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[ad_1] LOS ANGELES: Santiago Gimenez scored the game-winner minutes after entering the match Sunday as Mexico beat Panama 1-0 to win a record-extending ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup crown. The final of the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean was a fast-paced physical affair between a Mexico team eager to move on from recent disappointments and a Panama side seeking a first Gold Cup crown in their third appearance in the finals. Gimenez started on the bench in favour of Henry Martin and, with the match deadlocked, was brought on in the 85th minute. Three minutes later the 22-year-old Feyenoord striker became an instant hero. After Ivan Anderson's cross into the Mexico penalty area was blocked, Mexico's Orbelin Pineda came away with the ball and passed to Gimenez at midfield. Gimenez raced into the penalty area, spinning away from one defender and beating another before slotting a left-footed shot past Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera

[ad_1] LOS ANGELES: Mexico are aiming for a record-extending ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup title when they face Panama in Sunday's final at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and a victory would be particularly sweet for interim coach Jaime Lozano. Lozano, known to fans of El Tri as 'Jimmy', was handed the reins of the team for this tournament after Argentine Diego Cocca was fired following a disappointing Nations League campaign. In the semi-final last month, Mexico lost 3-0 in Las Vegas to the United States after one of their worst performances against their rival in recent memory. Although they went on to beat Panama in the third-place game, that win was not enough to convince Mexican Football Federation president Carlos Rodriguez, who sacked Cocca the following day. Lozano was put in charge as a stop-gap for the Gold Cup and given what was, on paper, a weaker team to work with. But the performances in the tournament have led many pundits to suggest he should be handed t

[ad_1] NEW YORK: Panama moved into the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-1 win over Martinique on Friday after Costa Rica and El Salvador produced a frantic but goalless draw. The Canalmen have six points from their opening two games in Group C with Martinique on three points and El Salvador and Costa Rica on a point each with a game remaining for all teams. Martinique, surprisingly, made eight changes from the team which had beaten El Salvador in their opening game and faced relentless pressure from Panama from the outset. A shot from Panama striker Jose Fajardo and an Eric Davis header brought Martinique keeper Theo De Percin into action early in the encounter at Red Bull Arena. It was a busy night for De Percin but the breakthrough finally came in the 57th minute when Panama's classy midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla found Davis on the left, and the latter's pinpoint cross was met with a bullet header from Fajardo. Michael Murillo then doubled th