GLENDALE, AZ (July 20, 2017) – The Mexican National Team are through to the Semifinals of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They defeated Honduras 1-0 in the Quarterfinal on Thursday night. Rodolfo Pizarro scored just four minutes in for El Tri and Honduras failed to score. Again.
El Tri came out in a 4-2-3-1 despite rumors they were going to go to a five man back like. Jesús Corona started in goal. Jair Pereira and Hugo Ayala were at center back. The midfield was led by Elías Hernández and Rodolfo Pizarro in the No. 10 role. Ángel Sepúlveda started up top.
Having not scored a goal in this tournament, Honduras changed things up. They came out in a 5-4-1. Luis López was of course in goal. Maynor Figueroa led the five man backline with Carlos Sánchez at left midfield. Forwards Romell Quioto and Albert Elis started on the wings in midfield. Alfredo Mejia started in central midfield and Ovidio Lanza was the lone striker.
Mexico Shuts Out Honduras To Advance To Gold Cup Semifinal 1-0
Mexico dominated possession from the start of the game. With five men at the back, Los Catrachos stayed organized defensively and used their speed to counter. Elis and Quito pushed up the field and cut inside on several occassions to create chances.
The favorites got off to a dream start with a goal in just the fourth minute. After a good sequence in the offensive third, Orbelín Pineda won the ball off a cross in the box. He laid it off to Jesús Dueñas, who sent it towards the far post. Hernández tipped it towards Pizarro who buried it into the back of the net.
The two teams traded chances throughout the rest of the half, but no one could finish. Jesús Molina led the attack for the Mexicans while Quioto and Acosta were the dangermen for Honduras. The half ended 1-0 with Alfredo Mejia and Quioto on yellow cards.
The match took a slightly different turn in the second half. Mexico still controlled the ball for much of the game, but they were more cautious going forward. Honduras did well defending, but did not get the offense going until late in the match. It wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that they started committing numbers forward and controlling the ball for long stretches.
Unfortunately for Honduras, they ran out of gas and time. The match ended 1-0.
Scoring Summary:
4′ Mexico – Rodolfo Pizarro assisted by Elías Hernández and Jesús Dueñas
Final Thoughts:
Mexico should be content but not satisfied with this result. They advanced to the Semifinals, where they’ll play a weaker Jamaica side. Still, Juan Carlos Osorio doesn’t seem too popular right now with club teams not making their players available. The team played well enough to get a second goal in this game, but couldn’t. Still, they managed the second half lead well.
There’s no sugar coating it: This Gold Cup was a disappointment for Honduras. Without French Guiana forfeiting their match, they wouldn’t have made it to knockout rounds. They also wouldn’t have recorded a goal. No goals in four games. They created a bunch of chances, but the young strikers couldn’t finish. As good as Quioto and Elis have been together for the Houston Dynamo, they have some serious questions right now. Lanzo was a massive disappointment. This is a bad omen for the country’s World Cup hopes.
