Jamaica advanced to the Gold Cup final after scoring a late goal from a free kick to beat Mexico.
The Reggae Boys will face Team U.S.A. on Wednesday, with the winner halfway home to a spot in the 2021 Confederations Cup.
Mexico dominated ball possession throughout the game. But a foul in the 88th minute just outside the Mexico penalty box gave Jamaica’s Kemar Lawrence s free kick, which he sailed over the wall and into the top right corner of the goal, giving Mexican goalkeeper Jesus Corona no chance of stopping.
Mexico had plenty of opportunities to put the ball on net during the first half, but the team was denied by the Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake.
The loss will add pressure to Mexican Coach Juan Carlos Osorio, whose team failed to meet high expectations for the tournament even though Mexico’s Gold Cup roster has made up entirely of players from the nation’s domestic league. None of the players on Mexican’s Gold Cup team are expected to feature in the starting 11 in next year’s World Cup. Only a handful of the 23 are likely to make the Mexico team that heads to Russia next year.
Jamaica will play against a Team U.S.A. Wednesday at Levy Stadium in Santa Clara that brought in many of their top players for the knockout round of the tournament.
