2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final

Aerial view of SoFi Stadium, the host venue for the match
Event	2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Mexico Panama 1 0
Date	July 16, 2023 (2023-07-16)
Venue	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Man of the Match	Santiago Giménez (Mexico) [1]
Referee	Saíd Martínez (Honduras)
Attendance	72,963
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The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final was a soccer match to determine the winner of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The match was the 17th final of the Gold Cup, a biennial tournament contested by the men's national teams representing the member associations of CONCACAF and an invited guest to decide the champion of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The match was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, United States, on July 16, 2023, and was contested by Mexico and Panama. ^[2]

Mexico won 1–0 thanks to a late goal from substitute Santiago Giménez, securing a record ninth Gold Cup title. ^[3]

Background

Mexico was the most successful national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with eight titles in ten finals played. After being eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mexico signed Argentine coach Diego Cocca to replace his fellow countryman Gerardo Martino. ^[4] Under the management of Cocca, the Mexicans played in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, losing 3–0 in the semi-finals to the United States but beating Panama 1–0 in the third place play-off. These results led to Cocca's departure and the arrival of Mexican Jaime Lozano as interim coach a few days before the start of the Gold Cup. ^[5]

With Danish-born Spaniard coach Thomas Christiansen at the helm, Panama reached their third Gold Cup final to become the team with the most Gold Cup finals, behind only Mexico and the United States. The Panamanians lost the two previous finals to the United States; 3–1 on penalties after a goalless draw in 2005 and 1–0 in 2013. ^{[6] [7]}

This unprecedented Gold Cup final was the 29th match between Mexico and Panama. The two sides most recent meeting was in the aforementioned third place play-off of the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, won by Mexico 1–0.

Venue

Main article: SoFi Stadium

The final was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, United States, located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was the first major international tournament to be played at the venue, which was built for the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. ^[2] The Los Angeles area has previously hosted Gold Cup matches six times, including four finals played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and two finals at the Rose Bowl. ^[8] On October 27, 2022, CONCACAF announced that SoFi Stadium would be the host venue for the final. ^[2] The venue will also host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. ^[8]

Route to the final

Mexico

Mexico's route to the final

Round	Opponent	Result
1	Honduras	4–0
2	Haiti	3–1
3	Qatar	0–1
QF	Costa Rica	2–0
SF	Jamaica	3–0

Drawn in Group B, Mexico's first match was against Honduras. Mexico opened the score early, with a first-minute goal from Luis Romo. This was followed by a second goal from Romo and further efforts from Orbelín Pineda and Luis Chávez to secure a 4–0 win. ^[9] Mexico, then overcame an organized Haiti side with Henry Martín scoring early in the second half, an own goal from Ricardo Adé, and Santiago Giménez complementing to the lead, despite conceding a goal from Danley Jean Jacques. Mexico won 3–1 and became the first team to progress to the knockout stage. ^[10] With progression assured, Mexico rotated most of their team, resting key players for their final group match against a Qatar side who needed a win to avoid elimination; Mexico would lose the match 1–0, courtesy of a goal from Hazem Shehata. Despite this, Mexico maintained their first spot position as group winners, due to a superior point difference over group runners-up Qatar. ^[11]

In the quarter-finals, Mexico overcame Group C runners-up Costa Rica 2–0, with second half goals from Pineda and Erick Sánchez. ^[12] Mexico then faced Jamaica in the semi-finals; El Tri were able to defeat the Caribbean nation with goals from Henry Martín, Luis Chávez and Roberto Alvarado. Mexico thus reached a third consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup final for the second time in their history. ^[13]

Panama

Panama's route to the final

Round	Opponent	Result
1	Costa Rica	2–1
2	Martinique	2–1
3	El Salvador	2–2
QF	Qatar	4–0
SF	United States	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)

After winning Group C unbeaten and with seven points, Panama decisively defeated Qatar 4–0 in the quarter-finals; Yoel Bárcenas scored in the first half, followed by a nine-minute Ismael Díaz hat-trick in the second half, making it the fastest hat-trick in Gold Cup history. ^[14] Panama's semi-final fixture came against reigning champions and hosts United States. Following a 0–0 stalemate after regulation time, Panama took the lead in the first half of extra time through Iván Anderson, but conceded an equalizer from Jesús Ferreira at the end of the first extra time period. With the score remaining at 1–1, both teams headed for a penalty shootout. Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera saved the first United States penalty from Ferreira, while only Cristian Martínez missed for Panama as Adalberto Carrasquilla's successful penalty secured Panama a third final appearance and a first in ten years for Panama. ^[15]

Match

Details

July 16, 2023 (2023-07-16)

19:30 (16:30 UTC−7)

Mexico	1–0	Panama
Giménez 88'	Report

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood

Attendance: 72,963

Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Mexico

Panama

GK 13 Guillermo Ochoa (c) RB 19 Jorge Sánchez CB 3 César Montes  45+3' CB 5 Johan Vásquez  11' LB 23 Jesús Gallardo  55' CM 7 Luis Romo CM 4 Edson Álvarez  58' CM 18 Luis Chávez  75' RF 15 Uriel Antuna  75' CF 20 Henry Martín  85' LF 17 Orbelín Pineda  90+2' Substitutions: FW 10 Roberto Alvarado  75' FW 14 Érick Sánchez  75' FW 11 Santiago Giménez  85' DF 21 Israel Reyes  90+2' Interim manager: Jaime Lozano

GK 22 Orlando Mosquera  90+6' CB 4 Fidel Escobar CB 3 Harold Cummings  21'  90+1' CB 16 Andrés Andrade RWB 10 Yoel Bárcenas LWB 15 Eric Davis  62' RM 17 José Fajardo CM 8 Adalberto Carrasquilla  55' CM 20 Aníbal Godoy (c)  62' LM 11 Ismael Díaz CF 19 Alberto Quintero  61' Substitutions: FW 18 Cecilio Waterman  61' DF 25 Iván Anderson  62' FW 9 Azarías Londoño  90+1' Manager: Thomas Christiansen  26'

Man of the Match: Santiago Giménez (Mexico) [1] Assistant referees: [16] Walter López (Honduras) Christian Ramírez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Caleb Wales (Trinidad and Tobago) Fourth official: Daneon Parchment (Jamaica) Video assistant referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica) Assistant video assistant referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)

References

1. CONCACAF [@GoldCup] (July 16, 2023). "¡Santiago Giménez se consagra como el Jugador del Partido en la Final de la #CopaOro 2023!" [Santiago Giménez is established as the Player of the Match in the Final of #GoldCup 2023!] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved July 16, 2023– via Twitter.
2. "SoFi Stadium awarded 2023 Concacaf Men's Gold Cup Final" (Press release). CONCACAF. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
3. "Mexico beats Panama in Men's Gold Cup final with late Gimenez goal". ESPN. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
4. Nuno Rios, Janina; Medina, Angelica (February 10, 2023). Ferris, Ken (ed.). "Mexico name Argentine Cocca as head coach". Mexico City: Reuters . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
5. Hernandez, Cesar (June 19, 2023). "Mexico fires Cocca, names Lozano as interim coach". ESPN . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
6. Rodriguez, Carlos (July 15, 2023). "Mexico seeks a Gold Cup championship against Panama in redemption tour after disappointing World Cup". Mexico City: Associated Press . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
7. "Mexico and Panama to face off in 2023 Gold Cup Final on July 16 at SoFi Stadium". Miami: CONCACAF. July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
8. Baxter, Kevin (October 27, 2022). "SoFi Stadium to host 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament final". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 27, 2022.
9. "Mexico thrash Honduras in Gold Cup opener". Reuters . June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
10. "Concacaf Gold Cup from Glendale: Mexico streaks past Haiti at State Farm Stadium". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved June 29, 2023.
11. "Rotated players fail to impress as Mexico loses to Qatar". ESPN . Retrieved July 3, 2023.
12. "Mexico beats Costa Rica, advances to CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
13. "Mexico vs Jamaica score, result, and highlights as El Tri reach CONCACAF Gold Cup final vs Panama". The Sporting News . Retrieved July 12, 2023.
14. "Ismael Diaz scores hat-trick to earn Panama semis berth with win over Qatar". Marca . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
15. "Panama sends USMNT out of Gold Cup in penalties". NBC Sports . Retrieved July 13, 2023.
16. "2023 Gold Cup Referee Appointments: Match 40". CONCACAF. July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.