The Final Four of the CONCACAF Gold Cup did not disappoint as we’ve been treated to a couple of semi-final thrillers last Friday evening.
Similar to what happened in the quarter-finals, USA eked out a 1-0 victory over a pesky Qatar squad. On the other hand, Mexico had a dramatic 2-1 triumph over Canada.
The rivalry between USA and Mexico is well-documented and they are set to clash anew as correctly predicted by the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 betting odds. And here at SBOTOP, we can’t wait for these two heavyweights to duel for the golden prize.
Mexico may be slightly favoured by pundits considering their winning history in the tournament and they will be chasing for championship No. 12.
But on the other hand, USA will look to avoid losing to Mexico in the final for the second consecutive time and they need to bring their A-game on Sunday.
Before we head into the final game of the competition, first let’s look at how USA and Mexico got this far with our semifinals recap.
Qatar 0-1 USA
It wasn’t pretty but USA still got the job done against Qatar in what was quite a hard-fought affair.
Gyasi Zardes scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute and that was enough for the Americans to advance to the Final for the third straight time.
The Gregg Berhalter-coached squad were thoroughly outplayed in the first half which led to a couple of chances for Qatar.
Qatar got their first opportunity in the seventh minute when Almoez Ali scooped up a turnover from James Sands, but the Al-Duhail forward overcooked his attempt from the edge of the penalty area.
Two minutes later, USA tried their luck when Sebastian Lletget uncorked a rocket to test Meshaal Barsham, but it was a routine save from the Qatar goalkeeper. Paul Arriola, who was in the vicinity after the save, attempted a follow up but was denied.
USA goalkeeper Matt Turner showed up big when the Qataris continued to threaten at goal.
The New England Revolution shot-stopper was alert enough to parry the ball when it was headed to the bottom right corner after a long range attempt in the 19th minute, and he had a similar effort right after halftime when he palmed the ball away from danger following an attempt from Abdulaziz Hatem.
Compared to the first half, the Americans played much better and they almost broke the deadlock during the 52nd minute when Daryl Dike met Matthew Hoppe’s cross only to be blocked by Meshaal Basham.
The Qataris also had their chance at the hour-mark when Hassan Al-Haydos was awarded a spot-kick following a collision from Akram Afif and James Sands, but the Al Sadd striker sent the ball over the goal.
As the game wore on, the Americans looked sharper since they had more control of the possession, and that led to Gyasi Zardes’ late game-winner following a one-two sequence with Nicholas Gioacchini.
Mexico 2-1 Canada
Canada, who were ranked 70th in the world, gave Mexico all they could handle in this semis game.
El Tri struck first with Oberlin Pineda scoring the first goal via a penalty kick during the first-half stoppage time, but the Canadians quickly bounced back thanks to a beautiful effort by one of their young heroes.
The Canadians launched a counterattack 12 minutes after the break and Tajon Buchanan burst through Mexico’s backline and he weaved his magic to roll the ball home for the equaliser.
When Mexico was awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Canada in the 66th minute, Maxime Crepeau kept the game level at 1-1 when he expertly batted away Carlos Salcedo’s shot.
Maxime Crepeau was tested again a few minutes later, but he was able to save Rodolfo Pizarro’s header following a corner kick.
The game went back-and-forth and both sides grew desperate to gain the upper hand late.
In the 77th minute, Theo Corbeanu tried to curl the ball after receiving a through-ball from Tajon Buchanan but it was tapped by Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.
Nine minutes later, Rogelio Funes Mori tried to nod the ball in after a volley from Luis Alfonso Rodriguez but the ball went too wide.
Mexico’s winner played out in a highly controversial fashion when play was halted by the referees during the 86th minute when several El Tri supporters shouted slurs during a goal kick for Canada.
The stoppage changed the entire flow of the match, leading to a Hector Herrera screamer that is going to be included in the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 highlights.
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