A final is a final! It’s a nerve breakdown. Players train hard and compete in a series of matches in an attempt to make
it to the final and when they make it to the final, they realize they have nothing left to lose. It’s either win first place or they
win second but, of course, no one wants to be second.
The 2019 Gold Cup final was an intense game between the United States and Mexico, Mexico has eight Gold Cup
titles while the United States has seven. The U.S. came into the final as the defending champion after beating Jamaica in 2017.
Mexico didn’t make it to the final in 2017 after losing in the semifinals.
The U.S. played well but Mexico put up a fight playing as hard as they possibly could which was enough to win this
year’s Gold Cup title, leaving the U.S. in second place.
The game was so intense, it made you lose track of the time. You consistently watched the scoreboard and didn’t
even realize that 15 minutes, then 30 minutes had gone by. The contenders were leveled with both teams moving back and
forth onto each other’s field domains in a fury of attacks and defenses. Ninety minutes of pure adrenaline and testosterone
sparks with players almost getting into physical fights with players from the opposing team. A player from the Mexican team
pushed Altidore, a U.S. player, to the ground, sat on his back, and took his time getting up. Mac Keanne, the U.S. captain, tried
to intervene but was stopped by the referee. The rivalry between these two Concacaf giants is like an erupting volcano when
they are on the field.
During the first half, the U.S. lost three clear chances to make a goal against Mexico while Mexico missed one. They
ended the first half with each team scor-
ing zero.
2 nd Place?
How the U.S. Won
- They Slowed Down
and Couldn’t Get Back to Speed
In the second half, adrenaline dominated the first 15 minutes with the U.S. controlling the game and playing hard
against Mexico. After that, it seemed that the U.S. got tired because they slowed their tempo in the game a little bit and Mexi-
co took advantage.
Playing at a consistent tempo, Mexico took possession of the ball and controlled the game by passing the ball from
the middle center to the defense and then passing it to the forward, Raul Jimenez, who tackled a pass to Jonathan dos Santos
(plays for LA Galaxy) who fulminated it with his left foot beating Zack Steffen, U.S. goalkeeper, who was attending to his left
pole where the play was happening. Steffen stretched to the right but that wasn’t enough to stop the Mexican gold victory.
62,490 people witnessed the game in a sold out Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago.
Mexico is the Gold Cup champion and the U.S. is the runner up.
The U.S. couldn’t change its way of playing . The substitutions were made but there wasn’t enough time to attune
their fast style. The U.S. should learn to maintain a consistent tempo when playing because once the tempo is low, it’s almost
impossible to get back up.
Goalnews 4