With a penalty and in extra time: Mexico advanced to the final of the 2019 Gold Cup with a triumph over Haiti

The Mexican national team played its worst game since the arrival of Gerarado “Tata” Martino to technical management and still managed to sneak into the final of the 2019 Gold Cup after beating Haiti 1-0 in a semifinal that had to extend until the extra time to resolve.

Raúl Jiménez charged a maximum penalty in the 93rd minute, already in extra time, after receiving a foul inside the area, and scored the only goal of the game to seal the ticket to Mexico at the end of this competition. With the triumph, El Tri kept alive his hopes of representing Concacaf in the Confederations Cup 2021.

Mexico will play the ninth final of the Gold Cup and will seek the eighth title when on Sunday it faces the Soldier Field of Chicago to the winner of the second semifinal that on Wednesday, will compete for the United States and Jamaica in the duel of the finalists of the last edition.
As expected, Haiti allowed Mexico to put on the most physical wear and tear from the start, and limited itself to doing what the Tri allowed on the field and that was very little, especially in the first half.

Mexico dominated possession of the ball, tried to generate the best scoring opportunities and was also the one who made the most mistakes by not hitting 12 shots on goal, but only one with danger.
Haiti, who made history when they reached the semifinals for the first time, also managed to make clear in the first part a Mexico lacking football ideas in the attack when defining.

Jimenez with a header in the 35th minute was the highlight of the attack in Mexico, which was answered by Haitian goalkeeper Johny Placide, who in the end would be the best of Haiti.
Without the Argentine coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, sanctioned with a game by accumulation of two yellow cards, the Tricolor lacked style of game and was lost in an endless number of passes.
Already in the second half, Mexico was becoming increasingly nervous to see that the goal did not come because it did not generate the clear chances and how much he had at minute 67 in a free kick that brought out the midfielder Andrés Guardado the figure of Placide came back , who put a miraculous right hand that prevented the goal.

There came the conviction of Theiler that he had to make immediate changes to put new legs in the center of the field of Mexico and came out at the same time Uriel Antuna and Carlos Rodriguez Roberto Alvarado and Guardado.

Already in the extension, as usual, arose the phantom of arbitration so that Al Jassim pointed to a controversial and decisive penalty that left all the doubts about the tournament again, but happy the directors of the CONCACAF, who have already secured the business with the soldier at Soldier Field when the selection of the Tri is present.

Not without first living the great scare to see as striker Mikael Cantave, at minute 119, shot powerful right leg and with goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa already beaten, the ball crashed into every cross right of the goal of Mexico, which then could sentence with two clear occasions of Pizarro and Luis Montes.