PHOENIX, Arizona – As eight-time champions of the Concacaf Gold Cup, Mexico hold the distinction of being the most decorated side in the history of the tournament.
So many Gold Cup team and individual records belong to El Tricolor, and there is no doubt that the 2021 team is motivated to etch their own names into the Gold Cup record books.
In fact, the current Mexico Gold Cup team has already accomplished something that their predecessors did not.
In Gold Cup group stages in which four teams formed a group, Mexico had always conceded at least one goal during the group stage until this current edition.
During their title-winning runs in the 1996 and 2003 Gold Cups, Mexico finished the group stage with zero goals conceded, but those came with El Tricolor playing in a three-team group stage.
Since the return of the four-team group stage in 2005, three times Mexico have completed the group stage with just one goal conceded. It happened during Mexico’s back-to-back Gold Cup titles in 2009 and 2011, plus in 2017 when they finished as semifinalists.
In the 2021 Gold Cup, the Mexico defense has taken things to a higher level, with clean sheets kept in the 0-0 draw with Trinidad and Tobago, the 3-0 win versus Guatemala and last Sunday’s 1-0 triumph over El Salvador.
And not only are teams not finding a way into the Mexican net, but they are barely registering scoring chances against El Tricolor.
Trinidad and Tobago were limited to one shot, Guatemala only had three shots on goal and El Salvador had four shots on goal, all coming in the second half.
With these kinds of defensive performances, Mexico could be laying the groundwork for a ninth Gold Cup crown.
