INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Santiago Giménez stepped on the field in the 85th minute to replace Henry Martin in a scoreless Gold Cup final.
Three minutes later he sent SoFi Stadium into hysteria after fighting off Panama defender Harold Cummings and making an absurd run from near midfield, capping it with a beautiful finish past the keeper for the 1-0 lead.
After tense, back and forth action throughout, the match seemed to be heading for extra time. Instead, Santi came up as the hero to give Mexico its ninth Gold Cup title, the most by any CONCACAF team.
Things might’ve been much different if Martin’s goal in the 33rd minute wasn’t called off for offside after VAR took a second look at it. The fans were nervously waiting from that very moment to celebrate again.
Later in the first half a wild double save by Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera kept the scoreline even heading into the break.
It seemed the longer it went on, momentum was slipping away from Mexico in front of what was basically a home crowd of 72,963. Legendary keeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa helped keep El Tri in it despite a few warning shots from Panama.
Unlike the past year, this one wasn’t going to end in complaints directed towards a coach. It wasn’t Gerardo Martino or Diego Cocca standing on that sideline. Those days are history, a sour past that Mexico can finally move on from with a fresh mentality and hardware to brag about.
Jaime Lozano was just the interim and tabbed to be in charge only for the tournament, but after this Gold Cup run he might’ve done enough to solidify himself for the full-time gig.
“Mexicans sometimes don’t believe too much in the process.” Lozano said. “I think if we believe a little more in the process, the results will be so much better.”
“What I’m living today is a dream, and if I’m picked to continue I will keep sleeping,” he added.
Winning, especially trophies, changes a lot for a Mexican side used to dominating the region. A month ago El Tri was in peril after losing the Nations League Final to the United States.
A little time and switch of direction goes a long way.
Lozano pulled the strings all tournament and needed one final move to change the game. He did just that, and ended up possibly changing the future as well.
The late substitution worked out to perfection as Giménez turned the jets on and etched himself in the history books. From that moment on, the party began. The final whistle was accompanied by an epic roar and appropriately followed by Vicente Fernández’s “El Rey,” perhaps sending some a reminder that Mexico is still king of CONCACAF.
