Mexico cruise past Jamaica into Gold Cup final; USA sent packing | OneFootball

The 2023 Gold Cup semifinals take place this Wednesday evening, as Panama, The United States, Mexico, and Jamaica all look to book their spots in this weekend’s final. Here is what is going down in the two matches!

Mexico vs Jamaica

Scorers: Martín 2′, Chávez 30′, Alvarado 93′

It was a horror start for the Reggae Boyz, as Henry Martín fired Mexico into the lead inside three minutes.

And it would go from bad to worse for the tournament’s dark-horse, when sent a venomous free-kick into the top corner to double Mexico’s lead on the half-hour mark.

Jamaica pushed to claw their way back into the game as the second half wore on, but Mexico’s backline was a brick wall in front of the Jamaican counters.

A late Roberto Alvarado strike was capped off a dominant Mexico victory, seeing El Tri move onto their third straight Gold Cup final and book their showdown with Panama on Sunday.

USA vs Panama

Scorers: Ferreira 105′; Anderson 99′

It was a frantic start from both sides, as Cade Cowell hit the post in the opening minute before Panama carved out a chance of their own moments later.

After a slow-paced first half, the drama was ratcheted up after the break as the two teams traded chances once again.

A superb solo run from Cade Cowell was somehow not finished off by Brandon Vazquez from point-blank range, while moments later Ismael Díaz missed his own point-blank effort at the other end.

While the USA pushed to find a winner late, Panama remained solid and even posed their own threat on the break. But neither side could find their shooting boots in the 90 minutes.

It did not take Panama long to stun the home crowd in extra-time, as Iván Anderson struck a dagger to the USA on the break in the opening 10 minutes.

As has become customary for the United States in the knockout stages, they responded less than five minutes through a looping volley from Jesus Ferreira to level the scoreline and a force a penalty shootout.

After some high quality penalties, a Christian Roldan miss saw Panama scrape through and book their spot in their first final since 2013.

They will face off with Mexico in the final on Sunday.