Dog on the field! Match in Mexico blessed by excellent canine

You’ve got to check this dog out, it’s an excellent dog

Most people, and most animals, are by definition pretty average. Some have a gift or two that set them apart, while others may lack in some categories. The spectrum of possible experiences is vast, but most creatures sit in a pretty narrow sliver of that spectrum.

Every once in a while though, you get to see a true genius at work.

Which of course brings us to a dog on the field in Mexico. The dog in question decided to grace the Liga de Expansión match between Oaxaca and Sinaloa, two teams struggling to qualify for the Apertura playoffs. In other words, the natural venue for such brilliance to reveal itself.

Unfortunately, there is no video showing us the exact beginnings of the joyful sequence below, in which a dog runs off with the ball for about 70 seconds in stoppage time of what became a 4-0 win for Oaxaca. All we know for sure is that, with los Alebrijes pushing for yet another goal on the night, this dog was already racing out onto the field, being pursued by one hapless minder.

Credit: ESPN

Why does a situation exist in which this person, in some kind of stadium staff garb, would find themselves with a dog on what seems like a very long leash? Wouldn’t this game be played without this interruption if the dog were just, not in the stadium?

Look, if those are your concerns, this is not the article for you. Think about it: this dog is on the field! Check out the dog, he’s out there running around! That’s what we’re about here at Pro Soccer Wire.

As the dog announced its presence, Sinaloa goalkeeper Víctor Mendoza came off his line to claim a cross, and had eyes to spring a counter. The referee stopped play, what with the dog being out there, but this seemingly minor stoppage is the spark for some magic.

Mendoza, disappointed to be denied even this one chance to create an attack in the final moments of an ugly loss, glanced down at the dog, and then out of frustration sort of half-heartedly tossed the ball away to no one in particular.

The dog couldn’t quite corral the ball at first, with Sinaloa’s Felipe Félix even getting a touch in the process, but once our hero — this canine conqueror — slowed the ball down, it was time for some classic dog stuff.

The dog got a firm grip on the ball and, despite the original staffer gaining two compatriots, escaped the pressure to expertly move towards space in midfield. With little help coming from the players or referees, who did at least announce three minutes of stoppage time amid all of this, the stadium staffers were repeatedly put in the spin cycle by this excellent dog.

Sensing the moment, the crowd at Estadio Tecnológico de Oaxaca and the match announcer on ESPN began to show their appreciation, giving the staffers the “olé!” treatment as the dog repeatedly evaded attempts to get the game going again.

Oaxaca’s Bryan García tried at one point to slow the dog down, but the forward’s heart just wasn’t in it. For los Dorados, a more serious attempt came from Franco Valentini — who probably at this point just wanted to go home — but nothing could stop this world-class dog from bounding around the pitch.

Finally, after 70 full seconds and a slowly increasing numbers of stadium staffers and just random people chasing fruitlessly after this playful dog, Oaxaca’s Julio César Cruz slowed the dog down long enough that a herd of people could remove the dog (and presumably the ball, which by now the dog seemed to have possibly lodged its teeth into) from the field.

After the match, Oaxaca gave the world an important update: the dog is fine.

“Our new best friend, he is doing well and is with us at Templo Alebrije after having debuted in Liga de Expansión,” read an Instagram post from Oaxaca after the match.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxuhrlROWlL/

Oaxaca’s big win — on the field, not the fact that the club was clearly blessed by this dog — pushed the club into a tie for the final Liga de Expansión playoff spot.

Please enjoy this wonderful dog on the field

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Gimenez completes 47-hour hat trick vs. Ajax

The Mexico international completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see

Feyenoord striker Santiago Giménez completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see on Wednesday, with his third goal against Ajax coming three days after his second.

Giménez netted a pair of goals on Sunday as the Eredivisie champions raced into a 3-0 lead at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Ajax fans were not happy with their side’s insipid display, showing their displeasure by launching missiles, flares and fireworks onto the pitch. The game was suspended in the 56th minute, and eventually abandoned due to the unplayable conditions on the field.

The trouble continued outside the stadium in Amsterdam, as riot police charged at unruly fans.

After the mess on Sunday, the Eredivisie opted to resume the match on Wednesday behind closed doors at Johan Cruyff Arena. Just three minutes after the game restarted, Giménez scored his third of the game by putting home a rebound.

The Mexico international thus completed the rarely seen 47-hour hat trick.

After helping Feyenoord to a league title last season, Giménez has started the current campaign in red-hot form. The 22-year-old’s hat trick against Ajax took him to nine goals in just six league games. It also made him the first Feyenoord player to score a hat trick in an Eredivisie away game at Ajax.

As for Ajax, defeat continues a disastrous season. The Dutch power is currently 14th out of 18 teams in the league and recently fired technical director Sven Mislintat. There is plenty of speculation that head coach Maurice Steijn could be next.

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Mexico completed a face-saving comeback against Uzbekistan…then fumbled it away

One normal El Tri game, that’s all we ask…will never happen

Oh, Mexico, when will it ever be easy for you?

When it comes to the men’s national team at least, the answer appears to be “who knows?” El Tri fell behind twice against Uzbekistan — fresh off of a 3-0 loss to the United States, and currently the 74th best in the world in FIFA’s rankings — before coming back to take a late lead.

Just when the job seemed done though, Mexico slipped up one more time, stumbling to a 3-3 draw on Tuesday.

Coming off of a match against Australia that required a late goal to pick up a 2-2 tie, Mexico couldn’t have started its clash with Uzbekistan off in a worse way. Bobur Abdikholikov was marked by two players, yet still rose up to plant a header beyond Memo Ochoa’s reach.

Raúl Jiménez had an immediate reply, getting El Tri level just three minutes later with a classic striker’s finish. Crisis averted everyone, Mexico is surely on track for a win.

Well…about that. The same sort of transition threat the Uzbeks posed against the U.S. men’s national team popped up again in Atlanta, only this time Mexico didn’t benefit from a miss or a timely save from its goalkeeper. Instead, with nearly the final kick of the first half, Azizbek Turgunboev fired the unfancied White Wolves back in front.

Mexico could hardly believe what was going on, as the game had been played nearly entirely in the Uzbek half. As the second half wore on, El Tri was staring at an embarrassing loss.

However, as has so often been the case, Jiménez popped up with a goal right when his side needed him, seizing on some miscommunication to beat several Uzbekistan players to a ball in the box.

A pro-Mexico crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium encouraged Mexico to find a winner, and it seemed like El Tri delivered in comical fashion. Jiménez went on a journey trying to find an opening for a shot against a scrambling Uzbek defense, only for his effort to eventually end up blocked.

Uzbekistan had their chance to escape, only for Uriel Antuna to pounce with a block of his own, with a disastrous clearance attempt caroming off the Cruz Azul winger and giving Mexico a 3-2 lead.

Whew! That was close. Good thing there’s no way this exhausted Uzbekistan team could have anything left in the tank, right?

Right guys?

Oh no.

Otabek Shukurov caught Ochoa leaning for a cross, tucking an angled free kick over the wall and just under the crossbar, giving Uzbekistan a shocking stoppage-time equalizer.

“It’s a bitter taste,” a deflated Santiago Giménez told TUDN after the match. “That’s the reality, because we had already earned the turnaround, I believe, with passion, with heart.”

Despite his brace, Jiménez wasn’t as ready to cut his side any slack.

“We have to be more self-critical and realize that we didn’t play a good game,” said the Fulham striker. “There are many aspects that we need to continue improving. Jimmy [Lozano]’s ideas are there, we just have to hone them well.”

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Another much-hyped Mexico prospect leaves Europe to join Tigres

Marcelo Flores was a highly touted prospect at Arsenal, but has now headed to Liga MX

The hype around Marcelo Flores at this time last year was growing exponentially.

A rising star in Arsenal’s academy, Flores earned the first of his three senior caps with Mexico at age 18. He then made the bench for the Gunners senior team for the first time in April 2022.

After fully committing his international future to Mexico over Canada and England, there was even talk of Flores making a late bid for a World Cup roster spot with El Tri.

But following a difficult loan spell with Spanish second division side Real Oviedo last season, Flores is following a path that other much-hyped Mexican prospects have traveled recently.

On Sunday, the 19-year-old’s transfer from Arsenal to Tigres was confirmed. The Evening Standard reported that the fee was £2 million.

Flores marks the third young Mexican to leave Europe and sign with Tigres just this year.

Diego Lainez, who like Flores has at times over the years been considered a future superstar, joined Tigres on loan in January. He was followed by Eugenio Pizzuto, who spent time with Lille and Braga before returning home to Mexico this summer.

All three players were 22 or younger when making the move to Tigres.

Amid some criticism of the transfer, Tigres manager Robert Siboldi defended Flores by insisting that the move was driven by the desire for playing time, not money.

Siboldi added that he would not consider the transfer to be a setback for Flores.

“He comes to earn his place, he is very motivated and I am very happy [to sign] a young man with experience, with training from other places that is supposed to be more demanding,” Siboldi told a press conference.

“Why don’t we see everything that can arise? A player comes to Mexico because something has happened, they haven’t had the minutes they wanted. They have the desire to play above the economic aspect.

“They can be at Real Madrid, at Manchester United and not play … it doesn’t mean that if they come to Tigres, Rayados or any team from Mexico that it’s a setback.”

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David Ochoa, 22, hired as Ventura County Fusion youth goalkeeper coach

The former U.S. and Mexico youth international has been without a club since May

Former U.S. and Mexico youth international goalkeeper David Ochoa has been hired as a youth goalkeeper coach for USL League Two side Ventura County Fusion.

The 22-year-old has been without a club since May, when he was released by Liga MX side Atlético San Luis amid reports of indiscipline. It wasn’t the first time Ochoa had left a club in acrimonious fashion.

Ochoa rose to prominence in 2021 with Real Salt Lake before a very public falling out with the club the following year.

“[Ochoa] was tardy a couple times, and just training habits weren’t up to par,” RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni told ESPN last year.

“At that point, we had quite a few conversations about being a professional footballer. It’s not always about starting. It’s about understanding how to conduct yourself within a club. We have club rules, we have team rules, locker rules, and you have to abide by those, regardless of who you are, or what you did last year.”

Though Ochoa appears to be taking a detour from his playing career, Ventura County’s academy director Keith Costigan hinted that the goalkeeper wasn’t quite ready to hang up his gloves just yet.

“So happy our staff made this happen,” Costigan said on X (formerly Twitter). “David is a top young keeper who will have many great years ahead. Excited to have him mentor our next generation of talent.”

Ochoa has represented both the U.S. and Mexico at youth international levels, and has been called up at the senior level by both countries. He committed his international future to Mexico in 2021.

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Leagues Cup 2023: Standings, teams, schedule, TV and streaming

Your complete guide to the 2023 Leagues Cup

The first-ever Leagues Cup will see MLS and Liga MX clubs halt league play for a month-long tournament across the U.S. and Canada in July and August.

The tournament begins on July 21, with 15 three-team groups based on geography featuring a mix of teams from both leagues. Each group will feature round-robin play, with the top two finishers advancing to a knockout stage featuring one-off matches running through to a final on August 19.

The champion of the Leagues Cup will secure a place in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16, while the losing finalist and the third-place game winner will also gain a place in the CCC’s first round.

The entire Leagues Cup will take place in the United States or in Canada, with matches between Liga MX sides picked based on geography in the group stage and at neutral sites in the knockout round.

While standard rules will be in place for games that end with a winner and a loser (three points for the victors, none for their opponent), the Leagues Cup will discard draws. Games that are tied at full time will proceed to a penalty kick tiebreaker, with the winner of that shootout receiving two points while the loser gets one.

All matches will air on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, while select games are on Televisa, Univision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

Here is the 2023 Leagues Cup schedule.

West One

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Tigres 2 0 0 0 3 1 +2 6
Portland Timbers 1 0 0 1 3 2 +1 3
San Jose Earthquakes 0 0 0 2 0 3 -3 0

West One schedule

Sat, July 22: Portland Timbers 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Wed, July 26: Portland Timbers 1-2 Tigres
Sun, July 30: San Jose Earthquakes 0-1 Tigres

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

West Two

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
CF Monterrey 2 0 0 0 7 2 +5 6
Real Salt Lake 1 0 0 1 3 3 0 3
Seattle Sounders 0 0 0 2 2 7 -5 0

West Two schedule

Sat, July 22: Real Salt Lake 3-0 Seattle Sounders
Wed, July 26: Real Salt Lake 0-3 CF Monterrey
Sun, July 30: Seattle Sounders 2-4 CF Monterrey

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

West Three

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Club Léon 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 5
Vancouver Whitecaps 1 0 1 0 4 3 +1 4
LA Galaxy 0 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

West Three schedule

Fri, July 21: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-2 Club Léon (Club Léon wins 16-15 on penalty kicks)
Wed, July 26: LA Galaxy 0-1 Club Léon
Sun, July 30: LA Galaxy 1-2 Vancouver Whitecaps

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

Central One

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Columbus Crew 2 0 0 0 6 2 +4 6
Club América 1 0 0 1 5 4 +1 3
St. Louis City SC 0 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0

Central One schedule

Sun, July 23: Columbus Crew 2-1 St. Louis City SC
Thu, July 27: St. Louis City SC 0-4 Club América
Mon, July 31: Columbus Crew 4-1 Club América

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

Central Two

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Chicago Fire 1 0 1 0 4 3 +1 4
Minnesota United 1 0 0 1 6 3 +3 3
Puebla 0 1 0 1 1 5 -4 2

Central Two schedule

Sun, July 23: Minnesota United 4-0 Puebla
Thu, July 27: Minnesota United 2-3 Chicago Fire
Mon, July 31: Chicago Fire 1-1 Puebla (Puebla wins 10-9 on penalty kicks)

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

Central Three

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
FC Cincinnati 1 1 0 0 6 4 +2 5
Sporting Kansas City 1 0 1 0 4 3 +1 4
Chivas 0 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0

Central Three schedule

Sun, July 23: FC Cincinnati 3-3 Sporting Kansas City (FC Cincinnati wins 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Thu, July 27: FC Cincinnati 3-1 Chivas
Mon, July 31: Sporting Kansas City 1-0 Chivas

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

Central Four

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Toluca 2 0 0 0 8 4 +4 6
Nashville SC 1 0 0 1 5 5 0 3
Colorado Rapids 0 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0

Central Four schedule

Sun, July 23: Nashville SC 2-1 Colorado Rapids
Thu, July 27: Nashville SC 3-4 Toluca
Mon, July 31: Colorado Rapids 1-4 Toluca

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

South One

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Mazatlán FC 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 5
FC Juárez 1 0 1 0 4 2 +2 4
Austin FC 0 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0

South One schedule

Fri, July 21: Austin FC 1-3 Mazatlán FC
Tue, July 25: Mazatlán FC 1-1 FC Juárez (Mazatlán FC wins 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Sat, July 29: Austin FC 1-3 FC Juárez

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

South Two

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Orlando City 1 1 0 0 4 3 +1 5
Houston Dynamo 0 1 1 0 3 3 0 3
Santos Laguna 0 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1

South Two schedule

Fri, July 21: Orlando City 1-1 Houston Dynamo (Orlando City wins 5-4 on penalty kicks)
Tue, July 25: Houston Dynamo 2-2 Santos Laguna (Houston Dynamo wins 5-4 on penalty kicks)
Sat, July 29: Orlando City 3-2 Santos Laguna

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

South Three

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Inter Miami 2 0 0 0 6 1 +5 6
Cruz Azul 0 1 0 1 2 3 -1 2
Atlanta United 0 0 1 1 1 5 -4 1

South Three schedule

Fri, July 21: Inter Miami 2-1 Cruz Azul
Tue, July 25: Inter Miami 4-0 Atlanta United
Sat, July 29: Atlanta United 1-1 Cruz Azul (Cruz Azul wins 5-4 on penalty kicks)

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

South Four

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Charlotte FC 1 1 0 0 6 3 +3 5
FC Dallas 1 0 1 0 5 2 +3 4
Necaxa 0 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0

South Four schedule

Fri, July 21: FC Dallas 2-2 Charlotte FC (Charlotte FC wins 4-1 on penalty kicks)
Tue, July 25: FC Dallas 3-0 Necaxa
Sat, July 29: Charlotte FC 4-1 Necaxa

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

East One

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Philadelphia Union 2 0 0 0 8 2 +6 6
Querétaro 1 0 0 1 2 5 -3 3
Tijuana 0 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0

East One schedule

Sat, July 22: Philadelphia Union 3-1 Tijuana
Wed, July 26: Philadelphia Union 5-1 Querétaro
Sun, July 30: Tijuana 0-1 Querétaro

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

East Two

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Pumas UNAM 1 0 1 0 5 2 +3 4
D.C. United 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 3
CF Montréal 0 1 0 1 2 3 -1 2

East Two schedule

Sat, July 22: CF Montréal 2-2 Pumas UNAM (CF Montréal wins 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Wed, July 26: CF Montréal 0-1 D.C. United
Sat, July 29: D.C. United 0-3 Pumas UNAM

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

East Three

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
Atlas 2 0 0 0 2 0 +2 6
New York City FC 1 0 0 1 5 1 +4 3
Toronto FC 0 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0

East Three schedule

Sun July 23: New York City FC 0-1 Atlas
Wed, July 26: New York City FC 5-0 Toronto FC
Sun, July 30: Toronto FC 0-1 Atlas

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

East Four

Team W PW PL L GF GA GD Points
New York Red Bulls 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 5
New England Revolution 1 0 1 0 5 1 +4 4
Atlético San Luis 0 0 0 2 2 7 -5 0

East Four schedule

Sat, July 22: New York Red Bulls 0-0 New England Revolution (New York Red Bulls win 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Wed, July 26: New England Revolution 5-1 Atlético San Luis
Sun, July 30: New York Red Bulls 2-1 Atlético San Luis

(Home teams listed first. All times Eastern)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

Knockout rounds

Round of 32

Wednesday, August 2, 2023  Inter Miami 3-1 Orlando CityDRV PNK Stadium – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Mazatlán FC 1-2 FC Dallas Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX

CF Pachuca 0-0 Houston Dynamo (Houston Dynamo advance 5-3 on penalties)Shell Energy Stadium – Houston, TX

LAFC 7-1 FC Juárez BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, August 3, 2023 Atlas FC 2-2 New England Revolution (New England Revolution advance 8-7 on penalty kicks)Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA

Philadelphia Union 0-0 D.C. United (Philadelphia Union advance 5-4 on penalty kicks)Subaru Park – Chester, PA

Pumas UNAM 0-1 Querétaro Audi Field – Washington, DC

New York Red Bulls 1-0 NYCFC Red Bull Arena – Harrison, NJ

Charlotte FC 0-0 Cruz Azul (Charlotte FC advance 4-3 on penalty kicks)Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX

Friday, August 4, 2023  Columbus Crew 3-3 Minnesota United (Minnesota United advance 4-3 on penalty kicks)Lower.com Field – Columbus, OH

FC Cincinnati 1-1 Nashville SC (Nashville SC advance 5-4 on penalty kicks)TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, OH

Chicago Fire 0-1 Club AméricaSeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, IL

Toluca 4-1 Sporting Kansas City Children’s Mercy Park – Kansas City, KS

CF Monterrey 1-0 Portland Timbers Providence Park – Portland, OR

Club León 1-3 Real Salt Lake America First Field – Sandy, UT

Tigres 1-1 Vancouver Whitecaps (Tigres advance 5-3 on penalties)BC Place – Vancouver, Canada

Round of 16

Sunday, August 6, 2023  

FC Dallas 4-4 Inter Miami FC (Inter Miami advance 5-3 on penalties)Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX

Monday, August 7, 2023 

Queretaro 1-1 New England Revolution (Queretaro advance 4-3 on penalties)Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA

Charlotte FC 2-1 Houston Dynamo FC Shell Energy Stadium – Houston, TX

Tuesday, August 8, 2023  

Club América 2-2 Nashville SC (Nashville SC advance 6-5 on penalty kicks)GEODIS Park – Nashville, TN

Philadelphia Union 1-1 New York Red Bulls (Philadelphia Union advance 4-3 on penalty kicks)Subaru Park – Chester, PAToluca 2-2 Minnesota United (Minnesota United advance 4-2 on penalty kicks)Allianz Field – St. Paul, MN

Tigres 0-1 CF Monterrey Shell Energy Stadium – Houston, TX

LAFC 4-0 Real Salt Lake BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA

Quarterfinals

Friday, August 11, 2023

Philadelphia Union 2-1 Quéretaro Subaru Park – Chester, PA

Inter Miami FC 4-0 Charlotte FC  DRV PNK Stadium – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Nashville SC 5-0 Minnesota United GEODIS Park – Nashville, TN

LAFC 2-3 CF Monterrey Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA

Semifinals

Tuesday, August 15Philadelphia Union 1-4 Inter Miami CFSubaru Park – Chester, PACF Monterrey 0-2 Nashville SCGeodis Park – Nashville, TN

Third-place game

Saturday, August 19

Philadelphia Union 3-0 CF MonterreySubaru Park – Chester, PA

Final

Saturday, August 19

Nashville SC 1-1 Inter Miami (Inter Miami win 10-9 on penalty kicks)Geodis Park – Nashville, TN

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Leagues Cup on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3XX06t5″]

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Gimenez wins Gold Cup for Mexico with legendary individual goal

El Tri badly needed a win, and their best young player provided exactly what was required

Mexico badly needed a lift, and its brightest young star provided exactly what was required with an individual moment of brilliance to win the Gold Cup on Sunday night.

It’s been a difficult spell for El Tri, which was bounced from the World Cup group stage, humiliated by its closest rival in a continental semifinal and ousted two coaches within a span of less than a year.

The pressure was fully on Mexico for the Gold Cup, with the U.S. taking a roster that could somewhat charitably be described as a B-squad.

In fact, the oft-anticipated final between Mexico and the USMNT didn’t even materialize after B.J. Callaghan’s squad fell to Panama on penalties in the semifinal.

That set the stage for Mexico and Panama to face off in Sunday’s final at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which was filled with green-clad fans hoping to see their side overcome the Central American underdogs.

But despite a number of Mexico chances, the match was scoreless through 88 minutes. El Tri had the better of play, with a goal waved off due to an offside call and several outstanding saves from Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

But interim Mexico boss Jaime Lozano introduced Santiago Giménez as a substitute in the 85th minute. Three minutes later, the 22-year-old produced a moment Mexico fans will always remember.

Giménez held off Panama’s Harold Cummings near midfield, spun the defender around and then raced clear on goal. With only Mosquera to beat, he scuffed a shot into the far corner to send the stadium into raptures.

“It’s the biggest moment of my career,” Giménez said in quotes published by the AP. “I just tried to get down the field quickly. We followed our principles throughout the game, and they worked perfectly. The result was great, because there were a lot of competitive teams in this tournament.”

Watch Gimenez’s Gold Cup winner

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Suspect arrested after Mexico-Qatar Gold Cup stabbing

A man was charged with attempted murder over the Levi’s Stadium incident

Police have announced an arrest following an incident that saw a fan stabbed during Sunday’s Gold Cup match between Mexico and Qatar.

“On July 4, 2023, detectives from the Sacramento Police Department’s East and Central Command Violent Crime Reduction Team and the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) arrested suspect Alejandro Garcia-Villanueva at his residence,” read an SCPD statement on the matter.

SCPD said on Wednesday that Garcia-Villanueva has been charged with attempted murder. On Monday police described the victim as being in critical but stable condition.

Initially, the SCPD asked for the public’s help identifying a male suspect as well as a female “person of interest,” but said on Wednesday that detectives had determined the latter “did not commit a criminal offense” and was released

The incident happened amid what appeared on video as a brawl between fans, with the police report stating that “the suspect fled from the scene and was not located” at Levi’s Stadium.

Qatar defeated Mexico 1-0 in the match, a result that saw both teams advance to the Gold Cup knockout stage.

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Fan stabbed at Mexico-Qatar Gold Cup match

The fan is listed in critical but stable condition

Police are seeking one suspect and one person of interest after a fan was stabbed during Sunday’s Gold Cup match between Mexico and Qatar at Levi’s Stadium.

According to the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD), officers responded to a fight in the stands at 8:47 p.m.

“Upon arrival, SCPD officers located a male victim with a visible wound to his neck,” the police report said. “Based upon witness statements and video footage, SCPD detectives discovered the victim was stabbed in the neck with a knife during an altercation with the suspect. The suspect fled from the scene and was not located.”

Police said on Monday that the victim was listed in critical but stable condition.

The SCPD released images of the male suspect and female person of interest on its Twitter account, seeking the public’s assistance in locating the pair.

On Tuesday, the Mexican federation released a statement condemning the incident and vowing to work with authorities and CONCACAF to ensure similar incidents won’t happen in the future.

“We at the Mexican Football Federation strongly regret and condemn the acts of violence that occurred after last Sunday’s game in Santa Clara,” the statement read.

“We are fully willing to cooperate and join efforts with CONCACAF, the stadiums and local authorities, to prevent these acts from being repeated in any stadium.”

Qatar defeated Mexico 1-0 in the match, with both teams advancing to the Gold Cup knockout phase.

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Cocca fired as Mexico head coach after nightmare loss to USMNT

A 3-0 defeat against its biggest rival was too much to bear for Mexico’s federation

After just over four months in charge, Diego Cocca has been fired as Mexico men’s national team head coach.

Cocca’s entire staff was also let go, as was national team director Rodrigo Ares de Parga.

Jaime Lozano has been named interim manager and will be in charge for the Gold Cup, which kicks off later this month.

The final straw for Mexico’s federation was an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to the United States in Thursday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal. Mexico turned in a poor performance that was also blighted by indiscipline, as two El Tri players were red carded and several were involved in melees with USMNT players.

“We can lose a game against the United States. The risk always exists because this is football and winning can go either way. What is not acceptable is the way it happened,” said Mexican federation president Juan Carlos Rodríguez in a video explaining the decision.

“We gave up the chance to win from the beginning starting with logistical decisions that caused friction within the group. In the end we didn’t just lose the game, we also lost the ability to react, leadership inside and outside the field, control of emotions, and the sense of behaving with professionalism.”

“It would be natural to wait until after the Gold Cup, but today we don’t have time to waste,” Rodríguez added.

Cocca won just three of his seven games in charge after leaving Tigres to take on the El Tri job in February.

His final game at the helm was on Sunday, a 1-0 win over Panama in the Nations League third-place game.

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