Jimenez was twice on the score sheet as Mexico ran riot against Panama to clinch their first ever CONCACAF Nations League trophy with a 2-1 win in Sunday’s finale.
Having scored twice in Mexico’s 2-0 win over Canada in the Semifinals three days earlier, again it was Raúl Jimenez who broke the deadlock to give his side a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute at the SoFi stadium. Panama, though, stayed firm and, ultimately, fired back, netting just before halftime courtesy of Coco Carrasquilla’ goal to send the two teams into the locker room level. The scoreline remained unchanged until the 92nd minute when defender Jose Cordoba was called for a handball in the penalty area, allowing Jimenez to step up and bury a penalty kick to win Mexico the trophy.
With the win, Mexico claimed the CONCACAF Nations League title for the first time. Each of the three previous editions had been won by the U.S. men’s national team, who had previously beaten Mexico in two of those finals. The USMNT finished fourth in this year’s tournament, falling to Canada in the third-place game ahead of Sunday’s finale.
Mexico’s talismanic striker had been at the heart of the El Tri’s route to victory since the start of the tournament. There’s been chatter about it being time for the 33-year-old to pass the torch, but that chatter was clearly premature as he isn’t making way for Santi Gimenez just yet. Although, this week’s 4-4-2 setup did prove that the two can coexist.
México will now look ahead to this summer’s Gold Cup, having also previously met Panama in the finale of that tournament. Mexico defeated Panama, 1-0, in this same stadium back in 2023, lifting the cup on an 88th minute goal from Santi Gimenez.
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