Mexico beats Panama 2-1 to win CONCACAF Nations League title on late penalty from Raúl Jiménez
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Raúl Jiménez scored his second goal on a penalty kick in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, and Mexico beat Panama 2-1 Sunday night to win the CONCACAF Nations League tournament for the first time.
Jiménez, the 33-year-old Fulham striker, dominated the week at SoFi Stadium with all four of Mexico's goals in El Tri's two matches.
After he scored on a header in the eighth minute against Panama, he used a stutter-step approach before perfectly striking a penalty awarded when defender José Córdoba touched the ball with his inexplicably outstretched arm while chasing after it in the 90th minute.
“It’s fantastic to come back after what I’ve been through,” Jiménez said. “I’m really happy. This is just a great example that you never have to lose faith, and continue. You know what you’re capable to do.”
This remarkable tournament is only the latest chapter in the comeback story of Jiménez, who incurred a serious head injury while playing for Wolves in November 2020. After fracturing his skull in a collision with Arsenal's David Luiz, he survived a life-threatening brain bleed and returned to competition nine months later.
The U.S. had won the first three editions of this tournament, which brings together the nations of North and Central America and the Caribbean. But with Jiménez in dominant form and veteran coach Javier Aguirre tweaking his formation to emphasize aggression, Mexico stepped up to claim another trophy in the stadium where it won the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, both times in front of vociferously pro-Mexico crowds.
“We are enjoying our game,” Jiménez said. “We are really happy. We knew since we arrived, since the (quarterfinals) against Honduras when we won our pass to the final four, we knew this game was going to be difficult, but we knew we had the quality. We know each other. We know how we can play better than the other teams, and that’s the key.”
Adalberto Carrasquilla scored on a penalty in first-half injury time for underdog Panama, which staged a dramatic 1-0 upset of the host U.S. on Thursday night to reach the final.
The championship match was briefly suspended with 10 minutes left in regulation after a large portion of the raucous crowd of 68,212 repeatedly shouted the homophobic Spanish slur that is commonly used at Mexican matches both foreign and domestic despite several governing bodies’ attempts to eradicate it. The players took a water break while anti-slur messages appeared on the scoreboard and over the public address system.
Misbehavior aside, Mexico feels right at home in the Los Angeles Rams' palatial stadium — or anywhere in Southern California, where El Tri is invariably treated as the home team. Mexico also beat Panama here two years ago in the Gold Cup on Santi Giménez's late goal.
Jiménez played up front alongside Giménez in the Nations League semifinals and finals, with coach Javier Aguirre using an aggressive alignment to create offense. It worked splendidly thanks to Jiménez, who needed only a few minutes to get Mexico on top in the final.
“It was crazy,” Giménez said. “We didn’t train it, but we’re soccer players, and we know how to play in every formation. It’s an honor for me to play with Raúl, and it was a good result because we understand each other. I was more like a No. 10, but still was very good to play with him.”
After Roberto Alvarado put a long, beautiful cross into the box, Jiménez outmaneuvered a defender and bounced in a header that set off a raucous celebration at SoFi.
Panama dominated possession and generated more shot attempts in the first half, and it finally paid off when video review determined center back Johan Vásquez committed a foul in the Mexico penalty area shortly before halftime. Carrasquilla barely got his shot above goalkeeper Luis Malagón's trailing legs to tie it.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
| 2d 11:43 PM ET ago |
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