Mexico ties with Costa Rica and advances to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup as group leader
A better goal difference allowed El Tri to reach the quarterfinals as first place in the group; their next opponent will be Saudi Arabia
This Sunday, group stage activity in sector A concluded, and the positions have already been defined. In the top half, Mexico and Costa Rica tied 0-0, splitting points and both reaching 7 points; However, a better goal difference secured Mexico the top spot.
At the bottom of the table, Suriname and the Dominican Republic also played to a goalless draw, although they were no longer in contention for qualification, but the result allowed each team to take a point home.
A draw wasn't enough for Costa Rica to move up to the top of the table; they needed a win that never came. Now, the Ticos will face the first place team in Group D, which also concluded its activity this Sunday and saw the United States take the lead in the group with a perfect record of three wins in three games.
Mexico's first place allows it to face the second place team in Group D, Saudi Arabia, in the next round. The match will be on June 28.
The match between Mexico and Costa Rica
The hero of the first half was Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who saved his team in the 7th minute from a mid-range shot by Luis Chávez; and made a timely clearance in the 24th to deny Raúl Jiménez a goal.
After 35 minutes spent more defending than attacking, the Costa Ricans, led by Piojo Herrera, closed down the game better and came close to taking the lead in the 36th minute with a shot by Carlos Mora after an error by defender César Montes; and in the 37th minute, when Josimar Alcocer passed the ball to Manfred Ugalde after a mistake by Jorge Sanchez.
Mexico came out aggressively in the second half and let go of their chance to take the lead in the 56th minute. In the 56th minute, Roberto Alvarado broke away down the right wing and passed the ball to Jiménez, who made a mistake with everything in his favor.
The Mexicans were left in a bad position in the 68th minute, which Alonso Martínez took advantage of, but he hit the crossbar, in what was Costa Rica's most dangerous play.
In the 84th minute, forward Manfred Ugalde, the leader of the Costa Rican attack, committed a childish foul by hitting Carlos Rodríguez in the head and received a booking that will keep him out of the quarterfinals.
The match ended in controversy. Santiago Gimenez scored an elegant half-scissor kick in the 94th, but the play was disallowed for being offside.