Mexico advances to Nations League championship after a decisive victory over Canada

Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez scored 46 seconds aft the opening whistle and recovered the nett again successful infinitesimal 75 with a dazzling escaped footwear to pb El Tri to a 2-0 triumph implicit Canada successful a Concacaf Nations League (CNL) semifinal Thursday night

With the win, Mexico advances to its 3rd CNL last to look Panama aft the underdog Canaleros bushed a heavy favored U.S. broadside successful the different semifinal.

Panama — ranked No. 36 successful the satellite — is the archetypal Central American squad to scope a CNL final. Mexico — ranked No. 19 successful the latest FIFA rankings — made it to the finals successful 2020 and 2024 earlier losing to the U.S.. 

El Tri got disconnected to a imagination commencement astatine So-Fi Stadium extracurricular Los Angeles, with Jiménez pouncing connected a escaped shot down the defense. 

Defender Johan Vásquez created the opportunity, intercepting a Canada throw-in and directing it toward the box. With his backmost to goal, Jiménez back-heeled it to Roberto Alvarado who scuffed a changeable attempt.The shot squirted close into the way of Jiménez who slotted it past Canadian ‘keeper Dayne St. Clair, wrong the acold goalpost. Just similar that, El Tri was up 1-0.

Raúl’s extremity was his 36th with the nationalist team, breaking a necktie with Luis Hernández to determination into 4th spot connected Mexico’s all-time scoring list.

El Tri caught a interruption a fewer minutes aboriginal erstwhile referee Héctor Martínez from Honduras turned down Canadian pleas for a penalty. Video replay indicated Mexico defender Edson Álvarez had clipped Derek Cornelius’ ft aft the Canada defender poked the shot past him, but the ref stuck with the no-call.

The remainder of the fractional was choppy — Martínez whistled 25 fouls successful the archetypal 45 minutes — arsenic Canada pressed guardant looking for a extremity to level the score

El Tri’s backmost enactment — dependable passim —  efficaciously chopped disconnected passing lanes into the goalbox portion Mexican forwards perpetually pestered Canada ball-handlers.

Alvarado had a accidental to get connected the scoresheet himself successful infinitesimal 19, moving into the punishment arc to cod a agelong shot from Carlos Rodríguez, but the Canadian goalie rushed the shot and knocked it wide.

In infinitesimal 39, Mexico saw its bid for a 2-0 pb denied. Álvarez headed a nifty transverse from Alvarado into the net, but the referee called offside.

Shortly aft half-time, Canada skipper Alphonso Davies mis-hit a changeable from consecutive successful beforehand astatine the apical of the box. Shortly thereafter and successful speedy succession, Mexican defender Jesús Gallardo and winger Alexis Vega had atrocious turnovers that were saved by alert teammates.

¡Qué GOLAZO de Raúl Jiménez! ✨🇲🇽#CNLFinals pic.twitter.com/keds2uqAfp

— Concacaf Nations League (@CNationsLeague) March 21, 2025

In infinitesimal 60, El Tri goalie Luis Malagón unwisely came disconnected his enactment successful pursuit of a agelong centering pass, but misjudged it. The shot was knocked backmost toward the different station with Malagón wholly retired of position. Fortunately for México, Álvarez reacted first, nodding the shot wide of the extremity and retired of information conscionable arsenic Canada’s Cornelius clattered into him.

Fifteen minutes later, Jiménez drove the nail successful the coffin, with a cleanable escaped footwear from 28 meters that zipped betwixt a lunging St. Clair and the adjacent post. 

With Jiménez’s 37th nationalist squad goal,the 33-year-old striker is 1 extremity distant from tying  Mexico’s third-best all-time scorer, shot star-turned-politician Cuauhtémoc Blanco.

El Tri saw retired the crippled from there, limiting Canada to a azygous changeable connected extremity each night.

Thursday’s effect means Canada has won conscionable 1 of its past 13 matches against Mexico. The Reds volition present look the U.S. successful Sunday’s third-place, consolation game.

The U.S., the highest-ranked Concacaf squad astatine No. 16, was stunned 1-0 by No. 36 Panama successful the night’s archetypal semifinal acknowledgment to a stoppage-time extremity from Cecilio Waterman.

During the Panama-U.S. game, the three-time defending CNL champs squandered opportunities aboriginal and precocious past watched successful disbelief arsenic Adalberto Carrasquillo recovered Waterman, who from wrong the close broadside of the container fired location the winning extremity successful infinitesimal 90+4.

With reports from The Associated Press, The Guardian and  Concacaf