MIAMI, Florida – This Friday at 7:00 PM ET, Concacaf will be airing a re-broadcast of two Concacaf Gold Cup classics, the first being the Group C finale between Honduras and El Salvador from the 2019 Gold Cup, followed by the 2011 Gold Cup Final between Mexico and the United States. Both matches will be shown on Concacaf’s Facebook and YouTube pages, plus the Concacaf App.
When people talk about the greatest matches in Gold Cup history, the 2011 Final is certainly on the short list. It pitted the two most decorated teams in Gold Cup history, Mexico and the United States, playing at one of the most iconic venues in North American sports, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
With 92,000-plus fans in attendance, the two great rivals stepped on the pitch and delivered a Final to remember.
The U.S. were very quick out of the gates, with Michael Bradley giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 8’ by flicking in a header off a Freddy Adu corner kick.
The U.S. were hungry for more and gutted the Mexican defense with a counterattack in the 23’ that saw Landon Donovan receive a pass from Clint Dempsey and finish past Mexico GK Alfredo Talavera to make it 2-0 to the U.S.
It was just the wake-up call that Mexico needed, as five minutes later in the 28’ Pablo Barrera cut the deficit to 2-1 with a strong right-footed finish.
The momentum was with El Tricolor and they pulled level 2-2 in the 36’ when a Giovani dos Santos shot was blocked and Andres Guardado was there to pounce on the rebound and poke home for the goal.
There was no let-up from Mexico to start the second half and Barrera notched his second of the night in the 50’ with a right-footed shot, giving Mexico their first lead at 3-2.
The U.S. looked to respond and had several chances, including a Dempsey header that struck the crossbar, but Mexico would then put things out of reach by scoring one of the greatest goals in Gold Cup history.
Dos Santos collected a pass right in front of U.S. GK Tim Howard and three times eluded the outstretched hand of Howard, before shaking off a pair of defenders and lofting a chip that floated just over the head of U.S. DF Eric Lichaj and into net to cap an unforgettable 4-2 comeback victory for Mexico.
