Mexico claimed top spot in Group A at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday night, edging El Salvador 1-0 at the Cotton Bowl.
Luis Rodriguez’s first half goal was all Tata Martino’s side needed to remain undefeated in this year’s competition. El Tri will now prepare for a quarterfinal showdown against the runners-up of Group D, which will be either Honduras or Qatar.
Haiti exited the Gold Cup, but did pick up a 2-1 victory over Martinique in its final group stage match. Ricardo Ade played the hero for Haiti by scoring the winning goal in the second half, and also putting in a strong defensive shift.
Quatemala and Trinidad & Tobago tied 1-1 also on Sunday as Gerardo Gordillo canceled Reon Moore’s opening goal. Both teams will exit the competition despite finishing with a draw in their final match.
Here’s a closer look at Sunday’s Gold Cup results.
Mexico 1, El Salvador 0
(Luis Rodriguez 26′)
Mexico only needed one goal to defeat El Salvador on Sunday night in California, but El Tri got the job done in clinching the top spot in Group A.
Luis Rodriguez scored the only goal of the match in the 26th minute, slotting a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner. Hector Herrera was credited with the assist on goal for El Tri.
Rodriguez danced into the box from the right wing before seeing his shot deflect off an El Salvador defender and in.
Resumen 🎥: En uno de los encuentros mas esperados de la fase de grupos de #CopaOro21 🏆 México 🇲🇽 superó a El Salvador 🇸🇻 por la diferencia mínima 1-0 en Dallas. #EstoEsNuestro pic.twitter.com/4DD1Fd44C0
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 19, 2021
Mexico continued to dominate the offensive chances as Rogelio Funes Mori had a pair of efforts saved by El Salvador keeper Mario Gonzalez. Orbelin Pineda and Alan Pulido also delivered shots on goal later in the match, but El Salvador stayed alive.
Alexander Larin came closest to tying things up for El Salvador in the 71st minute, rattling the left post from a free kick attempt. Walmer Martinez’s long-range effort in the 88th minute would be the final chance for El Salvador to earn a draw, but Alfredo Talavera made his second save of the match.
El Salvador will await the winner of Group D in Glendale while Mexico will take on the runners-up.
Martinique 1, Haiti 2
(Kevin Fortune 53′) – (Carnejy Antoine 3′, Ricardo Ade 61′)
Haiti picked up a victory in its final match of the Gold Cup, defeating nine-man Martinique 2-1 in Houston.
Carnejy Antoine’s opener came three minutes in for Haiti as his slotted a rebound attempt past Arnaud Etages after the goalkeeper pushed aside Leverton Pierre’s prior chance.
Etages kept Martinique from falling down even more later in the half as the goalkeeper denied four additional attempts from Haiti in the final third.
Kevin Fortune equalized for Martinique in the 53rd minute, heading home Stephane Abaul’s cross past Bryan Sylvestre. It was the 1,000th career goal scored in the Gold Cup competition.
1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ ⚽️🇫🇷 Fortune: “I’m very proud, very honored that Martinique was the team that scored the one thousand goal”#ThisIsOurs #GoldCup21 🏆 pic.twitter.com/K8bRfmOqSt
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 19, 2021
Martinique saw its chances of picking up three points come to a disappointing end as Sebastien Cretinoir was sent off for a red card tackle on Ronaldo Damus. VAR ruled in favor of the red card and Haiti would swing the match in its favor in the 61st minute as Ricardo Ade’s free kick beat Etages to the bottom-right corner.
Martinique saw a second player sent off later in the half and never truly got back into the match before eventually losing.
Guatemala 1, Trinidad & Tobago 1
(Gerardo Gordillo 77′) – (Reon Moore 12′)
Both Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago will be heading home from the Gold Cup, but both teams did play out a 1-1 draw in their final group stage match on Sunday night.
Reon Moore needed only 12 minutes to give Trinidad & Tobago a 1-0 advantage as the midfielder received a pass from Alvin Jones, before driving a low shot into the bottom corner.
🎥 Resumen: 🇬🇹 Guatemala y 🇹🇹 Trinidad y Tobago comparten puntos en sus despedidas de #CopaOro21 tras el empate 1-1 en Toyota Stadium. #EstoEsNuestro pic.twitter.com/mc7DrL08li
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 19, 2021
Jesse Williams and Andre Fortune II each saw efforts saved by Kenderson Navarro later in the first half to keep the deficit at one for Guatemala.
Guatemala saw more of the possession in the second half and eventually found an equalizing goal in the 77th minute through Gerardo Gordillo. The forward rose highest to head home Marvin Ceballos’ cross following a corner kick.
Alvin Jones struck the crossbar in the 86th minute from long range, but both teams would have to settle for one point apiece.
