Mexico defeats the U.S., 4-2, in Gold Cup final

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Although the U.S. prevented Mexico’s Javier Hernandez from scoring a goal in the Gold Cup final on Saturday evening at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, slowing down El Tri became a problem.

Pablo Barrera scored a goal in each half to lead Mexico to a 4-2 victory in the CONCACAF’s regional tournament championship game. Hernandez had scored seven times in Gold Cup play in leading Mexico to the final.

The Americans grabbed a 2-0 lead midway through the first half on goals by Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan, but Mexico, which dominated play for most of the match, quickly rallied on goals by Barrera and Andres Guardado to even the score by halftime.

Yet again, Giovani Dos Santos was the recipient of a through ball that found him striding past American defenders and led him into the box. He essentially had goalkeeper Tim Howard one on one, but missed a shot to the left of the goal.

Subsequently, CONCACAF rivals entere the locker room with a 2-2 tie.