After a surprise loss to Jamaica in the semifinals of the 2017 Gold Cup, Mexico will now look ahead to the resumption of World Cup qualifying in September.
El Tri was eliminated in the semifinal round of both of their summer competitions, the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup, and playing in both tournaments meant Juan Carlos Osorio had to make some difficult roster decisions to balance Mexico’s commitments.
FIFA has released the latest list of sanctions for incidents in recent 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, and, as has become customary, Mexico is once again present due to homophobic chanting.
The latest round of disciplinary action was announced on Thursday, with Mexico receiving 10,000 Swiss Francs in fines plus a warning for “improper conduct among spectators (homophobic chant)” for each of their June qualifiers: June 8th against Honduras and June 11th against the United States.
Mexico will not have the chance to defend their Gold Cup title after falling 1-0 to Jamaica in Sunday’s semifinal. El Tri was unable to score on the Reggae Boyz in the group stage or tonight’s semifinal, while Jamaica made a late free kick count to send them to their second straight Gold Cup final.
Goalkeeper Andre Blake repeatedly came up big for Jamaica as he stopped a deflected Jesús Dueñas shot in the 12th minute and then followed it up with a save on Erick Torres on the rebound.
The 2017 Gold Cup semifinals get underway this weekend, and Mexico will take on Jamaica on Sunday as both teams look to make a second-straight appearance in the final.
El Tri got the better of the Reggae Boyz in the 2015 final, which Mexico won 3-1. But in their meeting just 10 days ago in the group stage of this tournament, neither team could get past the other as they drew 0-0.
Both teams went unbeaten in the group stage, and in the quarterfinals, Mexico beat Honduras 1-0 while Jamaica defeated Canada 2-1.
Mexico advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Gold Cup with a 1-0 victory against Honduras in Thursday’s quarterfinal game. El Tri once again looked less than convincing, but they did enough to get past a Honduras side that needed a forfeit win to even make it out of the group stage.
Mexico made seven changes to the starting lineup that beat Curaçao in their last game, and the game started brightly for El Tri as they took the lead in just the fourth minute. Jesús Dueñas sent a low ball towards the back post, where Rodolfo Pizarro was waiting unmarked to send the ball home.
The 2017 Gold Cup knockout rounds begin this week with the quarterfinals. On Thursday, Mexico will take on Honduras in Glendale, Arizona.
Mexico won Group C with victories over El Salvador and Curaçao and a draw against Jamaica, while Honduras finished third in Group A with a forfeit win against French Guiana, a draw against Canada, and a loss to Costa Rica.
It was a much more difficult game than Mexico was anticipating, but in the end El Tri walked away with a 2-0 victory against Curaçao, and with it, first place in Group C.
Mexico made 10 changes to the lineup that drew 0-0 with Jamaica on Thursday, with only Orbelin Pineda making a second consecutive start. Curaçao made five changes from their loss to El Salvador, and it was Curaçao who started the game off better.
The group stage of the 2017 Gold Cup closes out on Sunday with Mexico facing minnows Curaçao. Mexico tops the table with four points, while Curaçao is propping up Group C with no points – and no goals.
With Jamaica and El Salvador playing the first game of this double header, Mexico will know exactly what result they need to win the group from the start.
The group winner will face a third place team in the quarterfinals, while the runner-up will take on the Group A runner-up.
Mexico and Jamaica both took another step closer to the quarterfinals with a 0-0 draw in this Group C game. This rematch of the 2015 Gold Cup final was not nearly as exciting as the original, with neither team able to break the deadlock in Denver.
Rotation was again the name of the game for El Tri, with Moisés Muñoz, Jesús Molina, Erick Torres, and Orbelín Pineda all joining the starting XI. The best chance of the first half fell for “Cubo” Torres, whose header hit the post in the 23rd minute with goalkeeper Andre Blake beaten.
Group C action continues this Thursday, with Mexico facing Jamaica in Denver, Colorado.
El Tri opened their 2017 Gold Cup campaign with a 3-1 victory against El Salvador, while the Reggae Boys also started off with a win as they beat minnows Curaçao 2-0.
These two are the favorites to advance out of Group C and both will be looking to collect another three points in this one.
