June 4 – The Concacaf Nations League final on Sunday will be a repeat of the 2019 Gold Cup final with both the US and Mexico winning their semi-finalsat Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. But it took an 89thminute header and a penalty shoot out to see them through.
The semi-finals marked the closing phases of a competition that began in 2019, and an explosive restart to full international competition and a summer of Concacaf football in the US that will see World Cup qualification reach first round conclusion, and the blue riband Gold Cup 2021.
The US team had prepared for their semi-final with a predominantly European-based squad with a 2-1 friendly loss last weekend against Switzerland, who are 13thin the FIFA World Rankings, against the US’s 20thranking. They were drawn against a fast rebuilding Honduras side with a predominantly home grown base of players.
Greg Berhalter had selected just four players from MLS club sides for his US squad, and played two of them in his starting XI – midfielders Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy) and Jackson Yueill (San Joes Earthquakes) – alongside Juventus’ influential Weston McKennie and Chelsea’s mercurial Christian Pulisic. But it was BSC Young Boy’s Jordan Siebatcheu Pefok who was to be the dramatic last gasp hero.
In a match that saw action at both ends of the field, the US had the balance of possession and saw Josh Sargent and Christian Pulisic pulling out big saves from Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez.
At the other end Honduran talisman Alberth Elis had a header cleared off the line by US forward Sargent, while US keeper Zack Steffen kept out an Antony Lozano shot.
With the match heading towards a penalty shoot-out, up stepped Siebatcheu Pefok to meet a McKennie cross and send the US through.
Mexico win shoot-out, again
Mexico were similarly tested by a Costa Rican side that is also rebuilding but in Bryan Ruiz have an evergreen captain who yet again supercharged the Costa Rican effort by example.
Mexico had warmed up with a 1-0 win over Iceland in Arlington, Texas, where they will be based for the group stages of their Gold Cup campaign starting July 10. It is a Mexican team with many of the names that lit up the 2019 Gold Cup and a possession game that saw them score almost at will in the early rounds, but dried up towards the end of the tournament.
It had taken penalties to get through the quarter finals against Costa Rica then, and it was to prove the same again in Denver, with goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa reprising his Mexican hero performance from 2019.
The match had opened at pace with both sides missing chances in the frantic opening exchanges. Costa Rica’s Alonso Martinez missed from a few yards out while Hirving Lozano’s shot was turned on to the crossbar and out by Costa Rican goalkeeper Leonel Moreira.
With neither side able to break the deadlock at full time it was turn of Ochoa to take centrestage, saving Allan Cruz’s attempt for the Mexican’s to win the penalty shoot-out 5-4.
It is the final that most had expected but it was far from being a foregone conclusion. Concacaf’s giant nations may still have the bragging rights but warning signals were fired from their Central American rivals that they will not be at the Gold Cup to make up the. numbers.
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