Jaime Lozano lifted his first trophy as Mexico head coach on Sunday after his El Tri squad outlasted Panama in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Final.
El Tri used an 88th minute winner from Santiago Gimenez to defeat Panama 1-0 in Las Vegas, winning the competition for the 12th time in federation history. Guillermo Ochoa registered two saves in the victory for El Tri.
Ochoa was forced into his first save after 12 minutes as the 38-year-old denied Yoel Barcenas’ long-range effort for Panama.
Uriel Antuna was denied an opening goal for Mexico later in the first half before VAR waved off Henry Martin’s finish in the 35th minute. Martin was whistled for offsides after Ochoa’s long-ball pass allowed the striker to race in towards Panama’s net.
Orlando Mosquera made two key saves before halftime to keep Panama level at 0-0. The veteran shot-stopper denied Orbelin Pineda’s right-footed shot in the 43rd minute before also repelling Martin’s close-range rebound attempt.
Mosquera continued to stand on his head for Panama, denying Martin and Antuna in quick succession after the hour mark.
Gimenez entered the match in the 85th minute with extra time looming, but the PSV man would deliver the go-ahead goal. Gimenez’s left-footed shot off a Mexico fast break snuck past Mosquera into the bottom-right corner for a 1-0 El Tri lead.
Mexico would hang on to capture its first Gold Cup title since 2019 while Panama suffered its third finals loss.