Escobar, Andrade, Davis (Anderson, m.61); Quintero (Waterman, m.61), Carrasquilla, Godoy, Díaz; Fajardo Coach: Thomas Christiansen.

Mexico has the most championships in the history of this event, with 11, although it has not won since 2019. It will be Mexico’s third final in a row, and fortunately for “El Tri,” they will not have to face the United States, which has been their kryptonite in recent games. After the good display against Jamaica in the semifinal, the Mexican coach is expected to field the same players, though the exact lineup remains to be seen.

Jaime Lozano's interim coaching tenure has worked out very well for “El Tri,” this being his first tournament as head coach. The question is: will Lozano stay at the helm or not? It remains in doubt at least this weekend. Executive President of the Mexican Soccer Federation Ivar Sisniega said that the Mexican coach is on the final list of candidates for the final bench position, but the result of the Gold Cup final will not determine his future at the helm of the team.

In the end, Mexico’s rival will be Panama. The team has been strong in the tournament and has unfinished business with “El Tri.” Not long ago was the controversial semifinal in which the scales tipped in Mexico's favor against the “Canaleros,” who decided not to continue in the match. Eight years later, Panama has a great opportunity to be crowned, and it would be an especially great achievement if it does so against Mexico.

Panama has never been champion in the tournament but has two runner-up finishes, in 2005 and 2013. Both came against the United States, whom they coincidentally defeated a few days ago. This team is undefeated in the tournament with three wins and two draws. The Panamanian team has scored goals in four of the five matches they played.

Mexico is the favorite to celebrate on Sunday, however, Panama will not make it easy for them. They are always complicated duels between the two teams. Ismael Díaz has scored four goals in his three most recent matches, including in the semifinals, although one was disallowed by the VAR. The opponent will have to take into account that the Panamanian attacker is coming on strong.

By the way, the halftime show will be unlike any other, with Lionel Messi being introduced as the newest member of Inter Miami. The Argentine's introduction will not take place in the same stadium, it will be at the DRV PNK Stadium in Miami, but fans will be able to watch the event broadcast live.

Henry Martín in the second minute, Luis Chávez in the 30th, and Roberto Alvarado in the third minute of stoppage time scored the goals in the Mexican victory.

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With the win, Mexico advances to the Gold Cup final for the 11th time in its history. Of the 10 finals played, El Tri has won eight so far (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and lost two (2007 and 2021).

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Match lineups

Mexico: G. Ochoa, J. Sanchez, C. Montes, J. Vasquez, J. Gallardo, C. Antuna (R. Alvarado, 72′), L. Chávez (E. Álvarez, 72′), L. Romo, O. Pineda (D. Lainez, 87′), E. Sánchez (C. Rodríguez, 63′), H. Martín (S. Giménez, 63′). Coach: Jaime Lozano. Goals: Henry Martín (2′), Luis Chávez (30′), Roberto Alvarado (93′).

Jamaica: A. Blake, J. Brown (D. Lembikisa, 51′), D. Lowe, D. Bernard, A. Bell, B. de Cordova, J. Latibeaudiere (D. Johnson, 84′), K. Lambert (S. Nicholson, 46′), L. Bailey, D. Gray, M. Antonio (D. Richards, 84′). Coach: Heimir Hallgrímsson.

The match was played at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in front of 29,800 fans.

Panama beats United States in the other semifinal

In the other semifinal, Panama made history and eliminated the USMNT to reach the final of the 2023 Gold Cup. Panama defeated the United States in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

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The Central American side took the lead wigh an Ivan Anderson goal in the 99th minute, but Colombian-American Jesus Ferreira equalized for the home side in the 105th minute at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. In the penalty shootout, Panama won 5-4 to qualify for its third CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Panama is seeking its first CONCACAF Gold Cup title. They previously played in the 2005 final, losing 3-1 on penalties to the United States after a 0-0 draw. Eight years later, in the 2013 Final, Panama also lost 1-0 to the United States.

The Final: Mexico-Panama

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final will be played between Mexico and Panama on Sunday, July 16 at SoFi Stadium in greater Los Angeles. The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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United States - Panama

After its victory over Canada in the quarterfinals, the USMNT advanced and continues to maintain its status as the favorite to win the Gold Cup. The U.S. team struggled more than expected and needed a penalty shootout to advance, after the score was 2-2 at the end of extra time. They will face Panama in the semifinals. The game will be played at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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The Americans' chances of staying in the tournament depend largely on goalkeeper Matt Turner and forwards Jesus Ferreira (6 goals) and Brandon Vazquez (3), who are first and third, respectively, on the scoring charts.

The Panamanian team advanced to the penultimate round of the Gold Cup after a 4-0 win over Qatar, a team invited to participate in the tournament. Ismael Diaz, who scored 3 goals in the last game and has 4 in the tournament, will be the USMNT's biggest threat.

Mexico - Jamaica

On the other side of the bracket, by defeating them 2-0 in the quarterfinals. “El Tri” left no room for surprise and managed to advance to the semifinals where they will face Jamaica this Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Mexico coach Jaime Lozano, who took the reins just days before the start of the Gold Cup, will lead his squad against a team that has several players playing for big teams in Europe, so they have experience in games of great importance. Mexico will have to be consistent throughout the 90 minutes to counteract the Jamaicans' speed.

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The team led by B. J. Callaghan won the duel between the hosts, as the two countries are the cohosts of this tournament edition, whose first version took place in 1963 but which adopted its current format in 1991. The match went back and forth and had to go to extra time and penalties after the Canadians equalized late in the game.

Forward Brandon Vázquez opened the scoring for the United States in the 88th minute thanks to a powerful header that went just inside the right post past goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. However, just as the referee was about to end the game, center-back Miles Robinson inadvertently handled the ball inside the box and gave Canada a penalty kick. Steven Vitória changed it into a goal in stoppage time and forced the match into extra time, in which Callaghan's team was superior.

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Despite the U.S. dominance, Jacob Shaffelburg gave Canada the lead with a tremendous personal play and left-footed cross. Their joy was short-lived, however, as Scott Kennedy pulled a goal back to tie the game again in the 116th minute. The score remained unchanged until the end, giving way to a penalty shootout.

Matt Turner was the hero in penalties, saving two to make the final score 4-2 and guarantee their place in the top four of the tournament. With this victory, the United States earned the right to face Panama in the semifinals, which reached that stage after winning its match against Qatar, invited by CONCACAF to participate in the competition. The winner of this matchup will meet the winner of Mexico and Jamaica in the final on July 16.

The U.S. team is second only to Mexico (11) with the most Gold Cups in history (7). Both still have a chance to build on their record in this tournament, and fans eagerly await a hypothetical final between the two teams. In their last meeting, the Americans won 3-0 to advance to the final of the Concacaf Nations League. Four players were sent off on that occasion, and things got a little out of hand.

The U.S. teamed up with Turner, Reynolds, Busio, Sand, Ferreira, Robinson, Mihailovic, Jones, Zendejas, Neal and Gressel. At the same time, Canada fielded Clair, Miller, Vitoria, Cavallini, Hoilett, Millar, Bombito, McGraw, Ahmed, Osorio and Laryea.

To the semifinals

In the other quarterfinal match of the day, Jamaica defeated Guatemala 1-0. Amari'i Bell scored the only goal of the match in the 50th minute.

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Panama previously defeated Qatar (4-0) and Mexico defeated Costa Rica (2-0).

The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, July 12. The United States will face Panama and Mexico will face Jamaica.

Mexico qualified after finishing first in Group B and will now face Costa Rica (second in Group C), a team that secured its qualification by defeating Martinique 6-4 in the last game of the group stage. El Tri defeated Honduras 4-0 in the first game and Haiti 3-1 in the second. Having already qualified for the quarterfinals, they lost 1-0 to Qatar in the third match. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will host the match.

On the other hand, we will have a North American duel in the quarterfinals. The USMNT, a priori favorites to win the Gold Cup, will take on Canada. The Stars and Stripes had a little slip-up on the first day of the group stage with a 1-1 draw against Jamaica. However, they managed to put it right in the next two games with two similar thrashings (6-0) against St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago. U.S. striker Jesus Ferreira leads the scoring charts with 6 goals. The match will be played at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The other two matches in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals are Panama vs. Qatar at AT&T Stadium and Guatemala vs. Jamaica at TQL Stadium.

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Left back Hazem Shehata scored the only goal of the game in the 27th minute of the first half. The Qatar National Team showed 100% effectiveness in front of goal, as they took advantage of their only shot on goal to secure the victory.

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For their part, El Tri had a number of opportunities throughout the game. However, they failed to penetrate Meshaaal Barsham's goal. Mexico went into the match with a place in the quarterfinals already secured after defeating Haiti on the second matchday.

Lineups and match sheet

Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa; Julián Araujo (Uriel Antuna, 81st minute), Israel Reyes, Luis Romo (Erick Sánchez, 81st minute), Gerardo Arteaga; Edson Álvarez, Carlos Rodríguez (Henry Martín, 70th minute), Orbelín Pineda (Diego Lainez, 60th minute), Luis Chávez; Ozziel Herrera (Roberto Alvarado, 60th minute) and Santiago Giménez.

Coach: Jaime Lozano.

Qatar: Meshaaal Barsham; Ahmed Suhail, Hazem Shehata (Al Mejaba Mahdi, 77th minute), Tarek Salman, Mohammed Waad (Ali Asad, 40th minute), Musaab Khidir; Homam Ahmed, Ahmed Abdoulla, Abdulla Al Marafi (Youssef Farahat, 53rd minute), Mostafa Mashal; Tameem Alabdulla (Assim Madibo, 78th minute).

Coach: Carlos Queiroz.

Goal: 0-1 (27th minute): Hazem Shehata.

Referee: Drew Fischer, of Canada. Yellow cards were given to Mohammed Waad, Ahmed Abdoulla, Tarek Salman, Tameeem Alabdulla, Santiago Giménez, Gerardo Arteaga, Al Mejaba Mahdi, Mostafa Mashal and Assim Madibo.

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The game was played at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Mexican goals were scored by Henry Martín and Santiago Giménez and Haiti's Ricardo Adé (own goal). Danley Jean Jacques scored for Haiti.

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As a result, El Tri is now the leader of Group B and has secured its place in the quarterfinals with six points, three more than Haiti and five more than Qatar and Honduras, who tied last night 1-1, leaving them at the bottom of the group with only one point each.

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Mexico will close the group stage this Sunday against Qatar.

Lineups and match sheet

Haiti: Alexandre Pierre; Carlens Arcus, Ricardo Adé, Garven-Michee Metusala, Alex Christian; Fabrice Picault (Carnejy Antoine m.58), Carl Sainte (Leverton Pierre m.86), Wilde-Donald Guerrier (Jayro Jean m.85), Danley Jean, Duckens Nazon (Derrick Etienne Jr. m.71); Frantzdy Pierrot (Mondy Prunier m.86).

Coach: Gabriel Calderón Pellegrino.

Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa; Jorge Sánchez (Julián Araujo m.62), Edson Álvarez, Johan Vásquez, Jesús Gallardo; Erick Sánchez (Carlos Rodríguez m.71), Luis Romo, Luis Chávez (Israel Reyes m.78); Uriel Antuna, Henry Martín (Santiago Giménez m.62) and Orbelín Pineda (Roberto Alvarado m.71).

Coach: Jaime Lozano.

Goals: 1-0, 46th minute: Henry Martín; 2-0, 56th minute: Ricardo Adé; 2-1, 78th minute: Danley Jean; 3-1, 84th minute: Santiago Giménez.

Referee: Walter López from Guatemala. Yellow cards were given to Frantzdy Pierrot and Jorge Sánchez.

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Jesus Ferreira scored a hat-trick at City Park in St. Louis. Djordje Mihailovic scored two other goals and the remaining goal was scored by Bryan Reynolds. With this victory, the United States leads Group A with 4 points, tied with Jamaica, but with a better goal difference. The group stage closes next Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. In the other group match, Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-1.

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Lineups and match data

The second match day for Group A of the Gold Cup was played at CityPark Stadium in St. Louis (Missouri) in front of a crowd of nearly 22,000 spectators.

St. Kitts and Nevis: Archibald; Ible (Lewis, m.71), Williams, Maynard, Roberts; Burlev, Somersall (Mitchum, m.63), Williams (Bertie, m.63), Sawyers, Terrell (Sterling James, m.63); Freeman (Hazel, m.71).

United States: Johnson; Reynolds (Gresel, m.76), Miazga, Neal, Jones; Busio (Sonora, m.46), Sands (Morris, m.57), Mihailovic; Zendejas, Cowell (Roladán, m.68), Ferreira (Vázquez, m.57).

Goals: 1-0, m.12: Mihailovic; 2-0, m.14: Reynolds; 3-0, m.16: Ferreira; 4-0, m.25: Ferreira; 5-0, m.50: Ferreira; 6-0, m.79: Mihailovic.

Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica). Yellow cards were shown to Terrell, Ible and Burley of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The U.S. debuted with a 1-1 draw against Jamaica, a match in which they could have lost, but a penalty kick missed by the “Reggae Boys” and a late goal scored by Brandon Vasquez saved them, leaving them with a point. It is worth noting that the U.S. team in the Gold Cup is not the same team from the CONCACAF Nations League a couple of weeks ago, simply because many of the foreign-based players were not called up for this tournament.

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B.J. Callaghan's team is one of the favorites to win the tournament yet again, but the performance against Jamaica was sub-par, with the team only taking four shots. However, the reigning champions have the opportunity to get themselves back on track against an opponent they have never faced before and prove that, despite not fielding their best team, they can still dominate the tournament.

The first game in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Gold Cup did not go well when they were beaten by Trinidad and Tobago. However, they are in high spirits for getting their first bid in the tournament. Austin Huggins' team has never made it past the second qualifying round of a World Cup, so this will be their first-ever meeting with one of the continent's strongest teams.

In their last 5 games, St. Kitts and Nevis has four wins and one loss, while the Stars and Stripes have three wins and two ties.

Mexico comes into this match after a third place finish in the Nations League and a coaching change. Now in charge is Jaime Lozano, who already knows the players and, in his few days on the job, has explained them the style he wants to see on the field. For those who do not know Lozano, he already has experience coaching Mexico, he did it with the U-23 team with whom he won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

His life has been dedicated to soccer, and Lozano has used it to help and fulfill dreams. In addition to playing and coaching, he has dedicated himself to raising awareness of autism through soccer. The oldest of his three children, Luca, has autism, which in Mexico was not diagnosed correctly, so he went abroad to find the help he needed. He and his wife wrote a book about the process, which was made into a film that has helped to involve many soccer players to talk about this issue and generate more awareness.

In a press conference, Lozano assured that they are ready to face Honduras and have what it takes to play a great game. They will have to concentrate on finishing plays, set pieces and playing with quality. Due to the absence of Sebastián Córdova, Tigres midfielder Diego Lainez is already in the training camp to join the national team.

The record between these teams leans in Mexico's favor, as they have met 14 times, leaving a record of eight matches won by Mexico, four ties and two victories for Honduras.The Mexicans are the favorites to take the first three points in Group B. Next, they will face Haiti and to Qatar, invited for the last edition and for 2023.

What's at stake in the Gold Cup?

The Gold Cup is no longer the same as before. It has lost some prestige after the elimination of the Confederations Cup. The champion used to qualify for a sort of "Little World Cup" along with the champions of the other confederations, such as the Euro and Copa America, but now the tournament only awards $1 million to the champion team and points in the FIFA ranking.

United States opens the CONCACAF Gold Cup

The opening match will be played between the United States and Jamaica at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, State Farm Stadium in Glendale (Arizona), AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Texas), NRG Stadium and Shell Energy Stadium in Houston (Texas), Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Nevada), DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (Florida), SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (California), Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara (California), Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego (California), Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (North Carolina), TQL Stadium in Cincinnati (Ohio), Red Bull Arena in Harrison (New Jersey), Citypark in St. Louis (Missouri), and BMO Field in Toronto (Canada) will be the remaining Gold Cup venues.

The USMNT is one of the favorites to win the title. Before being able to move on to the quarterfinals, the U.S. team will face Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis in the group stage. The U.S. should have no trouble advancing to the next round.

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The Mexican national team and its new coach, Jaime Lozano, will have to go up against Haiti, Honduras and Qatar in the first phase, the toughest group of the four. Mexico is one of the favorites to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Click here to consult the rosters of the 16 participants.

Group stage

The two teams in each group with the most points will move on to the next phase. The 16 teams are divided into four groups:

- Group A: United States, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis.

- Group B: Mexico, Haiti, Honduras and Qatar.

- Group C: Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Martinique.

- Group D: Canada, Guatemala, Cuba and Guadeloupe.

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