Mexico wins 7th CONCACAF Gold Cup, beating Jamaica 3-1 in final

PHILADELPHIA – Andres Guardado scored his fourth goal of the knockout rounds, not needing a penalty kick this time, and Mexico won its seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer title Sunday with a 3-1 victory over upstart Jamaica.

Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta added goals as El Tri scored twice early in the second half to ensure this match wouldn’t come down to any calls in the final minutes. It was a convincing performance for coach Miguel Herrera and his team after some shaky play and contentious moments the previous two games.

Jamaica had made a rousing run to the final, stunning the U.S. in the semis to become the first Caribbean nation to reach the Gold Cup’s championship match. And the Reggae Boyz looked as though they belonged in the opening minutes, keeping the pressure on Mexico with several promising scoring chances but never put a shot on goal.

Jamaica hadn’t trailed since early in the second half of its Gold Cup opener before a yellow card helped lead to Mexico’s first goal. Darren Mattocks scored in the 80th minute to pull the Reggae Boyz within 3-1.

El Tri will face the U.S., the 2013 Gold Cup champ, on Oct. 9 for the CONCACAF spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup that will be played in Russia.

Mexico had gone 272 minutes since one of its players scored on anything other than a penalty when Guardado put it ahead for good Sunday. Jonathan dos Santos found Paul Aguilar out wide on a free kick, and Aguilar crossed it to Guardado, whose left-footed volley made it 1-0 in the 31st minute. It was his sixth goal of the tournament, one behind Clint Dempsey of the U.S.

Guardado, voted top player of the tournament, had also been the last Mexico player to score on anything other than a penalty with his goal in the 88th minute against Trinidad and Tobago in the final group stage match.

Mexico’s Corona, 22, was selected the top young player of the tournament and Brad Guzan of the U.S. won the Gold Glove as top goalkeeper.

Any chance of a Jamaica comeback quickly evaporated after halftime. Just over a minute in, Corona stole the ball from Michael Hector and pushed forward. His left-footed shot from the edge of the area went under the legs of Wes Morgan for a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute.